Wang Hui-Ling on AllMovie

One can rest fairly assured that when discussing or reading a review of a film scripted by Wang Hui Ling certain adjectives are bound to surface repeatedly. "Mesmerizing," "provocative," "tragic" -- these words are frequently and abundantly used to describe the films penned by two-time Ang Lee collaborator Ling. A talented writer often associated with films of romantic and warm-hearted sentiment, Ling retains the unique ability to paint characters and situations that draw out the emotions of the viewer without resorting to sappy melodrama or worn clichés. Ling's first screenplay, and initial collaboration with director Lee, was the successful culinary relationship comedy Eat Drink Man Woman, for which Ling was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award. Ling followed the success of Eat Drink Man Woman with another Lee-helmed film, the phenomenally successful Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. A lush, grand-scale romantic epic that quickly became the most successful foreign-language film ever released stateside, Ling's talent for romance, combined with Lee's eye for breathtaking action sequences, thrilled international audiences, earning Ling an Oscar nomination (along with co-screenplay writers James Schamus and Kuo Jung Tsai). Ling followed the success of Crouching Tiger by penning the screenplay for another tragic romance, Fleeing by Night (2000).