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It was the 90s
Facing challenges from Hong Kong cinema
And rampant piracy
Taiwanese cinema was not doing so hot, financially
Keyword being "financially"
Because, in terms of quality
It was practically a golden age
Dubbed "The Taiwanese New Wave"
More specifically, the second new wave
This period saw the emergence of internationally renowned films
Such as Vive L'Amour
An urban drama about love, sex, and gender expressions
Or A Brighter Summer Day
A teen crime drama set in the 1960s
These are grounded films
With a sharp focus on Taiwanese life
Much different from the fantasy cinema of wuxia and kung fu
That was popular at the time
And then, there is Ang Lee
The indisputable top director from this period
"Thank you"
You're welcome
Unlike many of his peers
Lee's perspective on Taiwanese and the broader Chinese culture
Is somewhat foreign
Having spent years studying film abroad
Ang Lee is blessed with a distinct advantage:
He doesn't just understand Taiwan
He is also particularly sensitive about the growing Western influence
As well as how to explain that to an international audience
"You're witnessing the results of 5000 years of sexual repression"
And that brings us to today's film:
Eat Drink Man Woman
This is Ang Lee's "homecoming" film
His first feature to be filmed in Taiwan proper
In a way, it's also his thesis regarding the shifting Taiwanese identity
All condensed into the lives of a single Chinese family
If you want to know Taiwan
This is the movie you should start with
So, let's take a look at what some may argue to be
Ang Lee's best work, to date
[Eat Drink Man Woman: What is a Chinese Family]
[Chapter One]
Eat Drink Man Woman is a drama about a family of four
An elderly father
And his three daughters
Despite sharing a roof
They mostly live their separate lives
Only sit down and share a family dinner every
Saturday As mandated by the father
This is the iconic Chinese family image
Like many other cultures
Chinese culture also values big families
Gatherings are, ideally, held regularly
With all relatives and even friends invited
Which... makes this image kinda odd-looking, right?
It's only a family of four
A lot of Taiwanese families are actually not that big
Many of them came from the Mainland
Fled to Taiwan due to the Chinese Civil War
In a way, Ang Lee is questioning the feasibility
For Taiwan to maintain this Chinese family tradition
And judging by everyone's enthusiasm towards the food
The tradition is barely alive
Unlike in the West
In Chinese dinner
Everything is shared
It is a very intimate act
In which personal boundaries are crossed
Food is the way Chinese people connect
When we ask how people are doing
We ask: "have you eaten?"
When we want to insult people
We tell them to eat sh#t
Food is connection
And since no one is eating much
It would seem like no one really enjoys this family connection
In fact, the second daughter criticizes it
"The ham is a bit overcooked"
Worse yet, she suggests father's sense of taste may be deteriorating
Which, later turns out to be true
This family is lost to the father
This is just a shell of a family
So, what causes that?
Well, you see
This elderly father is a semi-retired chef
And since food is deeply intertwined with the core of Chinese culture
The father is, of course, old-school Chinese
With an old-fashion, tongue curling accent
"Eat Drink Man Woman, basic human desires"
"Can't avoid them"
All of the daughters, however
Speak a flatter Taiwanese accent
"Is dad okay? Where is he?"
The oldest daughter is the most traditional
She's a high school teacher
An occupation seen as fairly traditional for Chinese women
Unsurprisingly, she's the one who plans to stay behind
To take care of the father
A very traditional family thing to do
At the same time, she's also a follower of Christ
She'd pray and thank God for the table full of food
A move that, I'm not sure his father would appreciate much
The second daughter is a career woman
An executive for an airline
An occupation less traditional
But nevertheless praised in modern-day Taiwan
Noticed how the first thing you see about her
Is her computer screen, full of English text
The youngest daughter is still in school
Working part-time in a fast-food restaurant
Practically the polar opposite of what her father does
Now notice how the only speaking customer in this scene
Is a white man
Deliberate, isn't it?
Ang Lee used his experience with both Eastern and Western culture
To represent a generational gap
This clash between East and West
Is one of the reasons why this family is just a hollow shell
New Taiwan is adapting to the Western influence so quickly
No one knows what to talk about
So, no one enjoys the food
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[Chapter Two]
In school, the oldest daughter begins receiving anonymous love letters
Having been hurt by love before
And also, being a devout Christian
She doesn't want to be bothered
Yet, when she begins suspecting the new gym teacher
To be her secret admirer
Conflicts begin to brew in her heart
Meanwhile, the youngest daughter meets a boy
Who recently broke up with their mutual friend
And since food is connection in this movie
After some light flirting in a food stall
They begin to get a bit...
Too close
In conservative Chinese culture
Food belongs on the table
And sex is an under-the-table subject
That's what the title means, by the way
Eat Drink is food
Man Woman is sex
The two primal desires
To conform to cultural norms
You are not supposed to talk about sex
Even if it makes you unhappy
In this film's condensed metaphor
This image of a traditional Chinese family is the "cultural norm"
If you bring the under-the-table stuff on the table
You ruin the dinner
"I'm pregnant..."
It is another Saturday
And before the family dinner even begins
The youngest daughter puts sex above the food
Literally the next scene
The youngest daughter is moving out
In the middle of a family dinner
To live with her boyfriend
A family of four, now a house of three
But that sure didn't last long
Because in the next family dinner
The oldest sister brings home her boyfriend
While her father is holding an axe, by the way
"We can't wait any longer!"
"He wants..."
"I'm a Christian!"
And they leave...
Now, a house of two
So much for traditional Chinese family, huh
[Chapter Three]
Growing up, the second daughter wants to be a chef
She still enjoys cooking
And that's the way she bonds with people
But her father disapproved
He wanted her to study hard
And do something useful
Which she did
But to her...
It wasn't a good thing
"Nobody ever asked if I'd appreciate this"
She's the one most willing to criticize her father's food
She's the one who dislikes the family connection the most
But, now that the traditional family structure is being torn apart
She's having second thoughts about moving out
One day, while she's visiting someone else
She sees her father in the hospital, alone
And he looks... old
In an unlikely twist
It's the second daughter who decides to stay behind
And take care of the father...
It seems like this is a tragedy
About the fall of a traditional Chinese family
But when another Saturday comes
And the family dinner is livelier than ever
Both oldest and youngest sisters have brought their boyfriends
And the neighbor's family also joins in
This is the first time
Everyone gets to enjoy the food
People are happy to be part of the family
The connection is there
But then...
Out of nowhere
Father announces that he's getting remarried
This time, it's the father who brought sex above the table
He's selling the house
And moving out...
Now, everyone truly lives their separate lives
The Chinese family is no more...
[Chapter Four]
So... what is this story about?
Well, it all comes together in the final scene
The second daughter, now living in the old house alone
Invites everyone to a family dinner
But since everyone has their own lives to live now
Only her father shows up
The host is now a guest
The key no longer works
And he has to ring the doorbell
He has to bring gifts to the host...
His daughter
Seeing the dilapidated house
It's hard to accept that home is no more
But at least, the family dinner is still here
"Too much ginger in the soup..."
Then... it all begins to sink in
"Your soup..."
"I can taste it"
His sense of taste has recovered
"Even living under the same roof"
"We can still live separate lives"
"The worry we have for each other"
"Is what makes us a family"
Ang Lee is essentially questioning the value of a big Chinese family
Chinese people often get very hung up on the appearance of things
The formality of it
So much so, our inner desires have to be suppressed
In order to maintain the facade
Throughout the entire film
Everyone is holding back Hiding secrets
In order to act like a traditional big Chinese family
"Ever since Chinese cuisine came to Taiwan"
"Every style got merged into one"
"They all taste the same"
But, in modern-day Taiwan
Do we really have to keep this old tradition going?
An old man getting remarried may not be traditionally acceptable
But is it really better to conform and be unhappy
Or is it better to be happy
And tear the family down?
Ang Lee appears to choose the latter
Now, with a new life of his own
Free to pursue his desire, both food and sex
The elderly father is happier
Without the repression
He can finally feel the family connection
This family is in the process of moving on
Just as Taiwan was in the process of moving into modernity
So what if their lives are filled with a lot of western influences
Not everything old Chinese is good
Not when times are changing
[Conclusion]
So, back when I worked for a film festival
I was the camera for an interview
With a big name Chinese director
When the host asked him
To give some tips to Chinese film students in Montreal
He told these students to go back to China
He said it's impossible to make a good film
If your cultural experience is sandwiched between two cultures
Being an outsider to both
And I was just standing behind the camera, thinking
"WTF dude, I'm right here"
Well, here's Ang Lee, proving that wrong
Yes, making a good film requires a deep understanding of a culture
But the scope is equally important
Having experienced both the Chinese family and the American family
Ang Lee noticed the shifting family culture in Taiwan
Which allows him to make his masterpiece
With a broader understanding of different cultures
He understands what appeals to an international audience
He knows how to present his culture to everyone
It is never a bad thing to expand your horizon
That's what this channel is about
To introduce you to film cultures of different worlds
So, if you want to expand your horizon
Be it getting into Taiwanese Cinema
Asian art film
Or Chinese culture
Let Ang Lee be your guide