Among all the film directors, Ang Lee is my favorite. Not only was he born in Taiwan just like I was, but also because the tender feelings of his movies, like a gentle breeze drifting through my heart, made me feel the warmth of life. Ang Lee’s dreams for movies and struggles for life touch me deeply.
Here, I want to sketch Ang Lee first. He has a square face and a bulbous nose. He always seems to wear a shy and tender smile. When he speaks, his voice is pleasant, soft, and gentle. Especially when he talks about the movies, his voice is animated and lively, and his eyes are radiant with dreams and passions for film, which inspire others and touch the hearts of many people.
Ang Lee has earned critical acclaim during his career. He has won two Best Director of Academy Awards for Brokeback Mountain and Life of Pi, which are his best-known movies around the globe. However, here I want to introduce his early film, Pushing Hands. The reason I chose this movie to discuss is that the language of this movie is Mandarin Chinese; when non-Mandarin Chinese speakers watch this movie with subtitles, this may lead to some loss in translation, or maybe because of the barrier of language, this movie is not as popular as Brokeback Mountain and Life of Pi.
Pushing Hands is the debut movie of Ang Lee, which is popular and sincere. We could say that this movie is the keynote, the prototype of Ang Lee’s movies. Many movie critics describe the first three movies of Ang Lee, including Pushing Hands, The Wedding Banquet, and Eat Drink Man Woman, as the “Father Knows Best” trilogy. The main theme of Pushing Hands is the relationship between father and son, a theme that is fundamental and universal in human societies. In this movie, we can see the contrast between traditional Chinese and modern Western families, as well as the tension between father and son, a tension that many of us can relate to.
In Pushing Hands, we can see this kind of tension between the traditional generation and their children. At the beginning of this movie, Mr. Chu immigrates to America to live with his son Alex and his family. However, Chu does not speak English, and his American daughter-in-law Martha does not speak Mandarin, making mutual communication difficult. In addition, their lifestyles and value systems are quite different from each other. Therefore, tensions between Chu and Martha escalate inevitably. All these conflicts tear his son Alex up and cause him to fall into torment. Conflicts lead to an unhappy ending, but this is the real life we must accept and compromise. As the story unfolds, Mr. Chu realizes that his son cannot live with him to keep his family in harmony, and Mr. Chu also refuses to live with his son because he does not want to become a burden; eventually, he moves out to a small apartment in the downtown area, having his own life. Alex regrets this because he cannot fulfill his filial duties to his father. Mr. Chu only replies to his son, “It’s OK, no big deal.” Although no one meant to hurt anyone else, especially the one we love most. Life is not what we expected, and we still must deal with this and endure more. Life is not as easy as we thought before.
There is no argument that Mr. Chu loves his son and hopes the best for him; Alex also loves his father, and he wants to respect and honor his father. Nevertheless, sometimes two people who love each other do not always get along well with each other. This experience comes from Ang Lee’s life, just like Mr. Chu and his son Alex in this movie. He wants to respect and honor his father and show gratitude for what his parents have done for him. However, his father was the high school principal, and his expectations for Ang Lee were high; he hoped that Ang Lee would have a bright future and successful life, but he despised the plays, movies, performances, and other forms of entertainment. Because in traditional values, those who work in the entertainment industry are people of low social status. In his father’s view, making a living by amusing people is not a serious job. On the contrary, dramas, plays, and movies are Ang Lee’s favorite. As a result, in his real life, he suffers from his father’s expectations, facing the dilemma of whether he should obey his father or follow his heart and do what feels right to him. To his father’s disappointment, Ang Lee chooses to pursue a career in drama, arts, and movies, which is against his father’s wishes.
Instead of following the ordinary path and living a normal life, Ang Lee pursued his career in movies. He believes in the beauty of his dreams and has the courage without regret to pursue them. The story of Ang Lee’s life deeply touches me and inspires me. It reminds us that sometimes you really cannot listen to what anybody else says; you have to listen inside and follow your heart. The greatest pain in life is not failure itself but failing to experience the life you have always wanted to experience and giving up on becoming the person you have always wanted to be. Ang Lee’s story is a powerful reminder of the importance of self-discovery and following one’s heart.
