This is the first time when not only all user comments but also the IMDb.com's official plot summary misses the point completely.Well, as it's one fine oriental story, this is nothing to be terribly ashamed of. Let me help you a bit: Hint #1: Where is Ang Lee born? Yes, right - in Taiwan. So what? Ha, let me explain - can you name a country that Taiwanese people fear the most? Hai, you are right again - this is China. So don't expect too positive approach towards the People's Republic of China here.Hint #2: (As one comment already correctly mentioned it) the boy (and the monks) are Tibetans. What did Chinese do to Tibet in 1949-1950? They invaded an independent country and Tibet is occupied since then. What happened to unique Tibetan culture under Chinese rule? It was systematically destroyed. Not a good example for Taiwanese people..**** SPOILERS START *****The boy is "chosen for a strange ritual" :) I think we can be more precise now. What is the greatest ritual in Tibet? The finding of the next Dalai Lama, The Chosen One.**** SPOILERS END ***** Only one piece of this fine oriental mystery left unsolved - who are the bad guys, then? No, i can't tell you, i already wrote SPOILERS END above here.. :)I gave it 7 points out of 10, because it is impossible to join the commercial and oriental art. But Ang Lee's masterpiece gives us fine example how close we can get.

The car chase in the second "The Hire" short, is so choreographed that it's almost like the cars are dancing with each other! Really a must see for the fans of Eastern cinema.The cinematography and editing work better for the movie than was the case in the first "The Hire" short "Ambush" but it still is Ang Lee's directing that is the highlight of the movie. The story tries to be a bit more than just a car chase which was not really necessary but not really disturbing either. The ending is really fun!The music by Mychael Danna is a bit simple and kind of irritating at times and the action might not be as good as in other "The Hire" shorts but it still is on par with most of them, thanks to Ang Lee's directing!7/10http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/

I'm sure many others will say this as well, Beat the Devil was my favorite, but this isn't given enough credit. I disagreed with a comment I read about this film, so I felt I needed to give it what it deserves. The comment I am referring to discounted Lee as "making action to poetic". This was a bad thing to him, thats where I disagree. The car chase scene in this is genius, it IS like the cars are dancing. It's choreographed so well and makes you think of action in a whole new light. There is plenty of action directors you can go to if you want to see the same thing over and over. If you want something new and revolutionary in the action genre, watch this short film. I loved it, 8/10.

Second in the BMW series, this film is very different from the first BMW short by John Frankenheimer. Not as tightly structured as that film, but it has moments of poetry--particularly a balletic chase sequence. Final "Hulk" scene wraps the film up tidily.