Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

The film will be screened in a digitally restored print.

Directed by: Ang Lee
Starring: Chow Yun-Fat, Michelle Yeoh, Zhang Ziyi, Chang Chen, Cheng Pei-Pei
Duration: 122 minutes
Year of Production: 2000

A quarter of a century ago, Ang Lee swung wide the door to East Asian cinema, bringing the forgotten term wuxia back to unsuspecting critics and renewing the entire action film genre. On the back of his epic narrative, warriors defy the laws of physics to enforce the laws of men, gliding like shadows in the twilight to meet their fate through a series of impeccably choreographed confrontations. The sound of their steel blades replaces dialogue, completing a heroic symphony of martial arts, high aesthetics, and delicate grace.

Thus was born the fairytale Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, the first cinematic pop phenomenon of the 21st century, remembered by most today for its action, unparalleled beauty, Oscars, and perhaps an almost superhero-like exploration of the concept of duty. Yet there are those who perceived all this imbued with the silent passion of a subtly heartbreaking love story. The lucky ones who heard, in one final breath, the echo of one of cinema’s greatest unfulfilled loves. Thodoris Karamanolis