A good movie

Since this movie was the last one directed by Ang Lee that I hadn't watch so far, of course, I was really eager to watch the damned thing. Well, eventually, it turned out to be a decent watch but it was definitely not one of Lee's best movies and it was pretty obvious that it was a directing debut. Indeed, it was visually efficient but, not much more than that but the focus was on the characters and what they were going through and, fortunately, Lee managed to deliver something interesting in this area, focusing on the clash between Eastern and Western cultures and between the modern and traditional ways of life. Still, even in this area, the movie didn't always work as it felt rather unbalanced. Indeed, on one hand, the Chinese grandfather was portrayed as rather quirky and charismatic but, on the other hand, the American daughter-in-law was displayed as rather uptight and neurotic which was rather unfair in my opinion. Furthermore, from the moment that the grandfather left the house, the whole thing actually slightly fell apart with a rather ridiculous confrontation at a Chinese restaurant. Still, the core subject was quite interesting and it would be further developed in the next 2 great movies delivered by this director ('Xi yan' and 'Yin shi nan nu'), launching the international career of one of the most promising directors in the world. To conclude, in spite of its flaws, it was still pretty good and I think it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in Ang Lee's work.

7/10