SET in the glorious years of the Qing dynasty, the latest from arthouse supremo Ang Lee (director of Sense and Sensibility, The Ice Storm) focuses on the fates of two women fighters. Although their lives are intertwined, their fates will be different. Female warrior Yu Shu Lien (Yeoh), pursues a life of honour, decorum and justice, but in maintaining those priorities in her life she suffers the torment of unrequited love for legendary warrior Li Mu Bai (Chow Yun Fat).

The introduction of a Governess's daughter, Jen (Ziyi), has a dramatic bearing on the couple's future. Jen, who is an adept fighter like Yu in spite of her slight appearance, harbours a secret desire to escape from an arranged marriage to a man she does not love. The film builds to a crescendo as the secret outs.

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is a departure from Ang Lee's more recent films, although it's interesting that Lee likens it to one of his recent previous period dramas Sense and Sensibility. While in the past, martial arts movies have been preoccupied with ideas of loyalty and honour, Lee invigorates the genre with romance and emotion.

The film is arguably strongest in the romantic sequences it weaves between Jen and Lo in the middle part of the film. Jen and Yu are feisty females who are not afraid to dish out the martial arts as well as the men, in the same way that Carrie Ann Moss did in The Matrix.

Chow Yun Fat has a comparatively minor role, but is important in that in the Wuxia novels that inspired James Schamus's co-written screenplay, there is always the presence of a character like Li Mu Bai, who rights wrongs and remains truthful to his honour.

Filmed in various parts of China, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is blessed with some stunning locations. Lee, for instance, uses the Gobi Desert, a Summer Palace north of Cheng De, and the Taklamakan Plateau, to stage a decent story into which are planted some excellently-staged fight sequences that are reminiscent of those seen in The Matrix. This is not a surprise when one then finds that Yuen Wo Ping choreographed the fight sequences (he was given the same job in The Matrix).

Overall this epic, passionate and romantic tale should capture the imagination. The one qualification is that while the combat sequences may seem electric to some, at the same time they might be bewildering to others. What is undeniable is that Ang Lee has woven an engaging story of romance and adventure that remains true throughout to its Taoist influences.

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