would rather act than express

Damon 2022-03-22 09:02:40

Movies are nice. I dare not say that only Chinese people can resonate, but when I see the plot, if it is not for the Chinese whose ancestors have been Westernized for at least three generations, they will laugh more or less after reading it, and then the more they laugh, the more helpless they become. For example, the phrases "We don't get married to explain to anyone", "I don't want to explain to you what to get married", and the drinking at the wedding banquet and the bridal chamber afterward. I can't help but think, what does marriage mean to Chinese people? I agree with what was mentioned in the movie "Little Women", marriage is a matter of financially, a reallocation and reorganization of social resources, and I also believe that marriage also has to be a union of love, which is sacred and responsible. Just after reading the wedding banquet in "The Wedding Banquet", as well as the weddings I attended on weekdays, and the opinions of some people around me, it seems that many marriages are related to face and reproduction. The four words "I want to hold a grandson" are like a mountain pressing down on each generation of young people. Parents and children lack communication, and it doesn't matter whether the children are happy or not.

In the end, both parents and children have their own ghosts. On the surface, it seems complete, but the script just arranges that a woman is willing to give birth to this child, which meets the needs of two generations. And although I can't look at the previous works with the current eyes, in fact, this is also an example of surrogacy in disguise. In the past, I would definitely think that this was really a happy ending, but if I look at it now, I still feel uncomfortable.

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Extended Reading
  • Deron 2022-03-26 09:01:12

    The dialogue lines I watched this film many years ago was a disaster, and now I review it again, it is still a disaster...

  • Cassandre 2022-03-17 09:01:07

    As a director, Ang Lee's performance in "The Wedding Banquet" is still a bit naive. The rough details in the movie are everywhere, far less than the meticulous work after "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon"; but in terms of content and plot, this I feel that this is one of Ang Lee’s best films: I put a lot of effort into it, and the portrayal of cultural differences is accurate, sharp and lively. The film Lee Ang is more successful as a screenwriter than as a director.

The Wedding Banquet quotes

  • Justice of the Peace: Okay, now you: "I, Wee-Wee..."

    Wei-Wei: Wee-Wee.

    Justice of the Peace: "... take you, Wai Tung..."

    Wei-Wei: Wee-Wee.

    Justice of the Peace: Okay. "To be my wedded husband... to have and to hold..."

    Wei-Wei: Holding to have, husband, mine...

    Justice of the Peace: "... for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer..."

    Wei-Wei: Better and richer, no poorer.

    Justice of the Peace: "... in sickness and in health, till death do us part."

    Wei-Wei: Till sickness and death.

    Justice of the Peace: Groovy. Rings.

  • Mrs. Gao: [about Wei-Wei] What do you think?

    Mr. Gao: She'll make a lot of babies.