Pushing Hands

Pushing Hands

Directed by Ang Lee • 1991 • Taiwan, United States
Starring Sihung Lung, Wang Bozhao, Deb Snyder

Newly arrived 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 white daughter-in-law, Martha (Deb Snyder), a put-upon 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 warm, irresistible 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.

Pushing Hands
  • Pushing Hands

    Directed by Ang Lee • 1991 • Taiwan, United States
    Starring Sihung Lung, Wang Bozhao, Deb Snyder

    Newly arrived 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 wit...