There is usually nothing that gets me away from my newspapers on a Sunday Morning. I usually spend several hours on my back porch immersed in news and entertainment. I flipped on the TV to see what was happening in the third round of the Masters and I noticed a movie on the Indie channel that I hadn't seen and it looked interesting. Big mistake! It Was And Lee's Yin shi nan nu (Eat Drink Man Woman). The paper got put aside as I couldn't tear my eyes away from the story. It was captivating, to say the least. How a widowed father deals with three daughters was the classic relationship film.In addition, the subplot, how everyone was doing something that they thought was "what was expected," instead of what they really wanted to do was a simple definition of life out of balance. Only when life is in balance can you taste the spice. You'll have to invest some time in watching this great film to understand that fully, and it will be time well spent.

By now, Ang Lee is best known for "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon", "Brokeback Mountain" and "Life of Pi". If you're not familiar with his earlier work, it's worth checking out. Key among it is 1994's Academy Award-nominated "Yǐn shí nán nǚ" ("Eat Drink Man Woman" in English). I understand that this was part of what has become known as Lee's Father Knows Best trilogy. In this case, an aging chef in Taipei tries to come to terms with the different career paths that his daughters have chosen.

Without a doubt, the best part of the movie is seeing the food prepared. The opening scene shows the father preparing a feast for himself and his daughters. And boy does he put in a LOT of effort! But as the movie progresses, it becomes clear that the meals are only half the story. There's also the events in the characters' lives, as they seek out relationships. Might it also be time for the father to seek out a relationship?

This is definitely one that I recommend. As I read somewhere, the assortment of food representations life: there's a lot available, but you have to decide what you'll choose. A fine one. Another one of Lee's good movies is "The Ice Storm" (a downer if there ever was one).

... "Love goes through the stomach" (which btw is the exact same translation babel-fish has given me) ... this could be easily applied here too. Although it shouldn't be approached as a love story or a rom-com or something like that.

It's also about the love a father has for his daughters (and vice versa). But as always, not all love each other like they should do. But that's OK, otherwise we wouldn't have any drama here or anything interesting to watch. And although this is not something new, Ang Lee knows how to tell a story, in a very light but still amusing way. He has shown that in other movies too, so it's no surprise that you get an excellent movie here.