And "Pushing Hands", "Wedding Banquet" and "Eating Men and Women", these three films with different internal textures can be recognized by the audience as "father trilogy", largely relying on Lang Xiong, the typical image of this Chinese-style father (there was no term "national father" back then).
"The Wedding Banquet" in 1993 was the most humorous of them all. Gao Weitong, played by Zhao Wenxuan, is gay and has a close lover, Simon. Originally, they lived a very tacit understanding, but the teacher's father played by Lang Xiong and the mother played by Gui Yalei wanted to come to the United States to urge marriage, so they had to collude with Wei Lai, who wanted to get a green card. After a series of comedies, they became arrogant. His father knew the truth, but forbade it for the sake of the family.
At that time, the gimmick of the movie was homosexuality, and some people said that it was a Sino-American cultural conflict, but in fact "The Wedding Banquet" was just an ethical film dressed as a gay man. Even if Gao Weitong is not gay but falls in love with a girl from a different family background, even if he is not in the United States but in his hometown, the logic of the story still holds true. The cultural background is only for the film to be sold in the United States, and Chinese-style wedding ceremonies can indeed create a strong cultural contrast, such as making small revelations about Sina's scandals, going to the wrong wedding scene and continuing to eat as if nothing happened, making a bridal chamber, etc., Ang Lee, who made his only cameo appearance, described it in the play as
In Western culture, there is an Oedipus plot of murdering the father. As a human social community, the conflict between the son and the father can be said to be one of the two basic logics of historical progress. It's just that the Chinese cultural system has the suppression and lubrication of filial piety and family affection. At the end of the movie, the parents who disturbed the lives of the three of Gao Weitong’s parents made a surrender gesture at the boarding gate when they went through the security check. It was not a cultural sign of weakness, but a deepening of traditional Chinese family ethics: you are a comrade, as long as you can pass on your lineage. The family is not separated, when the authority of the father is still on the surface, I will turn a blind eye.
A year later, director Ang Lee is more in control, and he is more confident in showing the traditional Chinese culture more concretely and nakedly in "Diet Men and Women". The Master said: Food color, nature. At the beginning of this film, the chef Lao Zhu played by Lang Xiong meticulously prepares various foods, which can be regarded as a food documentary. Every major decision of this family is made around the dinner table, and it is inseparable from eating, eating, and eating. The middle-aged and widowed Lao Zhu has three daughters: the eldest is an old maid who teaches in a middle school, the second is a white-collar worker in an airline, and the youngest is a French student at the university. Lao Zhu has an old partner, Lao Wen, in the restaurant, as well as a family friend, Jin Rong, and her mother.
This dull but balanced family relationship was shattered by the death of Lao Wen. Over the years, Lao Zhu, who has lost his sense of taste, has completely relied on Lao Wen to control the heat. Some people say why Lang Xiong can forgive his son for being gay in "The Wedding Banquet", because in fact, the chef Lao Zhang, who has served their family for 40 years, is actually his basic friend. Although it is a bit over-explained, we might as well regard Lao Zhang and Lao Wen as the spiritual companions of the previous generation.
Then, the youngest daughter unexpectedly became pregnant out of wedlock and broke the sinking at the dinner table again. Next, the eldest who had suppressed his emotions for nine years even found a lover and moved out. The second child who originally wanted to leave first and had the best chance to leave actually stayed. In fact, I think Lao Zhu's three daughters are actually one person, but the other two parts of this person have left the "father's house" first, and it is difficult to break off the emotional connection between father and daughter in the end. In the end, the plot twist of Lao Zhu married Jin Rong instead of her mother, which was the comfort of the always optimistic Ang Lee to the audience. Restoring the sense of taste means continuing to eat, new life means the continuation of men and women, and the father is not old.
In comparison, I actually prefer the first part of the trilogy - "Pushing Hand". In terms of time, "The Wedding Banquet" is only pregnant, and "Men and Women" is only in the infancy, but the third generation of "Pushing Hands" is already seven or eight years old. Martial artist Lao Zhu went to the United States to live with his son, Xiaosheng, who already has a foreign wife. The family conflict in the latter two films can be described as "sent but not yet released" and "close call". The old Zhu of "Pushing Hand" is widowed and unable to understand the language. It can be said that the hero is late. At the end, the conversation between Lao Zhu and Mrs. Chen is even more meaningful, "Mrs. Chen", "Lao Zhu, why did you come out?" "I'll come out to see if you're gone" "I think the sun is so good today, anyway, I can't go back alone. It's all right, I'm just sitting in a daze thinking about it" "I live in 1701" "I live in 2101 over there", "Come over when you have time" "Do you have anything to do this afternoon?" "It's okay...it's okay..." Suddenly Stop, flirting like a French new wave lad and a little girl.
After graduating, Ang Lee was unhappy for a long time. Perhaps it was the life of the house-husband during this period that made him see life clearly. In the early days of filming, the actors were also in their best years.
Wang Bozhao, who played Xiaosheng in "Pushing Hands", played a movie "Love in the Pen" in which calligrapher Zhao Xuzhi (Zhao Mengfu, Zhang Xu, Wang Xizhi) played the leading role. The most famous work is the white horse of "Journey to the West".
Wang Lai, who plays Mrs. Chen, is also a well-known old drama bone, known as "the actress with a thousand faces".
The grandson Jamie is played by Ang Lee's own son, who looks a lot like the Chinese Super League star Kongka, but this time he was injured in acting, and he will never touch movies again. In the film, Xiaosheng lost his temper and smashed the table Ang Lee's own, so that the producer didn't even have a decent table when he went to his house for dinner.
Zhao Wenxuan in "The Wedding Banquet" was self-recommended to participate in the role. At that time, he hadn't acted a lot of the later Wei Shu Mi, and he was so tender that he could squeeze out the water. Jin Sumei, who plays Wei Wei, is an aborigines in Taiwan, with a wild temperament and a fragrant scene. The child who stepped on the new bed in the bridal chamber was Li An's youngest son.
The youngest daughter Wang Yuwen of "Diet Men and Women" later became well-known in the mainland "Following Love to the End". The eldest daughter Yang Guimei played Jin Chengwu's mother in the recent "Peace Wheel". Jin Rong was Zhang Aijia, and the second daughter was the low-key goddess Wu Qianlian.
The old woman in the two plays is Gui Yalei.
The steady, wise, humorous father of the "Father Trilogy", who supported the backbone of the trilogy, Lang Xiong, died of illness in Taipei in 2002.
View more about Eat Drink Man Woman reviews
