Crouching Tiger

[Steven Spinali]

I, too, have noticed some laughter durimg Crouching Tiger, but
unfamiliarity with the conventions of HK film may fill in part of the
picture. I've seen the film twice now, and most of these reactions
seem to occur during the hyperbolic flying sequences. As a host for
the Today Show put it: "And all these people are flying around. What's
with that?" Anybody who has seen HK martial arts fantasies knows it's
a manifestation of the highest level skills. CDHD assumes you know
that. To someone coming in off the street, it's bound to seem funny or
strange...and I think the script's handling of the subject may be to
blame. (If some of early flying fu were preceded by the charaters
doing preliminary postures, the audience would have understood
immediately.) 

Contrast this wild action with the film's basic seriousness, and the
rather grave personalities of the heroes, and there's perhaps room for
audience surprise. 

(It should be noted that two sequences in particular are humorous by
intention: the fight with Chow Yun-Fat in the bamboo forest and the
young girl's decimation of the tea house.)