Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon

[trevelyan]

Out of curiosity, can anyone tell me what the ending of the film Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon actually signifies.. that suicide leap?

I think I understand that the chengyu is a reference to the women in the film, and particularly the character played by Zhang Ziyi. I picked up on the issues with the control over sexuality, with the battles over the comb, etc., but I'll be damned if I understand what the ending means and I guess this is as good a time as any to ask.

Anyone fill me in?

[xiaoxiajenny]

　“……一个任性纵情的女子，背叛家庭和姐姐在所不辞，大闹了聚星楼酒店，离家十万八千里远，沙漠里轰轰烈烈的恋爱，扬了名，闯荡了江湖，试过了所有想试而不能试的东西，包括八岁时就有了背叛碧眼狐狸的思想种子，在她还不知道自己这种性格在今天的人称之为边缘青年另类人生的那个年代，她为此该付出多大的代价。那种暗夜流过的眼泪，一定不比俞秀莲的少。因此在她心中想得最多的，在得到俞秀莲‘今后不管你干什么（爱谁？），一定要对得住自己的心 ’的教诲后，一定是忏悔，一定是对家庭的忏悔，是的，没错。你没看见小龙上得武当山来，凝望住心爱人的双眼，已经是淡淡的人，有什么比爱情更重要，你会想我一定很荒谬！不错，这就是李安的刻意表现，在他的一贯电影中，爱情在家庭里占很大比重，但反过来，家庭也可以大过爱情。

　　《Ｆｏｒｅｓｔ　Ｇｕｍｐ》（《阿甘正传》）里面，阿甘的女朋友詹妮一生四处去放荡，追随自己的生活，可是最后，还是回到了笨蛋阿甘的身边。看电影的人包括当时的我想，这是詹妮选择了爱情回来了。其实这是她对家庭，对她过去罪过的弥补。她曾经有过黑豹党的男朋友，他们的生活一定丰富多彩，充满激情，可是詹妮还是回来了，回到一个其实从思想和习惯上都不配的笨蛋阿甘身边。

　　于是即使内心纯洁认真执着的半天云，也不能挽回一颗想弥罪的心，章子怡轻轻一跳，选择了对过去，对家庭，对社会责任的回归。”

新浪网友：

　　《卧虎藏龙》的结尾，玉娇龙纵身从武当山崖跳下，投入茫茫云海，身边唯有罗小虎泪如雨下，据说在耶路撒冷电影节上，当影片放到这一片段时，观众席上可听见轻声抽泣，不少观众流泪满面。大概老外的脑筋都有点秀逗，镜头美则美矣，不过我想破脑壳也搞不清楚，她为什么要跳崖？

　　玉娇龙跳崖前曾叫罗小虎许个愿，罗小虎说希望玉娇龙能和自己一起回新疆，因为罗小虎曾经跟她讲过一个为了实现愿望而跳崖的传说故事，于是她就毫不犹豫地跳了下去，那么应该推断，她是为了实现这个愿望才跳下去的。然而当时的情况是父母已经管不住她了，而李慕白也已死了，看不出有任何可以阻止她实现愿望的迹象，她完全可以和罗小虎共赴新疆。而她却选择了跳崖，哪有这么实现愿望的？那么只能说，她并不是为了实现这个愿望而跳崖的。

　　从故事的情节来看，李慕白一直想收她为徒，最后为了救她而中毒身亡，也许玉骄龙被他的舍身取义所感动，为她从前的所做所为而忏悔，才决心随他而去，这种说法似乎有点道理。那么她应该是为李慕白而死的，但似乎相恋多年的俞秀莲更有资格“随他而去”。她都没选择死，哪会轮到玉骄龙。

　　这种死如果是合理的，我宁愿这样理解：人从一出生，就开始面临两大压力，家庭和社会。玉娇龙在这两大压力下，一直以自己的桀傲不驯来反叛抗争，父母要她和她所不喜欢的人结婚，她却和强盗头子罗小虎相恋并在迎娶的路上逃跑了。代表着中国社会传统仁义道德的李慕白，看她良心未泯，是可教之材，而多次要收她为徒，而在玉娇龙心目中，这无疑又是一次精神束缚。然而影片到最后，李慕白已死，早已行走江湖的她，也不存在来自家庭的压力。在失去这两大压力下的叛逆：”与罗小虎去新疆“对她似乎也没有从前的那种吸引力了，曾让她心动的行走江湖的自由已不再可以让她不顾一切，无逆可叛的境地让她不知所措。自由只有在束缚管制下才显出它的意义，而绝对的自由也并不是玉娇龙这个被传统中国文化养大的年轻人所想要的。那么她到底想要些什么呢？连她自己也不知道，最后只有选择投身茫茫云海。这是一种迷茫一种困惑一种万念俱灰。

　　有人会说，你不要那么直观地理解，玉娇龙跳崖并不是自杀，而是到达一种新的境界。什么境界？李安没说，我们也不知道。

[skylee]

There are different views ->

Many people were questioning the suicide of Jen at the end of the film- why she had to die. I believe that Jen knew that to honor Shu Lien and the promise Jen made to her, she had to kill herself because she set in motion (with the first theft of the sword) the events which led to Li Mu Bai's untimely death. It was her duty to close the circle of death that surrounded the Green Destiny.

source

At Wudan Mountain, Jen reunites with Lo. Here she realizes that, though she is with Lo, she is not happy. She remembers the story that Lo told her about the boy who jumped from the mountain to save his parents. In an attempt to find her happiness, Jen wishes that she were back in the desert with Lo and jumps from the mountain. This is not a suicide. Jen sees it as a way to find happiness not as a way to end despair. In the end, she will end up in the same place that the boy who jumped from the mountain ended up and this place is not death.

source

LXH to YJL: We have a legend. Anyone who dares to jump from the mountain, God will grant his wish. Long ago, a young man's parents were ill, so he jumped. He didn't die. He wasn't even hurt. He floated away, far away, never to return. He knew his wish had come true. If you believe, it will happen. The elders say, "A faithful heart makes wishes come true."

I have two reasons for why Jen jumped off the bridge. One's poetic, and one's not. The poetic one is that she believed the story that Lo told her, and she wanted to make her wishes come true...the other is that she couldn't live with what she had done and decided to commit suicide, which wasn't uncommon.

source

What about Jen's suicide, then? She rues the damage that her excess of masculinity has caused, but she is still unable to reconcile herself to femininity, particularly under the impetus of Shu Lien's injunction "whatever you do in this life, be true to yourself." Returning to Lo and assuming the role of a wife would not constitute being true to herself; and therefore she returns her comb to Lo, renouncing her feminine side, and throws herself off the mountain. In a way, we can regard Shu Lien's last words as a death sentence; having proved unable, twice, to kill Jen with a sword, she now does so with words.

source