Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		0.0
Overall		4.0

Eat Drink Man Woman Blu-ray Movie Review

Ang Lee's 'Fiddler'?

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman February 28, 2015

Despite their obvious differences in timeframe and culture, Tevye, the iconic milkman in Fiddler on the Roof, could have possibly given some sage advice to another father addled by changes in society, morés and the vagaries of romantically inclined daughters, the paterfamilias at the center of Ang Lee's Eat Drink Man Woman. Tevye of course bargained with both God and his family as he saw one daughter after another fall in love unexpectedly, finally coming to terms (more or less, anyway) with the fact that (as a certain Robert Zimmerman once opined), “the times, they are a-changin’.” Unlike Tevye, Eat Drink Man Woman’s harried father, Mr. Chu (Sihung Lung), doesn’t have a “Golde” to help him deal with his daughters. Mr. Chu has been a widower for some time as the film begins, and he has learned to fill his days with the one thing that he can ostensibly control—his own cooking. Mr. Chu in fact has become something of a celebrated chef, and he delights (in theory if not in practice) in creating huge weekly banquets to which his less than adulatory daughters are invited. The dialectic between tradition and the contemporary loosening of long defined strictures provides the potent subtext for Eat Drink Man Woman in much the same way it does in Fiddler on the Roof, but Eat Drink Man Woman tends to wallow a bit more in its family dysfunction, unable to set aside differences (if only temporarily) with a song and dance routine. This was one of the early trilogy of films, along with Pushing Hands and The Wedding Banquet, that first brought writer-director Ang Lee to international prominence. While this trio is often linked together courtesy of shared thematic elements and the fact that Sihung Lung starred in all three, Eat Drink Man Woman is in essence a standalone property, one that doesn’t rely on any extracurricular content or even context to make its simple but profound points.

Though there were actually five girls in Tevye’s brood, the bulk of Fiddler on the Roof centered on the eldest three, Tzeitel, Hodel and Chava. Eat Drink Man Woman has a similar trio of adult females who are ostensibly under Mr. Chu’s charge, though the father’s hold on his girls in this film is tenuous to begin with and becomes more strained as things progress. The three young women are Jia-Jen (Kuei-Mei Yang), Jia-Chien (Chien-lien Wu) and Jia-Ning (Yu-Wen Wang). Lee wastes little time in giving quick overviews of these three, showing them all going about their daily routines, which vary from Christian worship (Jia-Jen) to manipulating spreadsheets in an office (Jia-Chien) to working in a fast food restaurant (Jia-Ning).

Interestingly, it’s that much derided birth order of the so-called “middle” child who serves as the fulcrum for much of the drama in the film’s early going. Jia-Chien has made a very successful career for herself at an airline company and also is a bit of a sexual libertine, with a “friends with benefits” situation she makes no attempt to hide. She’s also intent on being the first to move out of Mr. Chu’s house, excitedly discussing her upcoming transition into a fairly tony apartment complex, even if she’s just slightly concerned about leaving her sisters behind to fend for themselves with their often imperious father.

Meanwhile, various romantic imbroglios filter through the lives of both Jia-Jen and Jia-Ning. The eldest daughter is ostensibly bitter and heartbroken about a failed love relationship, while the youngest daughter is indulging in a perhaps none too wise gambit of seducing the boyfriend of one of her co-workers. All of these stories play out very organically within the larger context of the Chu family dynamic, which is typically dysfunctional, at least with regard to the relationship between Mr. Chu and his girls.

Things become a bit more convoluted when Mr. Chu is pursued by a widow named Mrs. Liang (Ah-Leh Gua). Mr. Chu befriends Mrs. Liang’s divorced daughter Jin-Rong (Sylvia Chang) and develops an especially close bond with little Shan-Shan (Yu-Chien Tang), Jin-Rong’s daughter and Mrs. Liang’s granddaughter. Though perhaps a bit questionable on a symbolic level, it is also revealed that the celebrated culinary expertise of Mr. Chu has been debilitated by his mysterious inability to taste anything anymore.

Eat Drink Man Woman tends to play out as a series of vignettes, some built around the Sunday feasts at Mr. Chu’s house, others detailing Mr. Chu’s work environment, and still others documenting his newfound relationship with Shan-Shan and her family. There’s a rather understated ambience on display throughout the film, where even “explosions” of temperament may seem relatively restrained to westerners used to knock down, drag out family dinners around the holidays. Lee nicely develops the many story strands, however, dovetailing them neatly in a third act that has a couple of surprises up its sleeve.

The film makes a point of highlighting “food and sex” as the two inescapable hungers defining human existence. Lee subtly alludes to a third “basic,” however, one that finds a bit of reconciliation as the film comes to a close. That final panel in a somewhat unlikely triptych is, of course, family, and Eat Drink Man Woman makes a compelling case that as much as things change, the unique bond between family members will always stay the same.

Eat Drink Man Woman Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Eat Drink Man Woman is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Olive Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.84:1. Lee and cinematographer Lin Jon favor a naturalistic look, and the elements utilized for this transfer offer a nicely saturated, realistic looking palette that has suffered little if any fade over the years. Close-ups of the many foodstuffs displayed throughout the proceedings feature commendable detail (to the point that some of Mr. Chu's preparations of animals and/or fish may be a bit squirm worthy for some). Contrast is good, though black levels are just a tad milky at times. Sharpness and clarity are excellent, even in some showy sequences where, for example, Lee chases after Mr. Chu with a handheld camera through the labyrinthine halls and alleyways of the hotel where he's a chef. There are no issues with image instability and as is Olive's custom, there are no signs of excessive (or even minimal) digital intrusion into or tweaking of the image harvest. Grain is very natural looking and resolves organically throughout the presentation.

Eat Drink Man Woman Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Eat Drink Man Woman features a lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mix that suffices perfectly well for what is in essence a fairly unambitious soundtrack. Dialogue, sometimes busy ambient environmental effects (courtesy of the urban landscape) and score are all presented very cleanly and clearly, with excellent prioritization and fidelity. Forced English subtitles are in a bright, easy to read yellow font.

Eat Drink Man Woman Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

There are no supplements on this Blu-ray disc.

Eat Drink Man Woman Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Less Baroque than some of Lee's later efforts, Eat Drink Man Woman is undeniably simple, but it's also surprisingly profound at times. Performances are largely wonderful (with occasional tips into cartoonish territory), and Lee captures the hustle and bustle of a changing cultural landscape quite convincingly. There's a sweetness to Eat Drink Man Woman that audiences, if not Mr. Chu himself, should be able to taste. Technical merits are generally strong and despite this Blu-ray not offering any supplements Eat Drink Man Woman comes Recommended.