Pushing Hands

1991 1h 45m ZH

👍

7.3

SOLID

★7.3TMDB · 93

DramaComedy

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Mr. Chu is an elderly widower who teaches tai chi chuan in Beijing. He moves to America to live with his son's family, but finds the cultural adjustment difficult. Since his daughter-in-law is a white woman who does not speak Chinese, Mr. Chu's son, Alex, must mediate.

“Some stories are better left unspoiled.”

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Cast

Lung Sihung
Mr. Chu
Wang Bozhao
Alex Chu
Deb Snyder
Martha Chu
Wang Lai
Mrs. Chen
Fanny De Luz
Linda
Haan Lee
Jeremy Chu
Wang Hung-Chang
Boss Huang
Jeanne Kuo Chang
New Cooking Teacher

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Ang Lee
Writers: James Schamus, Ang Lee
Languages: Mandarin, English
Countries: Taiwan, United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $0.4M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Earned back only 38% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

35 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: Mandarin, English.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: Taiwan, United States of America.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Ang Lee, shot by Jong Lin. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Tai-An Hsu. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Ang Lee shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Ang Lee directs. Jong Lin behind the camera. Tai-An Hsu scores. Ang Lee cuts. A commercial under-performer on release. Produced in Taiwan, United States of America. Dialogue in Mandarin, English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Shot for just $0.4M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
2Earned back only 38% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.
335 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
4Dialogue crosses 2 languages: Mandarin, English.
5International production across 2 countries: Taiwan, United States of America.
6Directed by Ang Lee, shot by Jong Lin. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
7Original score by Tai-An Hsu. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
8Editor Ang Lee shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
9Lung Sihung and Wang Bozhao and Deb Snyder carry the top of the cast.
10IMDB entry: tt0105652 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
11Only 93 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.
12Classified under 12 themes, including "martial arts", "culture clash", "chinatown", "tai chi".