Eat Drink Man Woman
DVD cover
Directed by	Ang Lee
Produced by	Hsu Li Kong Hsu Kong
Written by	Ang Lee James Schamus Wang Hui-Ling
Starring	Sihung Lung Yu-wen Wang Chien-lien Wu Kuei-mei Yang
Released	August 3, 1994 (USA)
Running time	123 min.
Language	Mandarin
IMDb profile

Eat Drink Man Woman (Traditional Chinese: 飲食男女; Simplified Chinese: 饮食男女; Pinyin: yǐn shí nán nǚ) is a film directed by Ang Lee and stars Sihung Lung, Yu-wen Wang, Chien-lien Wu, Kuei-mei Yang. Many of the cast had starred in Ang Lee's previous film, The Wedding Banquet with Sihung Lung and Ah Lei Gua once more playing central elderly figures, and Winston Chao. The film was released in 1994. Image File history File linksMetadata Eat_drink_man_woman. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... James Schamus is an American screenwriter and film producer, noted for his work on critically acclaimed independent films such as Safe, The Brothers McMullen and the Academy Award winning film Brokeback Mountain. ... August 3 is the 215th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (216th in leap years), with 150 days remaining. ... 1994 (MCMXCIV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International year of the Family. ... This article is on all of the Northern Chinese dialects. ... Traditional Chinese characters are one of two standard character sets of printed contemporary Chinese written language. ... Simplified Chinese characters (Simplified Chinese: 简体字; Traditional Chinese: 簡體字; pinyin: jiÇŽntǐzì; also called 简化字/簡化字, jiÇŽnhuàzì) are one of two standard character sets of printed contemporary Chinese written language. ... Hanyu Pinyin (Simplified Chinese: 汉语拼音; Traditional Chinese: 漢語拼音; Hanyu Pinyin: , lit. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... The Wedding Banquet (Chinese: 喜宴; pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Hsi yen), released in 1993, is a motion picture about a Chinese-American homosexual who marries a woman to placate his parents and get her a green card. ... 1994 (MCMXCIV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International year of the Family. ...

The film was a critical success. The 2001 movie Tortilla Soup is a re-make.

Plot summary

The film tells the story of a retired and widowed Chinese master chef Chu (Si Hung Lung) and his family living in modern day Taipei, Taiwan. At the start of the film, he lives with his three attractive daughters, all of whom are unattached. The three daughters represent three stereotypes of woman:

• the oldest one an old maid school teacher with a broken heart
• the middle one the career woman who is afraid of commitment
• the youngest one the school girl who is growing up to be a woman.

As the film progresses, each daughter encounters new men. When these new relationships blossom, the stereotypes are broken and the living situation within the family changes. The film concludes with a surprise ending involving the chef himself.

Themes

A major theme of the movie is that romantic relationships gives life meaning and is a necessity of life (such as eating and drinking).

The film features several scenes displaying the techniques and artistry of gourmet Chinese cooking. Since the family members have difficulty expressing their love for each other, the intricate preparation of banquet quality dishes for their Sunday dinners is the surrogate for their familial feelings.

Another theme is the burden of aging. Chef Chu is depicted as having lost his "one true love" (his wife), losing another (his ability to taste) and about to lose all three daughters to marriage, not to mention the usual spectre of old age.

Interesting notes

• The title is an old expression elaborating (roughly) human nature - "to eat, drink and be human", contemplated upon by Chu with his long-time friend while both were inebriated
• This was the first film Ang Lee made in Taiwan

External links

• Eat Drink Man Woman at The Internet Movie Database

The Internet Movie Database (IMDb) is an online database of information about actors, films, television shows, television stars, video games and production crew personnel. ...