Pushing Hands (film)
- Bo Z. Wang: Alex Chu
- Deb Snyder: Martha Chu
- Sihung Lung: Mr. Chu
- Haan Lee: Jeremy Chu
- Lai Wang: Ms. Chen
Donating hands is the first feature-length film that coming from Taiwan U.S. American Ang Lee. He is the first part of the so-called Father - Knows - Best Trilogy of the director at the beginning of his career, Lee turned the early 1990s.
Action
The widowed Chinese Chu lives with his son Alex and his small family in the New York suburbs. The coexistence of the family turns out to be difficult. Alex's wife Martha is a writer with writer's block, she feels disturbed by the daily Tai Chi exercises the Old Man Chu. They can not communicate with each other, since no Chinese Martha and Mr. Chu does not speak English. Even with his son Alex, he can not do much. Only with his grandson and wife Chen, one originating from Taiwan widow, Mr. Chu understands well.
When Martha gets sick and then the tensions continue to increase, Mr. Chu decides to take her own apartment. This goes against his traditional views of family very much. A new job as a dishwasher developed for him a mean disaster, because he is often criticized by the Taiwanese owner of the premises. When it comes to a dispute and even the police must be switched on, Mr. Chu is sent to prison and in the local news.
Alex and his wife are appalled. But even now there is no real union of the family. The generations still separate the good: Mr. Chu taught again Tai Chi, and Martha begins to write a book about a Chinese immigrant family.
Formation
After completing his film studies in 1985 in New York Ang Lee was initially able to realize a project. He took care of at this time as a home for his family and wrote while, inter alia, several screenplays. Only in 1990 moved the ability to make a first film in reach. Lee won first and second prize in a screenplay competition of the Taiwanese Ministry of Culture for his two -written with James Schamus screenplays. One of them was the book for donating hands, the second was the screenplay for the upcoming film The Wedding Banquet.
The Central Motion Picture Corporation, the Taiwanese state subsidies for film, insisted on the film adaptation of the top-ranked book. With the prize money of U.S. $ 400,000 Lee shot the film in 1992 within 24 days. Locations were primarily homes of friends or family members in Lee's residence Westchester County in New York.
With this film, the decade-long collaboration with the Lee Cutter Tim Squyres and the producer and screenwriter James Schamus and the production company Good Machine starts (later Focus Features ). Even with the revered Taiwanese actor Lee Sihung Lung, who took over the role of the deposed patriarch, Lee worked in the following films in the trilogy together. In all three films Lung takes on the role of the ( deposed ) patriarch, who mastered a art to the championship. When donating hands it is the Tai Chi, which is echoed in the title, which is the name of a Tai Chi figure.
Reception
Donating hands was initially released only in Taiwan and got there much critical acclaim. While the film in Asia from the beginning was very popular, he won in the West only with the continued success of Lee's notoriety.
Criticism gave to the representations of the young couple Chu, which " lack of charisma" was assumed. In general, however, the reception was good. Isabell Gössele noted in her book on the cinema of Ang Lee summary of the film: " Even if one observes donating hands nor his debut character, the film is already leading the way and indicative of Lee's sensitive way of representing the feeling and thinking and living together of family members. "
Awards
In Taiwan, the film won three Golden Horse Awards, Awards of Taiwanese film production, one of them for the government. In the Asian - Pacific Slim Festival the first fruits of Lee in 1993 in Seoul, together with his second film won the award for the best film, The Wedding Banquet.