Eat Drink Man Woman

Eat Drink Man Woman is full of humor, wisdom, and grace. I love to watch this film. I always suggest that you eat a full meal before you watch this motion picture. The savory dishes created by the father who is a chef in a major hotel in Taipei, Taiwan makes your mouth water and your glands salivate. I want to be in this film and enjoy a meal with the master chef. You will laugh and notice the wisdom of this wonderful motion picture. I only wonder what it would be like if I understood Mandarin. I get a lot of meaning with the subtitles. I am used to subtitles, however, I bet their were a few nuances that I missed.

Ang Lee is a superb director who has captured family dynamics in modern day China. Whether you are a China expert or just starting to learn about the culture, this is a great way to experience the internal life of an atypical Chinese family. The story will captivate you, the ending will be a surprise.

I had seen this movie in the theatre - and it had English sub-titles, However, the DVD I received did not have English sub-titles and I don't speak, or understand, Chinese. I returned it and expect a full credit - unless there is a version with English sub-titles, then I will accept an exchange.

I first saw this movie 9 years ago while spending a semester abroad. Everytime I see this movie-and I have mulitple times since my first viewing-I think back to that most amazing and incredible time in my life. Most importantly I am reminded of the unshakable family bond that exists but is never really communicated amongst all families. I love the dynamics of this family because they are indeed a real family experiencing the ups and downs of real life. I loved how much I-a Puerto Rican living in America-related to a Chinese family. The movie is a great testament that regardless of who you are or where you come from we are human and we are share in the life experiences that being a human means. The movie brought tears, laughs and unexpected gratitude for my family's own misgivings.

I watched Eat Drink to compare it with Tortilla Soup. The screenplay of Tortilla Soup (2001) is based on Eat Drink (1994). If you are tempted to see Eat Drink--STOP yourself, and watch Tortilla Soup instead! Tortilla Soup is a fun, delightful comedy drama (dramedy?) Eat Drink is a heavy, boring drama. Tortilla Soup has lively, colorful characters that are fun and enjoyable to watch. They have personalities. Tortilla Soup's characters have chemistry with each other that pulls you into their world. I enjoyed spending ninety minutes with them. Eat Drink has bland, cold-hearted, angry, serious characters with zombie-like personalities.

In its two long hours, Eat Drink uses miles and miles of dialogue to make the same point that Tortilla Soup makes in just seconds. For example, take the youngest daughter's new romance. In Tortilla Soup, she explains that her co-worker friend can't make the date with the guy waiting outside the record store. After a short conversation, she gets in the car with the guy, and we're off and running in about three minutes. Eat Drink on the other hand, drags this process out into several scenes and lots of dialogue, with added complications that slow the story down. It takes forever to get this romance underway, and the steps along the way are not much fun.

In Tortilla Soup, the story moves along at a nice clip. Eat Drink drags through long silences, excessive dialogue, and unnecessary scenes that should have been edited out.

Dinner time in Tortilla Soup is a celebration of lively family fun and sharing of experiences and personalities--these are people we care about. There's nervous anticipation about what will happen next. Dinner time in Eat Drink is a nightmare of icy coldness to be endured. I wanted to leave the table, and not spend any more time with those people.

Tortilla Soup has twists and surprises that keep us interested, and provide humor. Eat Drink remains serious throughout. Even when the mother-in-law collapses, Eat Drink is serious. That's a scene that begs for a laugh, but Eat Drink plays it dead serious.

In filmmaking, editing is so important. Whoever edited Eat Drink must have fallen asleep on the job in the editing booth. Eat Drink's editor left in the excessive dialog, the long silences, and the boring, unnecessary scenes that should have been cut.

The films have opposite endings. Eat Drink drags us through the father's depression as his daughters leave, and he's alone in his empty house. A sad, heavy mood ends the film. Tortilla Soups ends with a family dinner celebration at Carmen's successful new restaurant. Family members are in a jovial mood. They share the expectancy of new children, budding romances, Carmen's business success, and hope for the future. We see the warmth and joy of a loving family. It's a good feeling to end the movie on.

I don't understand the five star reviews here at Amazon for Eat Drink. It was dark and depressing.

I guess there are people in the world who just don't like optimism (and thus possibly won't like Tortilla Soup's optimism.) I'm an optimist, and I don't go to the movies to get dragged down into someone's dark depression and pessimism (like in Eat Drink.) There's plenty of that darkness in the real world, if you really want to focus on it. I go to the movies to have a good time--for an escape from the real world. I go for fantasy, and adventure, and romance, and fun. I like happy endings. That's why I recommend Tortilla Soup, and not Eat Drink Man Woman. Based on your tolerance for optimism or pessimism, you will have to decide which film you like.