Having had enough of Libertarian dystopias for a while, Sean and Cody are ready to zen out in late imperial China and break themselves emotionally with another Ang Lee-directed drama, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, a multinational Chinese-language production from 2000. When Green Destiny, the magic sword once owned by martial arts master Li Mu Bai (Chow Yun Fat) gets filched by a masked bandit who’s apparently secured an exemption from the laws of gravity, Li and security consultant Yu Shu Lien (Michelle Yeoh) go off to get it back. In the meantime, spoiled brat Jen (Zhang Ziyi) is still hopelessly stuck on her ex, the dashing Mongol bandit Dark Cloud (Chang Chen). These plots do come together, leaving not a dry eye in the house. Environmental issues discussed include hunting, frontier settlement and ethnic environmentalism in Qing Dynasty China and the lavish landscapes seen in this and other Chinese martial arts pictures.

Why are the Qing (Manchus) so crucial in the environmental history of Asia? What happened to all the tigers in China? What’s the deal with those funky hairstyles on all the men? What’s the difference between “Inner” and “Outer” Mongolia? Did the Chinese have a western frontier analogous to what existed in the United States? What does the title of this film mean? Why does the story of the author who wrote the book this film is based on sound like it would make a really great movie in its own right? Is this the saddest film we’ve ever done on the show? Is the world ready for Sexy Dr. Yueh? All these questions and more are dancing in the crowns of the bamboo forest in this deeply philosophical episode of Green Screen.

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000) on IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0190332/ Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000) on Letterboxd: https://letterboxd.com/film/crouching-tiger-hidden-dragon/

Next Movie Up: Lords of Dogtown (2005)

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