Film Review: Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

This is a reprint of a review of "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" that I posted on IMDb.com on February 3rd, 2001. Enjoy.

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Summary:
The pinnacle of what a Chinese fantasy movie should be

Review:
I lived in Hong Kong for nearly three years of my life and I learned Cantonese. I've been married to my wife from Taiwan for over four years now, and I've picked up Mandarin. I love Chinese culture, Chinese people, and Asian history tremendously -- however, I've never been a fan of kung fu movies. Why? Because most of them do great injustice in their presentation of the art of Kung Fu -- they over-stylize it, they become pop pieces of phony action sound effects, vomit-inducing camera movements, and shotgun editing. And the stories -- sweet Buddha -- such tremendous wealth of incredible Chinese literature available, all but unknown to the West -- trivialized by bad acting, bad writing, quick-buck-turning productions. Some of Jet Li's Wong Fei Hong films are considerably good, and the kung fu can't be beat, but the stories are still slaughtered -- the characters (especially the female characters) are excruciatingly stereotypical.

After viewing Ang Lee's Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, I came close to weeping for joy. This is what Chinese fantasy films should aspire to. This is the film that Chinese literature has been dying for -- a very true-to-source adaptation of an excellent Chinese novel, incredibly acted and reconstructed. The mood is subdued throughout, not wontonly hyper. The fight scenes are, for the most part, scrolling and steady, showing stealth and true physically acute movements -- not a rampant collage of quick cuts, zoom ins, and the same two swooshing and contact sound effects over and over.

I could go on with Ang Lee's genius, but I'll just recommend the films "Pushing Hands" and "The Wedding Banquet" as his other less-known masterpieces.

The story is an excellent example of traditional Chinese fiction, full of personal dilemma, altruistic heroes with deeply embedded values (Where has altruism gone in American heroes?), and more non-verbal than spoken communication between characters. The concept of great personal loss is hardly something you see in American literature and film -- suffering can never be near as great as the forced good-feeling ending. Loss is an eternal theme in Chinese fiction -- one must lose to gain deeper love and appreciation.

Some people have criticized the dialog -- well, no matter how well a language is translated in the subtitles, there are always inflections, hidden meanings, cultural references, and idioms that subtitles cannot communicate fully -- some that cannot be translated at all without deeper explanations. (Imagine a Chinese person trying to watch "Wayne's World" or "Good Morning, Vietnam" in Chinese subtitles -- how the hell do you translate THAT?) Plus, subtitles have to trim expressions down to the basest level to have enough screen-time to be read. Unless you are fluent in Chinese, do not criticize this movie for its dialog -- which the subtitles do a fair job of translating.

See this movie -- on the big screen if you can. For those unfamiliar with Asian fiction, it's an extremely moving introduction to true Kung Fu ethics of ancient times and traditional story-telling style of the best of Chinese fantasy. Keep one thing in mind, though -- most of the gravity-defying physical feats portrayed ARE meant to be fantasy -- they're representations of mythical feats of great Kung Fu secrets and mastery, enabling one to be superhuman. If you're an action movie fan, and you don't scoff the good-guy's ever-loaded, perfect-aiming pistol in your favorite action movie, don't "sheesh" or "yeah, right" any of the beautiful gravity-defying movements in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.
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ALL-TIME FAVORITE FILM: The Straight Story

This is a reprinting of a review of "The Straight Story" that I posted on IMDb.com back on June 16th, 2002. I can't express it any better today, more than two years later, so here it is:

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Summary:
Tops my list of personal favorite films, and that's not said lightly

Review:
I have a hard time putting this into words. In order to convey what I want to say, I'm going to have to give some information about me.

I have been a film buff all my life. Before I went into Information Technology, I spent four years being a film major at both BYU and the University of Utah. I estimate that I have seen over 6000 films in my lifetime. I have many personal favorite films of all genres. I am considered by my friends and family the most reliable (and un-shut-up-able) source when it comes to gauging, rating, and examining films.

So, when I say that The Straight Story TOPS THE LIST OF MY PERSONAL FAVORITE FILMS, it really, really means something.

This movie is directed by David Lynch, who I consider one of the top five American filmmakers, right up there with Martin Scorcese and Stanley Kubrick. Likely, unless you're a film buff or an old Twin Peaks fan, you've never heard of David Lynch. Most of David Lynch's movies are considered cult films. Ever heard of Blue Velvet? Wild At Heart? Lost Highway? Eraserhead? Or even the recent film Mulholland Drive? If you haven't, it just means you're neither a small-film connoisseur nor a David Lynch fan. And, unless you have a taste for unusual, dream-like, sometimes unsettling (a.k.a. 'artsy-fartsy') cinema, then you never need to remember the name David Lynch.

However, to everyone else in this entire world who is willing to devote 2 hours of their short life to watching a movie, there are two films David Lynch has made that should appeal to anyone: The Elephant Man (made in 1980), and The Straight Story.

The Straight Story is about the true life experience of a man named of Alvin Straight. He lived in a small town in Ohio. He was 73 years old when he decided to visit his younger brother in Michigan who had suffered a stroke. He hadn't spoken to his brother in 11 years, due to an old quarrel. Alvin had bad eyes, he could not drive himself in a car there. He doesn't like others driving for him. So, he hitches a trailer to his riding-mower for use as a sleeping compartment, packs lots of hotdogs and braunaschwerger, and starts out towards his brother's place -- at a speed of roughly 10 to 15 miles per hour.

Many things happen along the way. We discover more about Alvin, the way he sees things, what he's been through in his life. We learn more about he and his brother. At a couple points, he must swallow his pride and graciously accept the help of good-hearted strangers. At times, he is able to provide assistance to others. Richard Farnsworth (who was nominated for the best actor oscar for this movie) plays Alvin Straight. He died less than one year after it was finished. Sissy Spacek plays his sensitive daughter in a hugely underrated performance.

This movie, to me, represents filmmaking at its highest form of art. It is an absolutely perfect blend of visual mastery, appropriate musical scoring and musical placement, a well-presented tale truly worth telling, and it is filled with material that the thoughtful viewer can derive personal interpretation from. Most others that have seen this film really like it -- on the surface it is sweet and simple. It is a well made, slow-paced but entertaining film, free of anything that could possibly offend even the easily offendible person. For many viewers, that's all it is and all it will ever be for them. In my case, when I watch the film, I find in it all the sublimities of life. I want to get on my hands and knees and weep and thank God for every day I live, all that I have, and all the trials I've been through. I want to embrace my loved ones and pour all the love of my soul on them. I want to look into the eyes of every stranger and say "I genuinely care about your welfare, I respect you no matter what our differences, and I would love to get to know you better." I am full of love and patience for all mankind. It is one of the only films I have ever seen that truly influences me to be a better human being, and it doesn't have one single preachy moment in it.

Maybe it won't do the same for you, but that is the power I feel in this remarkable film. Although it is rated 'G', it would be tedious for short-attention-spanned kids 12 and younger to sit through. It would be tedious for short-attention-spanned adults to sit through as well. If you're the kind of person who'd rather see two hours of Alvin Straight using his riding-mower 'Jackass-style', like shredding melons, pinecones, shoes and other assorted items with the blades, or flying off ramps into muddy pits, then this is not your movie. Only those who are capable of enjoying a transcendary film experience may apply.
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Film Review: A Clockwork Orange

This is a reprint of a review of "A Clockwork Orange" that I posted on IMDb.com on September 1st, 2002. I strongly discourage most anyone from watching this film -- not because it is a bad film, but because it is the single most disturbing film I've ever seen, and it will scar most who watch it. Read the following review to see what I mean:

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Summary:
As great as it is, the movie's scenes of blatant depravity detracts what can be gained from viewing it

Review:
As a true film buff, I can accept the fact that some of the greatest movies ever made can also be extremely difficult to watch -- whether from its content and/or the emotional response it generates. Most movies like this usually receive my adolation and praise, even if it may take me time to recover from the first viewing

But in my opinion, A Clockwork Orange takes the grand prize as the most disturbing movie I've ever seen, and it does not get much easier with repeat viewing. The movie's brilliance in directing and storytelling makes it impossible to dismiss critically, yet the film disturbs me to the core. I would almost hope that I am not alone in this opinion -- to truly 'enjoy' this movie you'd have to be pretty damn callous to hideous imagery, especially when it comes to rape and excessive exploitation of the female body.

If there's one very big dislike I have against Stanley Kubrick, it is way in which he treats the naked female body onscreen. It becomes impersonal, cold, devalued -- cheapened and readily exploitable. Think of these examples -- A Clockwork Orange: 5 gangsters rip the clothes off and rape a young woman to a classical waltz; the milk bar with naked women statues and dispensers; Alex's daydream of being in Roman times; the high-speed menage-a-trois; the naked, stoic 'temptress' onstage approaching Alex; and the 'humorous' winter-wonderland end-scene slow-motion daydream of public exhibitionism. That's just A Clockwork Orange. Throw in the naked woman in the tub in The Shining, along with scenes totalling a full one-third of the running time of Eyes Wide Shut and you should have a pretty good idea of the devaluation of the female body I'm referring to.

I think of Spartacus, Full Metal Jacket, 2001, Dr. Strangelove, even Barry Lyndon, and I just want to praise Kubrick forever. The man is a cinematic genius. But, because of how adversely A Clockwork Orange affects me, I must dismiss it and can't recommend it to anyone. The more sensitive you are to what you see onscreen, the more this movie will deeply, deeply disturb you. I've seen it three times now, my first time being over 12 years ago, and it's no easier to watch now than then. And sadly, because it is so disturbing, I am deprived of enjoying the greatness that the movie really does contain.

I read the book by Anthony Burgess because the story is truly brilliant. I was surprised to find out that the book's final chapter was purposely left out of the film. Also, I was surprised to find that the author disliked the film, as he alludes in the book's introduction. He feels that "A Clockwork Orange" has become to him what "The Nutcracker" was to Tchaikovsky -- what he considers as one of his least important works has become his most famous and recognized.

Ever wonder what is meant by "a clockwork orange"? Mr. Burgess explains the metaphor in the book's introduction. An orange is sweet, refreshing, and juicy -- fulfilling and delicious. But it is organic and cannot provide this sweetness forever -- it will eventually expire and rot. Man cannot make an organic object function like an inorganic object, or something man-made, or 'clockwork'. The term 'clockwork orange' is therefore an oxymoron and a paradox -- it infers that man has converted something organic into a controllable, inorganic process. The experiment Alex goes through, by robbing him of free-will, effectively creates 'clockwork oranges' out of human beings -- he is forced to be sweet, gentle, and moral all the time.

Final thoughts: I am LDS (or 'Mormon'), and it's noteworthy to mention something about the beliefs of the LDS religion as it pertains to this concept... It is believed that in pre-earth life, Lucifer proposed that everyone who comes to earth be forced to do good, so that everyone will be worthy to return to God's presence after death, therefore 'no souls will be lost' -- however, he wanted the credit for this plan. Jesus wanted each person to have complete free-agency in order to learn from their own decisions, and he voluteered himself to be the one who must live a perfect life as THE example as well as be the atoning sacrifice -- and all glory go to God, not to himself. To have mankind robbed of its free-agency is the Devil's original plan and ultimate goal. So, the movie and the book asks this supreme question: What's more evil -- a person who focusses all his thoughts and energy and actions on doing bad, or forcing this person to only think and feel and do good?

My answer: Skip the movie and read the book -- it's a far more edifying experience. And you also get to know what happens in the final chapter!
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A FAVORITE FILM: The Secret Lives of Dentists

I wish to post some information on some of the films that have made an incredible impact on me.... films that serve either as inspirations, strike a deep chord in me, or both.

A couple months ago, I rented a movie that my brother, Curtis, recommended to me. I'd been curious to watch it since I first heard the title (long before he recommended it), but I had no idea what it was about. That movie is "The Secret Lives of Dentists."

Now, I'm not a fan of the director, Alan Rudolph. He had no clue as to how to translate wonderfully scathing satirical prose into cinema when he made Kurt Vonnegut Jr's absolutely brilliant novel "Breakfast of Champions" into a movie. At least David Lynch's admirable film version of "DUNE," is a satisfying treat to those who have read the book, even if it is confusing as hell to those who have not read it. Rudolph's film version of "Breakfast of Champions" takes several of Hollywood's A-list actors, gets excellent performances out of them, but presents a completely sterilized and bland version of Vonnegut's novel -- like a two-hour punchline without the comedic setup. As you watch it, you get the feeling that something very funny is in there, but it is completely escaping you, that you're not being told the joke in its entirety. And if you watch it after reading Vonnegut's novel, you know exactly why the movie's not funny -- because the comedy is not directly in the story Vonnegut tells (and which the film flatly portrays), but in his witty narrative, dry storytelling and biting commentary -- all of which is overwhemingly missing from the film.

But, back to the point, "The Secret Lives of Dentists" absolutely floored me. I became highly emotionally attached to it as the film played out -- which does not happen to me often. By half-way through the film, I knew that by the end it would be either one of my all-time-favorite films, or one of my all-time-least-favorite films, depending upon how honestly and carefully the story's protagonist was depicted.

Thankfully, I was not disappointed.

The film is a painful gem -- it is one of the only films ever to come out of Hollywood that "tells it like it really is" when it comes to the stress and balance and give-and-take of married life and raising children. And, *finally*, a movie that does *justice* to the common married man -- a movie that shows both his inner and outer struggles -- the demons and temptations he must battle on a daily basis -- to maintain an unclouded mind and remaining strong and steady for his children -- on top of dealing with mounting circumstantial evidence of spousal infidelity. It's just brilliant!

In an age where we have multiple cable channels dedicated to women (such as Lifetime and WE), in which most of their programming is dedicated to "bash men" content -- a vomitous continuation of celluloid tripe about cardboard victimized women and the bastardly men who ruin their lives and molest their children -- the movie "The Secret Lives of Dentists" is an outright Godsend! It's the movie that Adrian Lyne's "Unfaithful" had neither the honesty, nor the pragmatism, nor the soberness to be. Despite Unfaithful's excellent production, Richard Gere's character is nothing but a wooden stereotype of a husband, and its lush and erotically charged sex scenes celebrates the infidelity that the story supposedly means to decry. Diane Lane's character doesn't seem to feel a shred of guilt over her actual actions of infidelity as much as she is sorrowful over the disasterous consequences of "getting caught."

"The Secret Lives of Dentists" was all too painfully striking to me. But I like that. I like honest stories that cause me pain. I'm something of a masochist (not in the sexual sense) when it comes to movies and books. I love movies that honestly depict deep emotional suffering. I love movies that have the power to strike deep chords within my soul. The Secret Lives of Dentists is such a film.

I won't attempt to describe the movie's plot here, go elsewhere if you wish to know the general story details of this marvelous film. Just the dialog between the protagonist (played by the underrated Campbell Scott) and the personification of his "id" (played by Dennis Leary) immediately struck a loud and powerful chord deep within me. And the scenes of the protagonist's haunting, overactive, and inescapable imagination hit that chord so deftly.

That's all I wish to discuss on this film, but just by reading what I wrote you can get the idea of how strongly this film impacted me.