From the director of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, The Wedding Banquet, and the imminent 2005 Oscar contender Brokeback Mountain, comes this charming Chinese food film entitled Yin shi nan nu, which literally translates to “eat, drink, sex.” With Ang Lee’s Eat Drink Man Woman, these essential ingredients of life serve as both a substitute for communication in the characters’ familial relationships and the crux of the storyline. By gracefully and colorfully blending the enriching traditions of food with the love and nostalgia of the father-daughter bond, Lee makes Eat Drink Man Woman a universally heartfelt and harmonious drama.
Every Sunday, father, widower, and master chef Tao Chu (Sihung Lung) slaves over the hot stove and cooks an extensive multiple-course-meal for himself and his three unappreciative daughters. Jia-Jen (Kuei-Mei-Yang), the oldest, is a chemistry teacher in her late twenties, and in between her lectures on valance electrons and orbitals, she chooses to look after her aging father, lament the loss of her former lover, and worship Jesus Christ as her loving savior. Jia-Chen (Chien-Lien Wu), the middle daughter, is a busy corporate executive for a major airline company. Jia-Ning (Yu-Wen Wang), the youngest of the three, is a cashier (at the local Wendy’s fast-food restaurant) who inadvertently steals her friend’s boyfriend.
At each of the Chu’s Sunday meals (or “torture rituals” as the three daughters label them), someone exclaims, “I have an announcement to make”. With these words, the words that follow initially appear detrimental to the very fabric of the family. When Jia-Chen explains that she is moving out, or when Jia-Jen and Jia-Ning discuss their wishes to marry, Master Chu realizes that just like his sense of taste, his girls are leaving him in his old-age. However, the actions that push the family farther apart ultimately bring them closer together.
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Article comments
1 - Nancy
This is an excellent film, & a must for those interested in Chinese culture as well as foodies. Ang Lee uses a select company of certain actors for almost all his films, and they work like the well-rehearsed ensemble that they are. Lee himself is the topping on the cake as a truly outstanding director, and all of his films are well worth watching, even if they're still in Chinese. Thanks for reviewing a really good film!