"Eat Drink Man Woman"

Eat Drink Man Women is a film directed by Ang Lee. The film was released in 1994. The title comes from the notion eat and drink and to have sex. Which are said to be human’s natural desire. Eat Drink Man Woman starred many of the cast from one of his earlier successful films, The Wedding Banquet. This was Ang Lee’s first film made in Taiwan. Since the releases of this film, Lee has directed a number of award winning films like Sense and Sensibility, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Brokeback Mountain.

The film stars Sihung Lung as Chinese Master chef Chu, the father of three girls all of which reside with him in modern day Taipei, Taiwan. Master Chef Chu holds a big traditional Sunday dinner in which he cooks a big meal.  The three girls Jia-Chien, Jia-Jen and Jia-Ning all have their own dilemmas in which they seek each others help but more importantly the help of their father. Jia-Chien loves cooking and secretly would like to become a Chef like her father but unfortunately woman aren’t permitted to do so. Jia-Jen is unmarried and skeptical about being in a committed relationship. She often has disagreements with her siblings about the discrepancies in their relationships. All of that changes one day when she meets a volleyball coach. Her attraction to this new guy leads her to stalk him vigorously. Jia-Ning is a college student who becomes pregnant from the frequent sexual encounters she has. She is the complete opposite from her sister Jia-Jen.

Through tough times the family share secrets over dinner. Master Chef held the biggest secret. Mr. Chu’s big announcement: he will marry Jin-Rong, a younger girl that has always been regarded as a close friend to the family.  

Eat Drink Man Woman is a great film. The plot and the dialogue along with the actors and actresses deliverance were great.  I particularly liked the montage at the beginning of the film that showed Mr. Chu preparing the food for the family’s dinner. A remake of the film called Tortilla Soup was released in 2001. Pretty good movie and I will recommend!