Ang Lee's Eat Drink Man Woman is a touching comedy drama set in Taiwan about an aging chef and his three daughters. The film follows their romantic lives, their familial ties, and their expression of love for each other in the form of gastronomy. Wonderfully paced and exquisitely shot, the film shows us the ins and outs, ups and downs, and broad strokes and subtle nuances of each of these individuals' lives. We are drawn in by the accuracy of the characters; while sometimes bizarre and unexpected, their actions and motivations are believable. Take, for example, the character of Mrs. Liang. She was without a doubt the most hilarious person in this movie. Every time she spoke, I was holding my belly laughing. Yet she was also so human and I was able to empathize with her and understand her, though I disagreed with her.The editing is by far the best part about this movie. The first twenty minutes were absolutely incredible. The first five or ten were spent on food preparation--if I hadn't just eaten before watching the movie, I probably would have been salivating. After that it introduces us to the father and each of the three daughters in precisely choreographed cuts. Every piece of the puzzle fit together so effortlessly. Even on a more macroscopic level, the editing finds a thematic purpose. Every so often Lee would intercut the movie with traffic patterns, ending on a close up of a lone woman trying to direct the entire hectic mess. I liked what it said about us trying to control our own lives, and how futile that can seem at times. The entire movie sets up common expectations that are thrown back at us upside-down at the end. You think you know how these people's lives will turn out? You don't. Do you know how your own will turn out?
The movie also failed on some fronts. I thought a lot of the acting, especially in the beginning, seemed stilted and false. The fact that this acting introduced us to the characters hurt the movie much more than if it had been placed somewhere in the middle, after we already knew how genuine and true-to-life the characters were. The fault lies in part with awkward, mechanical dialogue. Also, the movie felt extremely dated. Even though it was made in the 90's, it felt like an 80's movie in fashion and hair style. These points are easily forgivable and can at least provide a healthy laugh. I highly recommend this film.
IMDb link: http://imdb.com/title/tt0111797/