The Talent of Ang Lee

I have been a fan of Ang Lee's films, but I had never really paused to think what kind of director he is, until I saw "Lust Caution" for the second time.

Perhaps no film directors would like to be branded, just as actors do not like to be typecast. Still, I believe that each director has a certain talent that gets best leveraged in a specific category of films. No one is talented at everything, although often when people become successful, the most they want to do is to venture out into new horizons and prove to the world that they can do new things - which often leads to dismal failures. Perhaps that is why Margaret Mitchell did not write another book after "Gone With the Wind" and why Qian Zhongshu did not write another novel after "The Fortress".

My beloved Chinese director Zhang Yimou had a talent for portraying the repressed and ignored ordinary people struggling at the bottom of the Chinese society in the 20th century. He was absolutely phenomenal. When he decided to branch into other territories and eras with "Hero", "Curse of the Golden Flowers" and "House of Flying Daggers", he lost many of his admirers including myself.

Woody Allen in recent years has moved his movies out of New York to London, Paris and Barcelona, but he has remained in his comfort zone - i.e. relationships of neurotic intellectuals. Therefore, I love him still dearly!

Ang Lee has made such a wide range of films, in both Chinese and English. I do not love everyone of his films, but I love most of them. When I saw "Lust Caution" for the second time, it finally dawned on me where his talent lies. That also explains why some movies are better than others.

His talent is to portray viscerally - more so than anyone else - feelings of melancholy and regret, in either a tragedy or a comedy. "The Wedding Banquet" was a hilarious comedy, but it ended appropriately on a melancholy note. "Eat Drink Man Woman" was a comedy with many bitter-sweet moments. "Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon" showcases his talent at its very best. While the movie was full of actions and humor, the audience was drawn to the sense of loss felt by almost everyone in the movie. Even "Sense and Sensibility" ended with Marianne showing resignation and Willoughby showing regrets at the end, although the wedding revealed a happy bride in Marianne as expected.

Maybe that is why his movies feel so close and personal. When we experience melancholy or feel regrets, it is often a most private moment when we are most vulnerable.