The 101 Action Movies brings me a chance to revisit the beautiful and action-filled epic from Ang Lee, which one the Best Foreign Language Film at the Oscars that year, as well as Art Direction, Cinematography and Score.

This is a gorgeous film, with fantastic martial arts, sword and wire work all overseen by Yuen Woo-Ping. The story centers around a sword, the Green Destiny, and two well-crafted and emotional love stories.

Zhang Ziyi plays is Jen Yu, a young aristocrat who, confined by the social structure of the time, is being forced into an arranged marriage, despite the fact that she is in love with Lo (Chen Chang), a desert-dwelling ruffian. She also masquerades during the night as a bit of a villain, under the guidance of the Jade Fox (Cheng Pei-Pei), and steals the Green Destiny.

The sword belongs to Master Li Mu Bai (Chow Yun-Fat). He and his dear friend, Yu Shu Lien (Michelle Yeoh) travelled far and wide together, sharing many adventures, and have fallen in love with each other, but social rules prevent them from expressing themselves as well, despite that everyone around them is well aware of how they feel about one another.

When the sword is stolen, and they learn that their old nemesis the Jade Fox had a hand in it, the set off to find Jen, reunite her with Lo, stop the Jade Fox, and maybe even admit how they feel about one another.

The film is stocked with action sequences, dizzying and amazing, as they leap across rooftops, through the branches of a forest, or a tea house.

Jen and Lien have the lion’s share of the action sequences, and the speed, beauty and grace with which they move through the perfectly choreographed fights is nothing short of stunning. This is isn’t the flying fists and bullet filled action flicks that populate most of the genre, this one fires on the imagination, literally defying gravity as the characters glide about, dueling and fighting for their individual freedoms.

Having one 4 Oscars, it comes as no surprise that the film looks amazing, the vistas on the screen are epic, whether forest, mountaintops or deserts, the action and story always has an amazing backdrop, wonderfully underscored by the musical compositions of Tan Dun, featuring cello work by Yo-Yo Ma.

Ang Lee has directed some beautiful films, most recently the adaptation of Life of Pi, but this one, I believe will always be my favorite. It’s action-filled, weaves a beautiful tale, has a romantic heart, and a fantastic cast.

I hadn’t watched this one in easily the better part of a decade, and settling in to watch it, I found myself wrapped up in it, as much as I was the first time I saw it.

The visual storytelling, the top-notch acting, the fight sequences – this to me is a perfect starting point for someone who is looking to get into martial arts films, it worked for me.

Have you seen this one?

What is your favorite Ang Lee movie?