Pushing Hands

1992 Ang Lee movie

Rating: 14/20

Plot: Conflicts arise between a family and the husband's Tai Chi master father.

The choice was to watch this movie--Ang Lee's very first film--or Ang Lee's new movie that has at least two Will Smiths in it. This has less scenes where characters punch other characters with motorcycles, but it does have one surprising action sequence. Me, I was just watching and distracting myself with thoughts of wearing nothing but Tai Chi shoes from now on.

Ok, I stopped writing this review and went to Amazon and ordered a pair of Tai Chi shoes. They were like 14 dollars, so I think this might be my thing now. If this works out, this could be the type of thing that changes my life. Wish me luck, friends.

This movie is a fine debut although the acting is suspect and the storytelling gets a little wacky after a strong start. Lee's best here when he tells the story visually, like in the beginning when he uses the structure of this house to tell you everything you need to know about the relationship between the old Tai Chi master character and his daughter-in-law, an author, without any dialogue at all. There's some really great visual storytelling early on.

Man, I'm really excited about these shoes.

Edit: I gave this an extra point because of the shoe thing.