Eat, Drink, Man, Woman
Taiwan, 1994, Dir. Ang Lee, 109 Min.

1. Pause in your viewing of the film after the opening scene in which Mr. Chu is cooking. What have you learned from this scene alone? What expectations of the film do you have at this point? What do you think the role of food will be?
2. What is the symbolism of Chef Chu losing his sense of taste and regaining it only in the last scene of the film?
3. Old Wen has the following conversation with his friend the chef:
   Wen: "Good sound is not in the ear, good taste is not in the mouth, and good sex . . . God knows where…"
   Chu: "Eat, drink, man, woman. Food and sex. Basic human desires. Can't avoid them."
   What does Chef Chu mean when he says, "eat, drink, man, woman"? In what ways are these concepts linked? Is this a good title for the film?
4. Why does one daughter describe the Sunday family dinner as "ritual torture"?
5. The second daughter, Jia-Chien, comments that the neighbors communicate by singing, whereas the Chu family communicates through food (Jia-Jen: "Can't they stop that karaoke"? Jia-Chien: "We communicate by eating. They do it by singing."). Is she right? If so, describe this communication-through-food.
6. In what ways do you note changes in traditional Chinese society (values and customs)? Does food play a role in these changes? How do you interpret Mr. Chu's observation, "People today don't appreciate the exquisite art of cooking. After forty years of Chinese food in Taiwan, the art is lost. Food from everywhere merges like rivers running into the sea. Everything tastes the same!" Is he right, or is he just a curmudgeon who resists change?
7. What do the dissolving sharks' fins in the restaurant represent?
8. What is the significance of the relationship between Old Wen and Chef Chu? Old Wen tells his friend, "You're still the greatest chef in Taipei. Like that composer…Beethoven." Why does he compare Chef Chu to Beethoven?
9. How important is the concept of family? Who belongs to the family? What do you think of Mr. Chu's definition of a family? He says: "All under one roof, leading separate lives, still we worry for each other. This worry, that's what makes us a family."
10. Were you surprised by Mr. Chu's choice of a bride, or did you anticipate it? If you were surprised, why? How do you explain it?
11. Describe and compare the three Chu daughters. Characterize their relationships with one another.
12. Why is Jia-Jen's relationship with her father special?
13. Describe the three daughters' relationships with men. Does food play a role in these relationships?
14. What views of marriage are presented in this film? What do you think of Mrs. Liang's attitudes toward
    marriage and divorce? What are the views of love? Guo Lun says, "Love is suffering, and I know she [Rachel] truly loves me at heart." Jia-Ning responds: "True love is being with someone who lets you express your feelings, around whom you feel free to talk." Are these views incompatible?
15. Does cooking have gender tags in this film? Consider the following discussion between Old Wen and Jia-Chien:
    Wen: "How quickly you learned everything! What a talent, eh, Chu?"
    Jia-Chien: "Til you exiled me from the kitchen."
    Wen: "And you learned to do something serious with your life!"
    Jia-Chien: "A woman can't be a real chef?"
    Wen: "Yes, you could have become one of the greats. But your father was right to encourage you in your studies. Now look, such a success! You owe it all to your father for throwing you out of our smelly old kitchen and keeping you on the right path!"
    Jia-Chien: "No one asked me what I wanted!"
    Was Mr. Chu right in preventing his daughter from becoming a chef?
16. What references are made to foreign or non-Chinese cultures (countries, people, food!)? Are they positive, neutral, or negative?
17. What attitudes toward cooking are presented in Eat, Drink, Man, Woman? Who cooks, and when? What types of cooking are represented (professional, at home, etc.)?
18. Note the juxtaposition of lovemaking with the blowing up of the duck in one scene. What is the commentary? A similar device might be the yowling of the cats in heat in the courtyard. What is the effect?
19. Jia-Chien comments when at her friend Raymond's, "I felt like cooking…It's ancient philosophy. Food balance with energy, flavor and nature. . . . This is duck-oil sauteed pea sprout. One duck--two dishes with two flavors. Hot and cold. A perfect balance." Compare her philosophy of food with her father's.
20. Compare the first Sunday dinner in the film with the last one.

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