Eat Drink Man Woman. A Review.

Director Ang Lee, brings to light a touching drama of emotion and love. I'm sure many fathers and daughters throughout the world could relate to the story of this movie. The character of Chu (father of 3 daughters) is an involving character brought to life by Sihung Lung, who I think did a fine job in his performance as Chu. Living with his three daughters and sharing his life along with theirs, and of course Chu's cooking provides a center piece for the story being presented. Chu showcases the everyday life of an average man who happens to be a professional chef. His trade secrets of cooking creates an effect since his one daughter likes to cook, but Chu never lets her enter his kitchen in the beginning of the film. Here's the trailer for Eat Drink Man Woman:

The cooking scenes are very intricate and showcase just how much talent and patience it takes to prepare a real meal. Apparently the filming of the opening Sunday dinner took a week to film I read. Just goes to show you that nothing is easy to film when you want it just right! Cooking is presented as an art in this film and that art is both emotional because through his cooking Chu expresses himself. There's also the fact that Chu is losing his ability to taste his own food, which creates a sort of sadness in a way. A chef without taste is like a baseball player without a ball. The camera angles and style of shots for the cook sequences are all very nicely executed. A big thumbs up to the director and camera men. This movie shows that good cooking knows no bounds, so here a related clip about cooking:

Here's another clip. This is for chinese cooking:

Twain culture is very different, but we all share the same general goals and ideals. Life has several roads and each of us goes down those roads. Whether it is the high road or low road we take it once we have set our course. The characters in this film do just that in the lives they lead. Each daughter travels a different road to their future. You have the basic love story set-ups as well for each character including Chu, who as a thing with a younger woman. There' also the one daughter who is a school teacher who is interested in an athlete who is at her school. The sense of story and drama was somewhat basic, but nothing over the top like that of other dramas with morals and values. The basic yin and yang seems to be a good way to sum up the sense of style. This film has a Hollywood feel somewhat, but does not go into conflict as much as other movies would of this type especially, one with three daughters. Any other director would have probably had Dynasty style conflicts and subplots. Here's a good comparison of traditional Hollywood drama compared to the tame drama of "Eat Drink Man Woman". This is a trailer for another movie that deals with several sisters:

We all have realities to face and Eat Drink Man Woman shows things in a subconscious light. Those blessed with wisdom are not always the ones who get the greatest role in life, but they can see beyond today and look into tomorrow at what will be. There is a somewhat spiritual feeling to this film as well. Near the end of the film Chu and his daughter find out who they really are and reconize that their lives are growing different and not all of them can live together anymore. Not because of dislike, but because it is not possible due to relationships and the fact of growing up and leaving the home nest. Getting older and finding new interests is a part of life and that is a part of life that Chu and each daughter must deal with. Any parent and son or daughter in no matter what country has to face the same finding of life. What is the meaning of life? Here's a quick clip that has one answer to that question:

Once again I must mention music. The music in "Eat Drink Man Woman" was very bland unfortunatly. I didn't get an establishing sense of the music score. Nothing really called out to me. Most of the music maintained that oriental style, but in a subdued way it seemed. The music of this country is however most interesting. The eastern world has much to offer in the stylings of very talented artists that America just can't produce. Here's a clip of one such artist Kazu Matsui, who is an extremely talented musician. He has a taste for western influences and it meshes together with his eastern style nicely:

This other clip is from one of my favorite overseas bands. Show Ya is a Japanese metal band and they are still around today.

That's about it for this film. I did enjoy it and must say that I would watch it again. It seems like the kind of movie you need to watch twice to understand better. Another thing it is very important to keep your taste buds. Good thing Chu got his taste back!

Central Station A Review with Brazil!

First off let me say that "Central Station" is very slow moving. The movie seems to drag on and on. It's not as bad as "Children of Heaven", but it is not far off. Just wanted to give all you readers that warning. The story is about a letter writer and reader named Dora, who seems to be a bitter person at first glance. She doesn't even do her job. All she has to do is mail out letters and she doesn't she keeps them in a drawer in her apartment or she just rips them up and throws them out. I personally don't understand this. She gets paid to write letters and mail them, so why not do your job woman! I found "Central Station" very boring and dry. Here's the trailer for this film:

It would seem that a lot of films to come out of these third world foreign countries are long and slow, which isn't bad, but it helps when you have an entertaining plot line. Also you need to keep things moving at a pace that won't put your audience to sleep. "Central Station" has no action or entertaining plot twists to keep it afloat! The travel across Brazil to bring the child back to his father should have been an entertaining cross country adventure, but instead it turned into a cross country nightmare... for the viewer that is! No doubt the camera work is first rate. There are many scenic shots however, shots and scenery alone cannot save an entire film. This is one of the scenes from "Central Station" that is nicely shot and actually one of the better scenes of the movie. In this scene Dora is having lunch with the truck driver and she makes an advance towards him. It is an intimate scene, but also a funny one because the driver doesn't want anything like that so he slips away leaving her stranded with the boy:

The actors do portray their roles well, but the subject matter is so basic and done in a bland fashion. I can't believe this film won awards. Sorry about that however, it has to be said. If people can put money into making a film like this why can't they invest in other films that are better. The DP of this film obviously did his job because there are a lot of beautiful scenic shots. When Dora and the boy arrive at the town where his father is supposed to be it's very well presented. The set-ups and town atmosphere works to help portray the poverty and desolation of the area which they are in.

The drama is very strong in the upcoming scene when the boy is actually united with his brothers. The realization that his father is not there brings to mind the usual drama that you would see in an American soap opera. Not having a father is an item that many people can relate to. Thousands of children are born each day without fathers. Both America and the third world countries have this problem. People must cope with the loss or revelation that they don't have the benefit of parents. Here's a clip showing that:

Another item brought to mind is that of human slavery, which "Central Station" touches on when Dora at first brings the child to a so called adoption agency, but actually they are human traders. Child slavery is something that exists and will continue to exist. Most nations know of the problems, but when there are so many it is really tough to crack down on them. Life is brought and sold like meat at a market. The child slavery ring is especially big because they want to condition the children for hard work at basically no cost. In a way China, Brazil and other places thrive on this because of the cheap labor. Making just 10 cents an hour is not pay it is slavery! People have an interesting way of sugarcoating things, but you can't sugarcoat the element of human life and the treatment of children for that matter. Here's a clip of the child slavery ring:

Another thing is the music in Brazil. This film does give a slight taste of the kind of composed music found in foreign films that come from within this region. The contemporary, but somewhat classical approach works effectively. Making a dramatic statement can be found through the music in this film. The piano music fits very nicely with the action that is taking place on the screen. To sum up in all "Central Station" is not the worst that foreign cinema has to offer however, it is not the greatest. Remember not everyone will like everything and this film falls into that category. Here's one last clip from "Central Station", and this is perhaps the most dramatic and heart wrenching part of this film.