Written by: Ang Lee & James Schamus
Starring: Sihung Lung, Lai Wang, Bo Z. Wang, Deb Snyder, Haan Lee
Rating: [3.5/5]
Helping care for one’s parents once they reach an age where they can no longer fend for themselves serves as one of those full-circle moments in life where the former caregiver becomes the one needing the daily assistance. In American culture, it typically involves sending your loved one off to a facility that can take care of them around the clock. However, other cultures, such as the Chinese, believe in caring for one’s elders which sets up one of the several clashes occurring in the touching and emotionally effective Pushing Hands.
Emigrating over from Beijing, Mr. Chu (Sihung Lung) took the offer to live with his son Alex (Bo Z. Wang) along with his son’s wife Matha (Deb Snyder) and child. Struggling to acclimate to this new culture and a daughter-in-law he cannot communicate nor comprehend, he feels the isolation of his new circumstance causing tension in the household.
Managing so much within such a small feature, this debut by Ang Lee puts together a wonderfully poignant feature film digging at the importance of communication between individuals in more than just language but the comfort in addressing issues as they come up. As far as language, this comes as quite the obvious dilemma at the center of the feature. Mr. Chu cannot speak English nor can Martha speak Mandarin thus making any communication outside of physical gestures moot. Something quite difficult considering they both stay at home for the majority of the day and run into each other all of the time. They also have cultural differences in where each of them comes from making this lack of communication even more frustrating on both of their sides. Their only form of viable interaction goes through Alex, which evidently puts quite a strain on him.
Alex’s issue tackles the second form of communication where he does not express his feelings where he sits in a place of obligation meaning he feels he must take his father in as his culture demands but does not have the wherewithal to handle everything coming with it. He lets all of this build up to a dangerous degree, which certainly will not do anyone good. This situation puts him in such a conflict as he finds himself at this impasse, which the feature unveils what ultimately occurs in his pursuit of finding what works best for all parties involved.
These cultural clashes for Mr. Chu provide much of the humor this feature brings to the table in the way he interacts with other individuals outside of his household. As a T’ai chi ch’uan master, he applies his skills in teaching others and these sequences demonstrate his mastery in this technique. One particular scene that somehow defies reality really lays it all out in displaying his exceptional skill and demonstrates how he can possibly find his own niche in a new country where he cannot speak the language or even do the basics being so new to the area. When he does find a niche it makes it so much more impactful, especially when doing it outside of his son who already has enough on his plate.
Another feature and yet another example of how well Ang Lee succeeds in crafting these small intimate stories with fully realized characters. He manages to do it so proficiently in his very first feature because he has the talent to capture those breakdowns of human emotional moments that make such an impact down on a character level. With bare bones and simplicity on his side with this feature, he leans into the story and ensures each character receives the proper payoff and provides an emotionally resonant resolution that makes sense for all parties involved. He navigates these characters through this journey and allows them to grow, especially Mr. Chu in his struggle in finding a figurative home in this new country so foreign to him.
Very intimate and small on a production level but incredibly potent on an emotional one, Pushing Hands delivers quite the journey for a new resident of the United States. He must navigate the reality of the traditions of his culture while also trying to initiate something new in his life. Mr. Chu’s journey works on every level bringing us to a place where he can reflect on his own life and understand the plight of everyone around him. A stunning debut by Ang Lee and one still ranking highly in what he has crafted as a filmmaker.
Films with Josh 