Cheap Eat Drink Man Woman (Video) (Sihung Lung, Kuei-Mei Yang) (Ang Lee) Price

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Customer Reviews of Eat Drink Man Woman

Infinitely charming!
This movie is a small masterpiece! Set in contemporary Taipei, it tells the story of old Mr Chu who is being plagued by two worrying facts: Firstly, he is losing his sense of taste, a rather irksome discovery considering that Mr Chu is Taipei's most famous chef, and secondly the Sunday family dinners together with his three daughters are more and more turning into embarrassing clashes of different opinions and philosophies of life. In the course of the movie the lives of all the characters involved change significantly and the family dinners serve as occasions to announce the most surprising developments, but in the end the situation has stabilized and everybody seems to feel at ease again.

What makes this movie particularly endearing is the easiness with which occurrences of the utmost importance in life are made the subject of discussion: Whether it is love, pregnancy or death, the topic is always treated with great delicacy and with a somewhat compassionate look at the twists of fate, and in passing one gets introduced to the wonders of the Taiwanese cuisine. As is the case with every movie, "Eat Drink Man Woman" is best watched in the original version - which does not cause any problems as the subtitles are easy to follow and the outstanding actresses and actors admirably succeed in expressing their emotions. In short, this is a subtle and most charming movie, one of the kind that, sadly enough, are made all but very rarely.

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Tantalizing Cuisine and Family Drama in Taiwan
Sunday dinner at master chef Chu's home resembles a spectacular banquet you would only expect at a gourmet restaurant. He works tirelessly to prepare a feast for his daughters who hardly seem to appreciate his culinary skills.

Jia-Jen (Kuei-Mei-Yang) is a chemistry teacher who has discovered Christianity, Jia-Chen (Chien-Lien Wu), is an airline executive who is in love with a man who will never marry her and Jia-Ning (Yu-Wen Wang) has her eye on a friend?s boyfriend.

The basic plot centers around a father who is not only trying to find a new life but is watching all his daughters leave and start their own lives.

Indirectly we also learn a great deal about men through the relationships the daughters pursue. We have a man who is living the bachelor lifestyle, a naive lover who is just learning about the games women play and a man who is willing to change religions to get the girl of his dreams.

This movie is deliciously dramatic with some deeply religious themes. I was pleasantly surprised with the light humor which was not at all offensive. You also see three lifestyles presented by the daughters showing how they each deal with their libidinous whims. The most unexpected twists and turns appear, making the plot entirely entertaining.

While chef Chu finds ways to show his love to his daughters, he is especially estranged from one of his daughters who only communicates with him through criticism of his food. There is a scene later in the movie which shows the father using this same tactic to communicate his love to his daughter.

Some of the comedy is all in the facial expressions. I especially loved the part where chef Chu is trying to eat the inedible lunch and where the children in his adopted granddaughter's classroom are all placing orders for lunch. As a woman, I could not help laughing when he pulls out the nylons and bras all tied up together in the washer.

I?m always complaining about the lack of chef themes in movies. If you are hungry for movies with cooking themes, add this movie to your must-see menu. You almost have to watch this movie twice. Once with the subtitles and the second time just to view all the tantalizing dishes master chef Chu (Sihung Lung) prepares.

This movie reminded me of "The Scent of Green Papaya" (1994). However, "Eat Drink Man Woman" excels in the presentation of the cuisine, while "The Scent of Green Papaya" was more poetic in its presentation. This movie is a visual feast. All I want to know now is where is the cookbook so I can learn how to make that dragon?

Playful romance, creative cuisine, deep rivers of emotional drama and original comedy are the ingredients that make this movie a satisfying feast for the heart and soul.

Three words to take Very Seriously "before" watching this movie: Order Chinese Food!

Don't say we didn't warn you. ;)

Also look for: Babette's Feast, Like Water for Chocolate, Simply Irresistible and Chocolat.

~TheRebeccaReview.com

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Loved the cooking
This movie has the same story and is the basis for the film "Tortilla Soup." If you want to see the more accesible and entertaining of the two, see "Tortilla Soup" in which the Chinese culture is swapped for Hispanic-American culture. The culture differences and dry sense of humor in "Eat Drink Man Woman" kept me from identifying with the characters. It was still a wonderful movie and is worth watching for the cooking sequences alone. It was also interesting as a Chinese cultural study.