Ang Lee

After recently watching Brokeback Mountain (2005), Hulk (2003) and Life of Pi (2012), I noticed that these films both share the Corrigan approach genre. These films, as well as others he has made, all revolve around drama whether it is homosexuality, feminism or superhero. 

Brokeback Mountain deals with the secret relationship between two cowboys and their relationships (Corrigan 94). In the film, it does show dramatic tension between Heath Ledgers and Jake Gyllenhaal’s characters as they both love each secretly. Hulk that was made prior to Brokeback, almost had the same narrative and complexities (Dilley 141). There is tension between Bruce Banner doing research in the biomedical field. He is struggling to remember his past childhood. In Life of Pi there is strong tension between a young boy’s journey as he struggles with all the issues of despair and faith (Dilley 181). That same formula is applied to this film because the boy is trying to find a way to fit in with the rest of the world.

            His auteur style is very unique due to the fact he has made films that show his mix of incorporating the setting, visuals and frames (Dilley 2). Also, comparing his film environment to the world. In Hulk, I noticed that throughout the first half he explains the dangers of gamma radiation and how much of it could be dangerous, to then comparing it to scientific advancements in technology almost like a metaphor. Brokeback has many long shots of not just the two cowboys but the whole film is between them once they head back home to their families (Silbergeld 294), they still have that romantic relationship between them. Also, as you watch Life of Pi, it has a few long shots of the boy with the tiger out in the middle of the ocean. These scenes give you the idea of being alone and independent survival (Dilley 189-190). The styles he works with is common in most films.

            His style of formalism is very unique in his films due to long takes. When you look at Brokeback Mountain, there are many long shots of not just Heath Ledger’s and Jake Gyllenhaal’s character in the fields or relationship, but the livestock, hills and horses around them. This shot is in the film to show it as a metaphor between their relationships. This metaphor is: as they leave and go home to their families, they still have that connection. This is also seen in his earlier film, Hulk, towards the climax of the film most of it is all long shots of Hulk in the desert and abandoned village. This too is a metaphor because the relationship between Bruce Banner and his girlfriend. Ang Lee used this method before Brokeback. Later on, in his film Life of Pi, that same concept came into play when the main character, Pi Patel, is stranded in the middle of the ocean. There is a long shot of him in the ocean that gives that long-distance relationship of him being separated from his family. Also, it is a metaphor in shots of him early in the film because he is trying to find that long distance relationship with God throughout the first half of the movie.

            Most of his films he has made are very dramatic in a way, and he always shows that type of visual interpretation throughout his films. Also, having relationships between his characters almost relates to our real-life personal relationships. Also, his use of comparisons between real life to fiction is another aspect of his film. He has a way of utilizing most of the approaches in his films.

Works Cited

Corrigan, Timothy. A Short Guide to Writing About Film. Boston, Pearson, 2015.

Dilley, Whitney Crothers. Cinema of Ang Lee: The Other Side of the Screen. Place of publication not identified, Wallflower Press, 2015  

Lee, Ang, director. Brokeback Mountain. Focus Features, 2005

Lee, Ang, director. Hulk. Universal Pictures, 2003

Lee, Ang, director. Life of Pi. 20th Century Fox, 2012

Silbergeld, Jerome. “Ang Lee’s America, in Living Colour.” Journal of Chinese Cinemas, vol. 6, no. 3, Sept. 2012, pp. 283-297. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1386/jcc.6.3.283_1.