"The Oscar goes to...Ang Lee". Everyone should still vividly remember the scene when Tom Hanks announced the winner of the Best Director Award in the 78th annual Academy Awards. As Taiwanese, I'm so proud of him and I do hope that there will be more talented directors like Ang Lee in the world film industry.
"Brokeback Mountain" depicts the surpressed love bewteen two western gay cowboys in the U.S.. Undoubtedly, in many places, like China or Islamic countries, it's still a taboo, and that's why this film is still banned in many countries. Cowboys symbolize straight, hunky and brave men in American culture. This film did stir up a lot of criticism in the U.S.. And that's why it's on everybody's lips. I admire Ang Lee because he has the guts to shoot a controversial film in the States and tries to show the society how those two gay men struggle to strike a balance between true love and "normal life". It's not easy. I still remember what Ang Lee said in his acceptance speech. He said this move not only taught him so much about the love between gay men or women, but also showed him the greatness of true love. He also said when he was in Brokeback, he felt his family was always there with him. That's a metaphor about how love can bound people together desipte space and distance constraints. Especially when he said he was so grateful for all the cares from Taiwan, Hong Kong and China, it brougtht a tear to my eye. It showed how nice a person he is and that he never forgets his root. We need more people like him in our society.
Comparted to his sincerity and honesty, what China said or did cracks me up big time. Why? China banned Brokeback Mountain from playing in theaters. But when they learned that the Best Director Award went to Ang Lee this year, they said Ang Lee was the honor of Chinese people. It's so contradictory, isn't it? If he's really the honor of the Chinese community, why did they ban this movie in China? Maybe they will argue it's about the content of the movie and that doesn't have much to do with Ang Lee himself. However, don't forget who shot or dirceted the movie?
Plus, after Ang Lee became the first Asian Director who won the Best Director Award in the Academy Award, it seems that everybody in Taiwan wanted to "pull relationship" with him. That disgusts me. Just like what Ang Lee's brother said, "the society should give him a break".
No matter what, I'm so proud that Ang Lee won the award. And it shows how hard-working he has been for these years. Hopefully he can present more good movies in the near future.
Ang Lee rocks!
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