Eat Drink Man Woman (1994)

A senior chef lives with his three grown daughters; the middle one finds her future plans affected by unexpected events and the life changes of the other household members.

Director:

Ang Lee

Writers:

Ang Lee, James Schamus

Stars:

Sihung Lung, Kuei-Mei Yang, Yu-Wen Wang

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 5 wins & 13 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Sihung Lung	...	Chu
Yu-Wen Wang	...	Jia-Ning
Chien-Lien Wu	...	Jia-Chien
Kuei-Mei Yang	...	Jia-Jen
Sylvia Chang	...	Jin-Rong
Winston Chao	...	Li Kai
Chao-jung Chen	...	Guo Lun
Chit-Man Chan	...	Raymond
Yu Chen	...	Rachel
Ah-Lei Gua	...	Madame Liang (as Ya-Lei Kuei)
Chi-Der Hong	...	Class Leader
Gin-Ming Hsu	...	Coach Chai
Huel-Yi Lin	...	Sister Chang
Shih-Jay Lin	...	Chief's Son
Chin-Cheng Lu	...	Ming-Dao

Storyline

Senior Master Chef Chu lives in a large house in Taipei with his three unmarried daughters, Jia-Jen, a chemistry teacher converted to Christianity, Jia-Chien, an airline executive, and Jia-Ning, a student who also works in a fast food restaurant. Life in the house revolves around the ritual of an elaborate dinner each Sunday, and the love lives of all the family members.

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Plot Keywords:

chef | chinese food | cooking | father daughter relationship | daughter | 

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Taglines:

The Ingredients of Life

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

Taiwan USA

Language:

Mandarin French

Release Date:

3 August 1994 (USA)

Also Known As:

Eat Drink Man Woman

Filming Locations:

Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall Park, Taipei City, Taiwan

Box Office

Gross USA:

$7,294,403

Company Credits

Production Co:

Ang Lee Productions, Central Motion Pictures, Good Machine

Technical Specs

Runtime:

124 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Dolby SR

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Ranked number 54 non-English-speaking film in the critics' poll conducted by the BBC in 2018.

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Goofs

As Chu is downing shots at the last Sunday dinner, he spills some on the collar of his jacket. When he stands up to makes his announcement, the stain is gone.

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Quotes

Chu: Eat, drink, man, woman. Basic human desires. Can't avoid them. All my life, that's all Iv'e ever done. It pisses me off. Is that all their is to life?

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Connections

Referenced in Hello, He Lied & Other Truths from the Hollywood Trenches (2002)

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Soundtracks

SING YE TO THE LORD
From "Israel in Egypt"
Composed by George Frideric Handel (as George Fredric Handel)
Performed by The Sine Nomine Singers and Baroque Orchestra
Courtesy of Newport Classical Recordings

User Reviews

Well-Crafted And Observant

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.