MOVIE 'EAT DRDINK MAN WOMAN
MOVIES
Ang Lee’s “Eat Drink Man Woman”
We’re used to movies coming from Asia; Japan has long been a supplier of fine films by such as Akira Kurosawa and the marvelous action pictures from China. But Taiwan also has a thriving film industry, and “Eat Drink Man Woman” of 1994 is a fine example.
No daggers go flying here, but there are a lot of knives and cleavers employ by the lead actor, Sihung Lung, a master chef in a vast Chinese restaurant.
Lung lives with his three daughters and insists on cooking a fine banquet every Sunday for his offspring. He’s widowed.
But the three daughters have lives of their own. One is an executive with an airline and has saved up enough money to buy a condominium. Another is a Christian and weds a soon to be Christian man. The other has plans as well, but ...
The death of an old friend of Lung creates a family crisis, and the airline daughter is taken for her savings by crooked builders.
Ang Lee is the director, and he wrings plenty of humor out of the interplay of the four chief characteres. Yu-Wen Wang, Chien-lien Wu and Kuei-Me Yang are the daughters — not names that come easily to mind, but they are excellent actresses.
No an epic adventure, but rather a look at the new-meets-the-old with fondness. Runs two hours and four minutes, not rated by probably PG. Available at Netflix.