The theme of masks becomes the major theme lifted from the source material. It's an effective bridge of Western (Greek) and Eastern philosophies and it helps lead us through the major events of Act Two of the film, namely the coronation and the play-within-a-play. The masks in the films are mainly white and frozen in a neutral gaze. The first good look we get at the Prince is when he removes his mask when reuniting with the Empress. The warmth of his face shows the deep love he has for her. Later, the Prince explains to the Empress that without a mask, emotions are just on the surface of the face. With a mask, the deeper feelings below the surface can come out through the actions of the body.

The Third Act brings all the story lines back together for The Banquet. The Prince returns in a mask, almost like the ghost of his father in Hamlet to watch the dramatic events. Among the tragic events, we are reminded of a quote earlier in the film that a broken heart is more powerful than any poison. The best shot of the movie is here as the camera flies above Ziyi Zhang with her brilliantly red dress splayed in the shape of a broken heart.

The most interesting decision made in this production is also what moves it into such lofty company as Kurosawa's adaptation of King Lear, Ran. Hamlet can be read on many levels. It's a political play, a religious play, a philosophical play ("to be or not to be"), and more. By changing the character of Gertrude, the movie was able to condense and lose many of the subplots without the feeling that there was anything missing. Gertrude is Hamlet's mother in the play. By making the Empress a step-mother and a former love interest, she becomes the de facto focus of the movie. Ziyi Zhang's battle for power and the mask she wears regarding her love for the Prince became the main focus of the story.

The tragedy is not just that of the Prince. The female characters of the Empress and Qing (the Ophelia character) are at the center of this film. They are the ones making the important decisions that drive the plot. Their conflict is shown directly, unlike that of the Prince and the Emperor. There just aren't subversively feminist films like this being made in the U.S.

Like the best tragedies, the plot here seems simple on the surface, but below the masks, there's more complex ideas. If this is the type of offspring that Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon has spawned, I'm more than happy to wait two years between such beautiful, thought-provoking films.