PC Translations

I was very pleased to find Li An’s (Ang Lee’s) film Eat Drink Man Woman at my local library recently.  The movie is really nicely made (true of most of Lee’s movies).  

Eat Drink Man Woman is a story about a man raising his three daughters alone, his wife having died when they were just girls.  THe issues explored are very relevant to contemporary Chinese culture.  It includes the look at the changes that happen in Chinese families when the younger generations leave traditional Chinese beliefs and traditions in favor of things considered “newer” within the Chinese context, a widowed individual considering remarriage, changing sexual mores, and the various complex family relationships and roles within Chinese families.  

These various changes are explored through daughters who have different religious beliefs from the traditions of the parents.  One daughter is a Christian, and faces some amount of disdain from those around her family (though her immediate family seems quite willing to allow her to do as she pleases).  The younger two daughters seem to be non-religious, as perhaps the father has become, though in most other ways he seems very stuck to traditional Chinese thinking and practices.  Of course, with the surprise announcement he brings at the end of the film, we begin to realize that he has changed from a traditional mindset in ways that are unexpected in the earlier parts of the film.

I liked the various twists, and really enjoyed seeing the various interpersonal relationships, all presented from a very Chinese perspective.  There is a good reason that Eat Drink Man Woman was so popular when it came out.  It is a meaningful film, and well worth taking the time to watch.

This is one of the things that Ang Lee does so well in all of his films.  He manipulates visual images so masterfully.  I loved the way this film was shot.  There were several moments like this one, where a momentary shot seemed to say so much.  The actors did an excellent job to pull it off, but I do think that most of the credit has to go to Ang Lee.  The man has a very good eye for images that have this sort of effect.

I enjoyed getting to hear a bit of Shanghainese dialect, and also a lot of Shanghai-accented Mandarin.  That was fun.  But of course, that was only a small part of the enjoyment.

The story was very well-told, and the acting was excellent.  I thought Tony Leung was in top form, and newcomer Tang Wei was magnificent.  All of the actors did a fantastic job bringing the film to life.  

 Lust, Caution has definitely been worth the wait!

** I watched the film in Singapore, so it was the censored version.  I can’t comment on how graphic some of the scenes are in the uncensored version, though that has gotten a lot of comment in reviews. **