Life on Earth: Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (Ang Lee; China/Taiwan, 2000)

Ang Lee’s soulful film stars Chow Yun Fat as a wise martial arts master who does battle with a fierce young female fighter (the exquisite Zhang Ziyi) after she steals his legendary sword. The movie takes the action form, which often attacks the screen with energy and movement, and creates a placid surface that offers a new perspective and a spirituality not normally found in these pictures. In terms of action nothing much takes place for the first 10 minutes. That’s so he can set up the incredibly complicated plot, which has as much romance, intrigue, free-wheeling action — and rousing silliness — as any five Hong Kong throw-down fests. This is no small feat, given the dizzying amount of exposition in these movies. Outrageous plot pile-ons certainly take place in “Tiger” — a practice as ritualistic as having a martial arts master and student square off against each other, also a part of the picture. Fans of the genre will giggle with delight over the canny way Lee handles the intersections, and audiences new to these films will shudder with excitement. Lee puts things together artfully and stages this movie like a comedy of manners; it could be “Sense and Sensibility” with a body count. — Elvis Mitchell, The New York Times