Taiwanese film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (
Yesterday's awards marked the first time a film from Asia has won the prestigious Oscar award for best foreign-language picture and is a major boost for Taiwan's film industry.
PHOTO: AFP
Although the film did not capture the two most coveted awards for best picture and best director -- those awards instead went to the film Gladiator and director Stephen Soderbergh -- director Ang Lee (李安) said he was pleased with the result.
"An Asian film has never taken the best foreign-language film [award] before. So we've won some credits for Taiwanese films," Lee said.
The first honor at the Oscar ceremony was given to Crouching Tiger's Tim Yip (葉錦添) from Hong Kong, for the Achievement in Art Direction Award. As Yip's name was announced, cheers erupted from Taiwan's representative group, which remained ecstatic throughout the four-hour awards ceremony.
The Shrine Auditorium where the event was held took on a distinctly Chinese atmosphere with many of Crouching Tiger's stars appearing in traditional Chinese dress. Michelle Yeoh (楊紫瓊), Zhang Ziyi (章子怡) and Cheng Pei-pei (鄭佩佩) all wore glamorous gowns -- with Zhang turning heads in her revealing chi-pao dress.
Yeoh wore a black and gold embroidered dress and presented an award for visual effects along with Chow Yun-fat (周潤發) of Hong Kong, who starred as the heroic swordsman in Crouching Tiger.
Pop singer Coco Lee (李玟) sang Crouching Tiger's theme song, A Love Before Time, marking the first time a Taiwanese singer has performed at the Oscars. She appeared in a shiny red Chinese dress, while onstage three dancers in costumes from the film went through choreographed martial arts maneuvers. The song was nominated for best original song.
Peter Pau (
"This is an honor for the Chinese people. Thank you!" Pau said.
However, the climax for Taiwan's representative group came when French actress Juliette Binoche announced the winner for the Best Foreign-language Film Award.
"The Oscar goes to ... Taiwan! Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," she shouted, bringing Ang Lee and his entourage, including his producer Hsu Li-kong (徐立功), to their feet.
"Thanks to my friends and family in Taiwan, my collaborators in Hong Kong and those who helped us in making this movie in China," Lee said, accepting the award.
Speaking before the ceremony, Lee said Crouching Tiger had cracked the shell of the US film market for Asian films. "Tiger has opened a door for Asian movies for wider acceptance. It will make it easier for Asian films to enter Hollywood and be recognized in major film awards," he said.
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