"Eat Drink Man Woman" by Ang Lee

"Eat Drink Man Woman" by Ang Lee was released in Taiwan in 1994. The film stars Sihung Lung, Yu-Wen Wang, and Chien-Lien Wu. A senior chef, Chu (Sihung Lung), lives with his 3 unwed daughters and finds his world is turned upside down when each of the daughters have shocking news. Every Sunday night they have a family dinner and talk about their personal lives, well to an extent.

The eldest daughter, Jia-Jen, is a chemistry teacher. She is a devote Christian and refuses to settle down with just anyone. Her friends constantly try to fix her up with local bachelors, but she just wont seem to budge. Things turn around when a new bad-boy works at the school. He does his best to impress her with his athletic skill. Unknown to her that it is just a prank by her students, she begins getting love letters and considers her feelings for the new teacher. She, by the end, elopes with him.

Jia-Chien, the middle daughter, works for an airline. She decides it is time to move out of her house and live on her own. She buys an apartment in a brand new building. She later learns that the area the building is on was condemned because of toxic waste and it was all a scam. The man running the scam ran off with all the money. Eventually she gets a promotion to be an executive in Europe for the expansion of the company. However, a former lover holds her back from going.

The youngest, Jia-Ning, is a student that also happens to be working at a fast-food establishment. She acts like your typical drama concerned child and plays games with her, if you want to call him that, boyfriend's heart. She, by the end of the movie gets pregnant and the family goes into an uproar over who the father is.

The theme of the movie is, without a doubt, family. Aside from all the wonderful food that is cooked throughout the entire movie, it all comes down love between blood. With all of the ups and downs they still love each other and come together. It proves that everyone has a "dysfunctional" family, but that is really what makes any family functional. Another theme would be how some parents like to keep their children close. I know that in Asia it is typical that children stay home, but I believe there is a undertone that Chu does not wont to let go of his "little girls."



Ang Lee has definitely done a spectacular job with this film. From beginning to end I was very entranced. Once you understand which is which and the main purpose of their plots, you find yourself laughing and getting teary-eyed. It is the kind of film I think would make a great TV series and would recommend it for anyone.