Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is a film of breathtaking beauty, power, and mystery. The cast includes: Chow Yun Fat (as Li Mu Bai), Michelle Yeoh (Shu Lien), Zhang Zi Yi (Jen), Chang Chen (Lo), Cheng Pei Pei (Jade Fox), Lung Sihung (as Sir Te), and Gao Xian (as Bo).

The screenplay was written by Wang Hui Ling, James Schamus, and Tsai Kuo Jung, based on the novel by Wang Du Lu. The cinematography was directed by Peter Pau. The action choreography was by Yuen Wo Ping. Music for the film was composed by Tan Dun. The producers of the film were Bill Kong, Hsu Li Kong, and Ang Lee. The executive producers were James Schamus and David Linde. The film was directed by Ang Lee.

The film won Academy Awards for: Best Foreign Language Film, Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography, and Best Original Score.

As the film begins, Li Mu Bai (Chow Yun Fat) arrives at the Yuan Security Compound, to visit his close friend Shu Lien (Michelle Yeoh). Li Mu Bai is a famous swordsman and warrior, who has been in meditation-training at Wudan Mountain. But he could not complete his meditation, because of his need to visit Shu Lien. They have a deep bond of devotion to each other.

Li Mu Bai asks Shu Lien to deliver his trusted sword to an old friend, Sir Te. The sword is called The Green Destiny. It is 400 years old, and has a legendary reputation. The sword’s blade is engraved, and gives off a beautiful glow in the dark.

Li Mu Bai believes that it is time for him to retire from his life as a warrior. This is why he is giving up The Green Destiny. Shu Lien asks him to accompany her to Peking, but Li says that he must visit his master’s grave. Li’s master had been murdered by a notorious criminal named Jade Fox. Li wants to avenge his master’s death.

Shu Lien travels to Peking, and delivers The Green Destiny to Sir Te, but Sir Te says that he will not accept the sword as a gift, because he has such deep respect for Li Mu Bai. Sir Te says that, instead, he will act as the sword’s custodian.

Sir Te tells Shu Lien that he realizes that Li Mu Bai and Shu Lien are in love. Li and Shu Lien have never admitted to each other that they are in love. Sir Te encourages Shu Lien to admit her love for Li Mu Bai, and to accept her feelings.

That evening, at Sir Te’s house, Shu Lien meets Jen, the daughter of Governor Yu. Jen (Zhang Zi Yi) is staying as a guest for the night.

Jen is a beautiful, teen-aged girl. Shu Lien shows her The Green Destiny. Jen is fascinated by the beauty of the sword.

Jen learns that Shu Lien is a sword fighter. Jen longs for the freedom of the life of a fighter, but Shu Lien explains to her that warriors must also live by rules of friendship, trust, and integrity.

That night, a masked thief steals The Green Destiny. The thief has amazing agility, and has incredible fighting skills. The thief is able to leap up walls, and dash over rooftops, defying gravity.

Shu Lien attempts to stop the thief. They have a hand-to-hand combat, leaping over walls, and flying over rooftops. Another masked intruder on a rooftop fires a dart at Shu Lien, which she traps between her fingers. The intruder helps the thief to escape with The Green Destiny.

The next day, Bo, who is Sir Te’s chief security officer, says that the thief was seen taking refuge in the house of Governor Yu. Shu Lien goes to visit Jen at the Yu compound.

Shu Lien and Jen are now friends, and agree to treat each other like sisters. However, Jen’s governess dislikes Shu Lien, and tries to keep Jen from seeing Shu Lien.

Shu Lien reveals that she was once engaged to be married to a man named Meng Si Zhao, who was a sworn brother to Li Mu Bai. Meng was killed in battle by an enemy of Li Mu Bai, and afterward Shu Lien and Li Mu Bai felt that they must honor Meng’s memory. Li and Shu Lien grew to love each other, but they felt that they could never marry.

Later that day, Li Mu Bai arrives, and that night meets Jade Fox in combat. Jade Fox is a female criminal, whose face resembles that of the governess at the Yu compound. Jade Fox escapes, after killing a policeman who has been trying to track her down.

The next day, Shu Lien again visits the Yu compound, and discovers that Jen is the thief who has stolen The Green Destiny.

That night, Jen attempts to sneak into Sir Te’s house, to return the sword to its rightful owner. Jen is again masked as a thief, and displays incredible speed and agility. But she is confronted by Li Mu Bai. She tries to escape, and he chases her.

They run through the night, flying over rooftops, but Jen cannot escape. Li tells her that she has the potential to be a Wudan fighter, but that she needs further training. He offers to be her teacher. Li recaptures The Green Destiny, but Jen resists, and fights him with her own sword. Li again offers to teach her to fight, with The Green Destiny as her own weapon, but she refuses, and he lets her escape.

Jen has become the disciple of Jade Fox, who has been hiding under the guise of a new identity as her governess at the Yu compound. Fox had shown Jen the Wudan manual, but is now disappointed to learn that Jen has surpassed her in fighting skills. Fox is resentful that Jen had concealed the discovery of how to decipher the diagrams in the Wudan manual.

There is a long flashback sequence, which takes place in the Gobi Desert. It is is revealed that Jen had previously fallen in love with a desert bandit named Lo (Chang Chen), also known as Dark Cloud.

Lo had once told Jen of the legend that anyone who jumps from a mountain will be granted his or her wish. According to the legend, a young man’s parents had been ill, so the young man had jumped from the mountain. The young man did not die, but had floated away, never to be seen again. Lo tells Jen, “A faithful heart makes wishes come true.”

After the flashback, Lo has returned from the desert, and has sneaked into Jen’s bedroom. They exchange a few words, before he has to leave.

Jen’s parents have arranged for her to marry Gou Jun Pei, a young man whom she does not love, and Lo tries to stop the wedding, but is almost captured.

Jen later runs away from her wedding chamber. She again steals The Green Destiny. She leaves to pursue the life of a warrior. She disguises herself as a man, and shows amazing fighting skills, defeating anyone who dares to oppose her.

Jen comes back later to visit Shu Lien, but refuses to surrender The Green Destiny, and they engage in armed combat. Li Mu Bai arrives, and Jen leaps away, soaring up to the rooftop, and then flying over a lake, into a forest of bamboo trees.

Li follows her, and Jen cannot escape. They fight with swords, as they float on the swaying branches of the bamboo trees. He recaptures The Green Destiny, but she still refuses to accept him as her teacher, and he throws the sword over the edge of a waterfall. She dives in after it, and almost drowns, but is rescued by Jade Fox, who carries her away.

Jade Fox takes Jen to a cave, but drugs her, and then leaves. Jen is rescued by Li Mu Bai. Shu Lien and Bo arrive at the cave. Jade Fox returns, and fires a barrage of darts at Li Mu Bai, and at Shu Lien. Li Mu Bai fends off the darts with his sword, before he kills Jade Fox.

However, a single poison dart finds its mark in the left side of Li’s neck. Jen says that there is an antidote for the poison, and runs back to the Yuan compound to obtain the necessary drugs. But Li Mu Bai is not able to stay alive until Jen is able to return. He slowly dies, while Shu Lien holds him in her arms. With his last breath, he tells Shu Lien that he loves her.

Jen returns too late with the antidote, and feels guilty about Li’s death. She goes to Wudan Mountain, where she meets Lo, who was previously sent there by Li Mu Bai. Jen reminds Lo that “A faithful heart makes wishes come true.” Then, she suddenly leaps from the edge of the mountain. She drifts downward through the sky, and disappears in the clouds.

The ending of the tale is a mystery: does Jen lose her life after her descent through the clouds of Wudan Mountain? Does her soul, with that of Li Mu Bai, merge with eternity? Does she return from the clouds, to continue her life, and to find happiness with Lo? The mystery of the ending gives the film a greater impact and power.

A major theme of the film is the importance of being faithful to personal integrity and friendship. Jen is able to learn the nature of true friendship from Shu Lien and Li Mu Bai. Jade Fox is a false friend to Jen.

Important symbols in the film include: The Green Destiny, Wudan Mountain, and the Desert.

Highlights of the film include: the moving performance of Michelle Yeoh as Shu Lien; the powerful performance of Chow Yun Fat as Li Mu Bai; the masterful choreography of the martial-arts scenes, the amazing fight scene in the bamboo trees; the spectacular setting of the Gobi Desert in the long flashback section of the film; the beautiful photography of Peter Pau; the poetic themes and dialogue of the screenplay by Wang Hui Ling, James Schamus, and Tsai Kuo Jung; and the brilliant, flexible, balanced, and elegant direction by Ang Lee.