Some of why I love Ang Lee

[emeraldsedai]

I've just rewatched Ang Lee's Sense and Sensibility. It's one of my favorite movies, partly because of the juxtaposition of director and material, which is unexpectedly perfect. You wouldn't think that the Taiwanese director of Eat, Drink, Man, Woman would be a likely choice to direct a Jane Austen story, but Sense and Sensibility is all about

Comments

[emeraldsedai]

After I saw Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, I realized that the social mores reflected in Jane Austen and in Chinese legends have a lot in common. After I saw Brokeback Mountain I realized that throwing 1960s Western America into that mix was perfectly natural. Ang Lee is very good with "We mustn't".

[emeraldsedai]

I didn't know that about him. It explains a great deal, artistically, doesn't it?

Maybe art really does arise from envy. One could argue that Lee's movies are all about resolving that "mustn't" in one way or another, something he apparently was never able to do personally.

Of course, my glib, undereducated lit-crit skills could be pure BS. I think I'll put Brokeback back in my Netflix queue...

[roseambr]

Ahh, Jane Austin, how romantic. An era past. If you enjoyed that you might also enjoy the movie The Jane Austin Book Club (http://www.netflix.com/Movie/The_Jane_Austen_Book_Club/70074299?trkid=190393) It's light-weight but kind of entertaining. A book club forms to just discuss the Jane Austin books.

[emeraldsedai]

That sounds like fun! Thanks for the rec.

[silent_sensei]

I agree. It's a wonderful film!

I love the screencaps you chose!

[emeraldsedai]

Glad you enjoyed. I've listened to Ang Lee's commentary on the film, and it's very enlightening--helps you watch any of his movies and understand them better. He talks quite a bit about lone characters in landscapes, and strong diagonal lines, and his visual sense. It's good stuff!