Eat Drink Man Woman is a 1994 Taiwanese film directed by Taiwanese-American director Ang Lee (Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, Brokeback Mountain). The film was a critical success and lead to a 2001 American remake titled Tortilla Soup.
Chu, a widowed, semi-retired gourmet Chinese chef is the father to three daughters. He is an old man who has lost his wife, and his sense of taste. However, he still makes elaborate Chinese dishes for his Sunday family dinners. The movie mostly revolves around the lives of his three daughters.
Jia-Jen, the eldest daughter, is a brokenhearted school teacher. She is a devout Christian and is occasionally pestered for not having a husband, at her age. Her being heartbroken is actually a cover-up for her not being able to find a man. But she actually finds love with the school's new volleyball coach.
Jia-Chien, the second eldest, is an independent business woman. She is very career-oriented and wants to move out of the family home. She has occasional sex with her ex-boyfriend but she meets a man through her work which ended up not working out. It is to note that she is the only one to not be with a man, in the end. But it is fine as she pursues her past dream of being a gourmet chef just like her father.
Jia-Ning, the youngest, is a part-timer. She works at a fast-food restaurant and becomes close with her fellow employee's on-and-off ex-boyfriend. They eventually date. She is actually the first one to move out of the family home because of an unexpected pregnancy.
I found this movie to be very well done and quite enjoyable. Little things that I picked up while watching this movie was distinguishably Taiwanese. From Jia-Jen's Christianity, Jia-Chen's high profile rank in her career, and Jia-Ning's part-time job at a western fast food chain.
