Tradition in the Far East

"Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" is a movie that is a stunning, visual masterpiece. The story opens as the legendary swordsman Li Mu Bai (Chow Yun-Fat) travels to visit Yu Shu Lien (Michelle Yeoh). He's decided to give up his days as a warrior and he gives his sword, the Green Destiny, to Shu Lien. The legendary sword is eventually stolen by a masked figure, and Li Mu Bai & Shu Lien's frustrated romance becomes …

…the movie, tradition influences characters in accord of their behavior and situation. Ang Lee depicts this masterfully. Jen, a woman with a man's talent and ambition, is rejected by tradition. Both Jen and Lo, with their incompatible love, are also rejected. On the other hand, Mu Bai, a respected Wudan warrior, is accepted. Thus at the end of the picture, the rejected are revealed as the oppressed with the accepted being displayed as the empowered.