Well-Crafted And Observant

Author: Jacob Rosen (bix171@comcast.net) from United States
8 May 2002

The well-traveled metaphor of food as communication is given a tender, appealing treatment in Ang Lee's finely observed film about a widower whose aging and loneliness have caused him to lose touch with his three grown daughters, each of whom is looking for love in modern-day Taiwan. The father (a gallant Sihung Lung) is a master chef who has begun to lose his sense of taste while attempting to come to grips with his daughters' increasing independence and the failing health of his best friend (Jui Wang); he begins to question the basis of existence, namely love and food. The daughters, meanwhile, feeling cramped by their father's distance, begin to explore notions of freedom from their cramped quarters.

Lee is in a positive, sympathetic frame of mind here, articulately exploring the theme of alienation that he would later revisit with a much more gloomy perspective in `The Ice Storm' and though the film holds virtually no surprises, it is a stylistic success, easy to like and moving effortlessly with a superior sense of rhythm; it's always pleasing, even when the content feels overly familiar. He demonstrates a healthy respect for his characters (with the exception of a divorcee whose bitter views of marriage don't stop her from pursuing Lung)--everyone gets to play out their lives with dignity and happiness and without an ounce of filmmaker moralizing.

a beautiful and endearing film

Author: planktonrules from Bradenton, Florida
16 August 2005

This Taiwanese movie is about the best film I have seen about the generational gap between traditional and modern Chinese cultures. The father in the movie is a widower and a superb cook who has unfortunately begun to lose his sense of taste--needing to have his assistants taste his food to get the flavor right. Much of the movie centers on the love life of him as well as his daughters, as well as the older man's friendship with a cute neighbor girl and her mother.

I loved this movie because the material was handled so gently and realistically--making you really care about most of the characters. About the only one you DON'T care for is the obnoxious older lady that has set her sights on Dad! (quelle connasse !!)How the many relationships are resolved is masterful and provided me with a good laugh! This is a terrific movie for anyone looking for a slice of life, a movie about world cultures or someone wanting to watch a cute romantic movie. Guys--relax!!! You'll enjoy this one, too!

An Austen movie

Author: aturner6
1 March 2004

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

When I finally got around to seeing this on TV a few nights ago, I had completely forgotten that Ang Lee had been the somewhat unusual (it was thought at the time) choice to direct a well-reviewed remake of Jane Austen's "Sense & Sensibility." But as I watched, it struck me quite forcefully that EDMW was an updated version of an Austen movie, and a very clever one. The marriageable daughters are there, the beleaguered father, the talkative woman--in this case the neighbor with designs on Mr. Chu, and I felt that her somewhat over-the top performance was the most Austenesque of the lot.

The treatment throughout is delicate, sophisticated and affectionate, and some of the twists--the religious daughter who has lied about her "past" to make herself seem less pathetic--truly original. Lovely performances, pretty young actresses and a good script. I wish I'd seen it earlier, but I'm grateful to a no-commercial station for putting it on now.

Trivia
Showing all 2(!!!) items
-The opening sequence - in which a Sunday lunch is lovingly prepared - took over a week to film.
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Spoilers
The trivia item below may give away important plot points.
-The plot of this movie will be found in a later movie, Tortilla Soup (2001) about an aging widower chef who raised 3 daughters alone, both being written by Ang Lee. Even the opening crisis, the restaurant previously run by the chef has ruined the main feature of a huge banquet and he is called in to save the day, is the same.

Autour du film
On retrouve  un certain nombre d'acteurs déjà présents dans le film Garçon d'honneur. 

Distinctions
Nommé pour l'Oscar du meilleur film en langue étrangère (juste nommé !?)