If anyone is waiting for a movie introduction to foreign film, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon will not only acquaint viewers with the foreign film genre but also entice newcomers to explore it.

A general apprehension to foreign films is subtitles, specifically Crouching's Mandarin Chinese dialogue with English subtitles. Viewers may not want to "read" a movie, but Crouching's love/drama/ action plot envelops the audience and doesn't let go, making the subtitles only slightly distracting in the beginning and easily incorporated by the film's moving conclusion.

And because Crouching doesn't fit into one genre, it is easy to get caught up. The movie balances several small plots including warrior knight Li Mu Bai's (Chow Yun-Fat) inner turmoil between destiny and the life he wants to lead and the love story between Li and Yu Shu Lien (Michelle Yeoh). The main plot of the movie involves Li, Yu and Jen Yu (Zhang Ziyi), no relation to Yu Shu Lien. I can't elaborate more; any detail would give away the many mysteries, twists and turns of the plot. The ending is a surprise, and though I thought it was slightly confusing at first, the more I thought about it the more it seemed appropriate and the only ending that could work.

The acting is superb. Chow is well known for his portrayal as the King of Siam in Anna and the King and many will recognize Yeoh as the Bond girl from Tomorrow Never Dies. But both roles don't even give a glimpse into the actor's abilities. Because there isn't a lot of contact between Chow and Yeoh except when they are fighting, the actors have to convey their relationship through acting. Both accomplish this wonderfully; the minute the two are on screen you know there is a deep relationship between them. Zhang, a newcomer, does an excellent job as portraying a spoiled, arrogant girl — sweet one-minute, back-stabbing the next.

If the plot sounds like too much work, Crouching offers enough fight scenes to satiate even the most die-hard action fan. Luckily there are very few subtitles during many of the battles, it being hard to concentrate on anything else. Yuen Wo Ping, who choreographed The Matrix, has the actors fighting across rooftops, treetops and rivers mid-air. Actors scale walls and defy gravity, all the while exhibiting martial arts that can only be described as eye candy.

While it sounds like the movie is very busy and confusing, Lee juggles all of these aspects and makes a beautifully uncluttered movie. Those who know Lee from Eat Drink Man Woman, The Ice Storm and most recently Ride with the Devil will be surprised at his adeptness with the action scenes. Lee knows how to cater visually to the audience, panning into the fight scenes so the audience is right in the middle of kicks and punches and then panning out before the audience loses interest. Lee puts the audience's focus on the characters by filling each shot with the actors, focusing on the backgrounds and locations only when it doesn't take away from the story.

Though it is easy to say Crouching is a great movie, it is more appropriate to say it is a beautiful movie. It proves that film-making is not just a craft, but an art.