Ang Lee

Pushing Hands Ang Lee

Having just moved from Beijing, elderly tai chi master Mr. Chu (Sihung Lung) struggles to adjust to life in New York, living with his Americanized son Alex (Ye-tong Wang). Chu immediately butts heads with his put-upon white daughter-in-law, Martha (Deb Snyder), a writer who seems to blame him for her own paralyzing inability to focus. But when Chu begins teaching tai chi at a local school, his desire to make a meaningful connection comes to fruition in the most unexpected of ways. Pushing Hands is the debut film from Oscar-winning director Ang Lee, forming the first chapter in his "Father Knows Best" trilogy, which depicts the tensions between the traditional Confucian values of the older generation and the realities of modern life.

Co-written by collaborator James Schamus, Pushing Hands was selected by the 1992 Berlin International Film Festival and won three Golden Horse Awards, paving the way for Lee's worldwide success with films such as Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Brokeback Mountain. Presented in a new 2K restoration.