Movie Description
Mr. Chu (Sihung Lung) is a venerable tai chi master who moves from Beijing to New York, hoping to spend his last years in peace and comfort with his only son (Bo Z. Wang). There's just one problem--he just can't seem to get along with his son's caucasian wife (Deb Snyder), a nervous writer who misinterprets Chu's every move. Even Chu's expertise in the tai chi exercise of "pushing hands" can't help him achieve harmony and balance in his son's conflicted household.
PUSHING HANDS is Ang Lee's directorial debut and the first film in his Father Knows Best trilogy that explores the changing role of the Chinese father in the late 20th century. As with all the films in the trilogy, Lee's attention to domestic detail is superb; in just the first few minutes of the film, he establishes the contrasts between Chu and his daughter-in-law using only visual means. A funny, often heartrending look at cross-cultural and intergenerational miscommunication, PUSHING HANDS has all the comedy and pathos found in Lee's more famous films, THE WEDDING BANQUETand EAT DRINK MAN WOMAN. Lee based the film on the loneliness and isolation he felt after he first moved to the United States.
| Credits | | Producer: | Ang Lee, Emily Lu, James Schamus, Ted Hope | | Cast: | Deb Snyder, Haan Lee, Lai Wang |
Notes
Ang Lee wrote PUSHING HANDS to enter in a screenwriting competition sponsored by the Taiwanese government. Lee also submitted THE WEDDING BANQUET, which he wrote before PUSHING HANDS. PUSHING HANDS won, while THE WEDDING BANQUET took second prize. Taiwan's Central Motion Pictures provided $400,000 to make the winning film.
"When I sent those scripts, that was the lowest point of my life. We'd just had our second son, and when I went to collect them from hospital, I went to the bank to try and get some money to buy some diapers, the screen showed I've got $26 left."--Lee to the Guardian U.K.
Lee lived in White Plains, New York and felt the same loneliness and isolation that Chu feels in PUSHING HANDS.
Like the Chu family in PUSHING HANDS, Lee's family suffered much during the Communist Revolution. Both of Lee's grandfathers were killed because they were landowners., DVD Features:
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Editorial Reviews
"...It is a lovingly observed, nicely acted, human comedy with Lung emerging as the shrewd, witty delight he is in all three Lee films..."
Los Angeles Times - Kevin Thomas (06/16/1995)
"...What makes PUSHING HANDS more than the usual dysfunctional-family film is Lee's careful eye for keen characterization..."
Chicago Sun-Times - Lynn Voedisch (07/21/1995)
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