Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon was well received in this country, and was particularly appreciated for the balletic athleticism of the characters as they engaged in graceful martial arts movements. Many people particularly spoke of the “flying” as being very appealing. The film leads us gradually into a fantasy of flying, beginning with characters who take great, graceful leaps along rooftops, then launching themselves from the sides of buildings, like wrestlers diving from the ropes, and finally seeming to fly through the air or balance upon thin swaying branches.

The flying, which we see as being graceful and assured, takes a nasty turn at the film’s end when an adolescent girl dives off the side of a mountain, seemingly flying into the mist below. Her stated intention is not suicide. She is trying to gratify a wish promised by legend. “Anyone who dares to jump from the mountain, God will grant his wish.” According to the legend, a boy once jumped from a high mountain to gratify the wish to save his parents, who were ill. The girl, Jen, has just asked her lover, Lo, his wish. His answer, just before she leaps, is “to be back in the desert together again.” She dives off the mountain to return them to an earlier time of pleasure together. Continue reading Crouching Phallus, Hidden Mother