Pushing Hands (ang lee movie)

[jun_erh]

I got this on VCD a few days ago ($7). It is muchbigger and better than "crouching tiger" in every way!! hahaha no just kidding, it's nothing like that other than the tai chi sorta connection. Couple things

1) the way tai chi is integrated into this film is actually realistic. Much moreso than any other martial arts movie in the sense that "pusing hands" is just the title of the film and the martial arts aren't the central focus. Sort of like how Lloyd Dobler was a kickboxing enthusiest in "say anything". It's not an action movie

2) the movie is somewhat sentimental, but it stays away from hallmark/ lifetime type drippiness via interesting and realistic plot twists.

3) There is a "combat tai chi" scene, but not at all in the way you would expect.

4) one downside: the american wife of the man's son is a complete and total *****. Just a one dimension western stereotype who has more in common with Godzilla than an actual person.

Overall I'd say it was a very good movie with shades of excellence and to it's credit, probably a more succint portrayal of tai chi type philosophies than Crouching Tiger.

[Ray Pina]

You got me. Do they have it at Blockbuster?

[jun_erh]

I doubt it. Not alot of crossover potential. Try local Chinatown or online

[Rockwood]

Haven't seen pushing hands, got to though. Ang Lee rules, I think his best one was Sense and Sensibility. He takes this uptight, very British comedy of manners and it ends up making a total mockery of itself, I was laughing my ass off! Then again I was heavily sedated so who knows? I kinda enjoy movies that mock British sense of manners and decorum, very easy target...

-JessO

PS Crouching Tiger/Hidden Dragon was pretty good too...

[bamboo_ leaf]

Saw it, interesting movie. The old gandpa was pretty cool.

[omarthefish]

Originally posted by jun_erh
I doubt it. Not alot of crossover potential. Try local Chinatown or online

Or since Evolution Fist is near LA he could get it from www.cinefilevideo.com. They're in LA and have pretty much everything or will order if for you if you pay in advance. I know for a fact that they have "Pushing Hands" in their Ang Lee section.

[Ray Pina]

I'm in Long Beach, NY

I'll check Chinatown on Fri. Thanks.

[Repulsive Monkey]

Its hardly surprising that its real push hands, especially as Ang Lee is a Tai Chi Practitioner.

[BigRedMountain]

A good movie with a few subtle integrations of everyday Tai Chi usage… like the way he caught the bowl (of salad?) that was dropped at the dinner table, or his agile response when his daughter-in-law nearly cracked him in the head with the cabinet door in the kitchen.
As much as I enjoyed the Tai Chi that was peppered throughout the film, I was somewhat saddened by its primary theme, a social commentary on how we (Westerners) tend to ignore the achievements and wisdom of our parents and grandparents.

I rented it at a place called “10,000 Movies” which was bought by “Blockbuster” shortly thereafter.
They promptly discarded their well-crafted “Foreign Films” section in favor of a larger “New Release” section.

The irony did not escape me.

[jun_erh]

eeeh. I don't know. I think their is a tendency tyowards communist sympathies in some "art" films. The same gangsters who fund action movies in Hong Kong also fund stuff like "ashes of time" so they can win cinema awards and be seen as more legitamate. and in Hong Kong they pretty much ONLY have "new releases". "old school" outside of the Bruce Lee stuff is primarily of western interest

[Sam Wiley]

Pushing Hands is a really awesome movie. I've seen a lot of films in the last few years that have been complete garbage, but Pushing Hands is NOT one of them. I've been looking for a copy of the movie for a while and can't find it anywhere local. I guess I'm just going to have to order it.

[jun_erh]

I was looking at reviews of it and found that amazon is selling a cruddy bootleg dvd version for 99 dollars!!! used!

this is the one I have

It's 4.99