Some people say that in his body lived an innocent teenager and a calm wise man.
Some people say that in the Chinese film and television circle, looking around, perhaps only he can bear these eight words: humble gentleman, gentle as jade.
He is one of the most prestigious Chinese directors of our time, having won 3 Academy Awards, 5 British Academy Film Awards, 4 Golden Globe Awards, 2 Venice Film Festival Golden Lion Awards and 2 Berlin Film Festival Golden Bear Awards.
With his works, he broke hollywood's nearly 100-year prejudice against foreign-American directors, and also broke the boundaries between Chinese and Western cultures; he made Westerners really feel the charm of Chinese martial arts, and also let Chinese name appear in the Oscar for the first time in the column of best foreign language film.
He has lived in the United States for more than 40 years, has always been a Chinese national, and he is a well-known film master, Ang Lee.
However, such a well-known director, who has cooked at home for 6 consecutive years, with children, and lived by the wife of a female doctor, once became the "soft rice man" in everyone's mouth, and even he himself laughed at himself: I am a useless person.
So, from a "cook" counterattack as a famous guide, what exactly did Ang Lee experience?
01
Born in Taiwan in 1954, Ang Lee's father, Lee Seung, was a well-known educator who served as principal of several primary and secondary schools, and had high hopes for his eldest son, Ang Lee.
The reason why Ang Lee is called Ang Lee is because the ship that his father came to Taiwan to take was called "Yong'an", so he gave his son this name and hoped that he would be safe and sound.
However, Ang Lee has not reassured his family since he was a child.
When he was a child, Ang Lee was frail and sick, and he almost died twice. Once he was pounced on by a mad dog and bitten on the cheek, he was mistaken for "dimples" by unsuspecting people. Another time, Ang Lee was rowing in the carp pond, and when he got up, he fell into the water and almost drowned.
In Ang Lee's impression, his father has always been very strict, he sees his father to kneel and pray, and the dialogue between father and son is always the father saying, he is listening.
When I was a child, my mother often took Ang Lee to the movie theater, and Ang Lee asked her mother: "Why do you always watch foreign movies?" ”
Mom said: "Foreign films are good, wait until you grow up, see if you can make better Chinese films." ”
The usual sentence was remembered by little Ang Lee. Soon, Ang Lee, who often watches movies, showed his talent for directing.
When I was in elementary school, Ang Lee's class had a cross-talk performance before the Saturday class meeting, which was Ang Lee's best play, and he also wrote and acted in many plays. In the third grade, Ang Lee also wrote a script to direct the performance of his classmates, and the boys did not want to play the girls, so he reversed the string himself and had a lot of fun.
After finishing the third grade, it was not so fun. At that time, the study was very strict, and all the students who had poor test scores in the class came out of the classroom to kneel in a row, and were slapped in turn, and after the beating, they had to bow and say: "Thank you teacher!" ”
The first time Ang Lee was slapped, the tears came out, and he felt that he could not live.
The sixth grade was even more serious, and students who scored less than 100 points were spanked by the teacher with rattan, and Ang Lee was beaten many times, causing him to have nightmares for many years and dream of "bamboo shoots fried meat shreds". Unexpectedly, this later became a common thing, and he was really not familiar with the main subjects in school, but he was deeply interested in art.
In high school, Ang Lee was still worried and scared every day, and his studies were not good, and he always avoided when he saw the principal's father at school.
When he graduated from the college entrance examination, when his father asked Ang Lee what major he planned to choose, Ang Lee said frankly: "I don't like it, I want to be a director." ”
Father and the others laughed and didn't take it seriously.
In the first year of the college entrance examination, Ang Lee fell by 6 points, and the next year he was nervous and almost fainted, and fell behind the list with only 1 point. Lee Seung is disappointed in Ang Lee, and the suffocating atmosphere of the home makes Ang Lee think that it is the end of the world.
On the day he learned of the results, Ang Lee disappeared, which frightened the family, and it was his brother who rode a bicycle for more than an hour to find him.
Since then, his father did not dare to force Ang Lee to enter the university.
Ang Lee as a student
02
Ang Lee, who has failed the list twice, chose the Art Film and Drama Department as he wished.
There, Ang Lee had an out-of-body feeling that life could have so many choices, rather than reading and taking exams in one and the same way.
Once, when my father went to the art college to visit Ang Lee, his eyes were full of unusually simple dormitories, and a few rats jumped up and down the pillars, and there were seven or eight beds in several square rooms.
His father couldn't help but cry, and he suggested that Ang Lee retake the university. Unexpectedly, the stubborn Ang Lee said firmly: "I think I belong here." ”
Father and son were silent, and neither of them spoke again.
Once when Ang Lee came home, his father saw that he was tanned and thin, and he couldn't help but scold: "What movie to shoot!" ”
Li An put down the chopsticks in his hand heavily, quickly walked into the room, and closed the door heavily.
The father looked desperate, he hoped that his son would be admitted to college, and his son would inherit his father's business in the future, but his son was actually reduced to doing a drama!
Later, his father directly urged Ang Lee to study abroad, get a degree, and become a professor of drama, and the literati always looked down on drama, and if he was a professor, he was decent.
However, Ang Lee is bent on the movie, and his father is no longer reluctant.
In the artistic atmosphere of the art college, Ang Lee has learned a lot of things, such as drama, film, writing, visual effects, etc., and he has also learned vocal music with Teacher Shen Xueyong, but only the film has persisted.
When Ang Lee was 18, he stumbled upon Bergman's Virgin Springs. According to his own account, the experience was "like having been stripped of virginity by a director."
At that time, Ang Lee secretly decided that he would definitely make movies in the future.
In her second year at art school, Ang Lee offered her father a camera. At that time, the camera was very expensive, and his father still bought it for him, which was the only support his father gave to his study of film.
Ang Lee used this camera to shoot "Saturday Afternoon's Laziness", expressing the frustration and struggle of the artist facing the gap between ideals and reality, and applied to enter the film department of New York University with this 18-minute short film.
Ang Lee and Bergman
03
Behind every successful man is a great woman, and Ang Lee is no exception, and the woman behind him is his hair-tie wife Lin Huijia.
Speaking of Lin Huijia, it can be said that she is a very fierce and fierce horn, and she has contributed to Ang Lee's success.
In 1978, Ang Lee and Lin Huijia, who were studying in the United States, met at a friend party, met a beautiful person, and soon entered a period of hot love.
Five years later, Ang Lee and Lam huijia had a simple wedding in the United States. When their parents from far away in Taiwan arrived, they realized that they had almost nothing to prepare, only a bed with big red sheets. The parents sat on the bed and accepted the new couple's prostrations. The big red sheet was later used as a prop for "The Wedding Feast".
At that time, Ang Lee's mother said to Lin Huijia with tears: "Our family really can't stand you, making the wedding so shabby." ”
Lin Huijia comforted: "Mom, don't be sad, as long as the two of us have a good relationship, we don't care about these superficial things." ”
Wedding photo of Ang Lee and Lin Huijia
After marriage, Lin Huijia was very financially strapped in order to support Ang Lee's career, and the most luxurious food in the family was a KFC meal.
In 1985, Ang Lee graduated with a master's degree, but he had neither a background nor a network of resources in the United States, and it was easy to talk about how easy it was to gain a foothold in the film industry!
As a result, Ang Lee lost his job as soon as he graduated, and occasionally went to help others shoot films, look at equipment, and edit things, but they did not do well. Once, Ang Lee helped others keep vigil at night to see the equipment, scared to death, afraid of being robbed. Later, he went to help people guard the periphery of the film, but was accused by an African woman of scolding: "Get out!" ”
In desperation, Ang Lee also did a lot of hard work, such as carrying sandbags and moving things, but there was no job he did for a long time.
Later, Ang Lee simply studied the script at home, read a lot, watched movies, and was responsible for cooking and doing housework, often too boring and in a daze, sometimes Lin Huijia would not be able to watch: "You are really bored to find something to do, don't be like a madman." ”
It is worth mentioning that after marriage, Lin Huijia gave birth to 2 sons. When the first child was born, the husband and wife were still separated, and Lin Huijia was very tough.
One night, lin Huijia felt that the amniotic fluid was broken, so she drove a car that was almost out of gas to the hospital. When the doctor asked her if she wanted to inform her husband, she replied with two words: "No." ”
It wasn't until the child had been born that Ang Lee was informed, and he felt very remorseful inside. Therefore, when Lin Huijia was the second eldest, Li An came back early to take care of her, but he was frequently driven away: "What are you doing here?" You can't help, you can't have a baby! ”
According to Ang Lee, the birth of both children made him feel that he had no sense of participation.
Since becoming a father, "cook" Ang Lee has one more job: with a baby.
Ang Lee and the eldest son
As a result, the burden of the family was all on Lin Huijia. While continuing her ph.D., she worked in the research institute, relying on a meager income to support her family, and Ang Lee waited at home with her son to wait until "the heroic hunter mother brought the prey home", and such a day was 6 years.
People around him couldn't watch it, some persuaded Ang Lee to find a job, some advised him to give up daydreaming about making movies, and his father Li Sheng wrote to scold him for "living like a man!" ”
My mother-in-law also advised him bitterly: "You cook so delicious, how about I invest in you to open a restaurant?" These words frightened Ang Lee into hiding in the room.
The mother-in-law looked at Lin Huijia, who had been tired and haggard for a long time, and said bitterly: "Do you really want to live with such a useless man for a lifetime?" Lin Huijia shed tears, but she still spoke for her husband: "He doesn't want to do this, it's not that he doesn't want to do things, but he has no place to play!" “
Of course, Lin Huijia can't hold on to the tough times, the most serious time she also thought about divorce, but she finally chose to support Ang Lee to pursue her dreams, even if the economy is tight, sometimes need parents to help, she has never forced Ang Lee to do what she does not like.
In 1990, Ang Lee began to secretly learn computers, thinking of finding a computer job in the future, which was discovered by Lin Huijia, who said to Ang Lee: "There are so many people who can use computers, not worse than you." Ann, don't forget your dreams! ”
In the same year, Ang Lee was invited by his friend Feng Yuanguang to write, and after only 2 months, Ang Lee was going crazy, and he simply felt that he was useless and could not do anything.
Ang Lee was interviewed
04
When he was addicted to the trough and could not extricate himself, he learned that the scripts he had written before, "Pushing Hand" and "Wedding Feast", won awards in Taiwan.
He was stunned, 6 years after graduation, and that was the only thing he had done successfully. After that, Ang Lee's life began to soar all the way.
At the end of that year, Ang Lee's script "Pusher" won the first place in the Taiwan competition for excellent scripts, and the second place in "Wedding Feast", and the two films received a total of 600,000 yuan in prize money.
The following year, Ang Lee personally directed "Push hand", and in order to save money, Ang Lee also let his son become a free actor. According to his recollection, at that time, his cary, there was only $43 left.
The film received nine nominations at the Golden Horse Awards, with actor Lang Xiong winning the Best Actor Award, Wang Lai winning best supporting actress, and Ang Lee winning the Special Jury Award.
Many viewers lined up long in order to see this movie on heavy rainy days, and the box office in Taipei alone was 18 million. Subsequently, "Pusher" also participated in more than thirty film festivals.
The success of the first film made Ang Lee feel for the first time: making a movie was a part of his life, and he would live like this in the future.
On the day of the award, Ang Lee and Chen Kaige, Wong Kar-wai, Zhang Guorong, etc. ate together, he felt that those meals were really delicious, thinking of Lin Huijia who was far away in the United States, but he couldn't eat them, and his heart was suddenly sad.
After returning home, Ang Lee often looked at the trophy in a daze, Lin Huijia couldn't look at it anymore, she hid all the trophies, and said to Ang Lee: "Don't forget your original intention!" She didn't want Ang Lee to get lost in Vanity Fair, and said: "No matter what award you win, the home is not on the set, you still have to do the housework!" “
A word awakened the dreamer, and from then on, Ang Lee looked down on the honor and devoted himself to filming.
In 1993, Ang Lee directed the movie "Wedding Banquet", which was his only film abroad, with only one shot and one line: "That is China's sexual repression for 5,000 years!" "This movie won the Berlin Academy Award!
Stills from "The Wedding Feast"
Even though Ang Lee had achieved some success, his father still advised him to change his career, but he was not moved.
In 2000, Ang Lee's "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" received 16 nominations, creating a "jianghu" world that shocked audiences around the world with a unique perspective, and the film won 8 awards such as best picture and best director. More importantly, this movie, let Westerners really feel the charm of Chinese martial arts, and it is also this movie that makes Chinese name appear in the Oscar for the first time in the column of the best foreign language film.
Stills from Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
In 2003, Ang Lee's "Hulk" was complained about by the audience: the plot design was awkward, the production standard was not high or low...
Ang Lee was very depressed, and even had plans to retire.
Unexpectedly, however, his father, who had always opposed him, encouraged him for the first time: "Try making another film." If not, you teach. ”
Ang Lee and father
05
In 2005, Ang Lee directed the filming of "Brokeback Mountain", in which he used a subtle and implicit way to give compassion to the love that broke through the same sex, and the final shirt made countless viewers cry.
Stills from Brokeback Mountain
In this film, Ang Lee won the Oscar for Best Director, Best Score, and Best Adapted Screenplay, and completely gained a foothold in Hollywood. When receiving the award, he mentioned that he choked up several times because he did not catch up with the last side of his father in Taiwan during the preparatory period of "Brokeback Mountain", and in these 20 years, his dialogue with his father did not exceed 100 sentences.
For him, the time to make up for it is comfort; the feedback that is too late is regret. The most painful thing in life is that the son wants to raise and the kiss is no longer there. Even if he didn't become what his father expected, he was enough to make his father proud.
In 2018, Ang Lee was awarded the Directors Guild of America Lifetime Honor Award, and in 2021, Ang Lee won the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 74th British Academy Film Awards (BAFTA). From "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon", "Brokeback Mountain", "Color Ring" to "The Fantasy Drift of the Young Pi", Ang Lee's film themes, whether it is ethics, martial arts, comedy or even science fiction, can be calmly controlled.
Over the years, Ang Lee has made huge films and bad films, as said in "Choose to Forgive": There is a kind of person who is a bird and will land, just to fly to the vast expanse again.
When he stepped on the podium and said the words "I have a tiger in my heart, smell the roses", perhaps what moved him was not the shining trophies and applause, but the pride of his parents, wives and children with his actions.
And the woman behind him, Lin Huijia, is still fierce. Once, Li An and Lin Huijia were touched by fans when they bought vegetables together, and the fans said: "Mrs. Li, you are so lucky, your husband is so famous and comes out to accompany you to buy vegetables!" ”
Unexpectedly, Lin Huijia smiled and said, "Are you mistaken, I took the time to come out and buy vegetables with him!" In fact, Lin Huijia really rarely does this kind of thing to buy vegetables.
When Ang Lee was asked what happiness was on the show, he replied seriously: "My wife smiled at me, and I was very satisfied and felt very happy." “
After interviewing Ang Lee, someone wrote the book "Ten Years of Film Dreams", and there is a sentence in the book that Ang Lee said: "Chinese say that husband and wife love, grace and love are inseparable." My wife is kind to me, and I am full of gratitude to my wife. ”
Some people say that there are two kinds of people in this world who are the most precious, one is a woman who accompanies men to live a hard life, and the other is a man who accompanies women to live a good life. Ang Lee and Lin Huijia are such people.
Over the years, Ang Lee has reached a peak that is difficult for any director in China to look back on, and his achievements are inseparable from his concentration, his father's expectations of him, and the woman behind him.