I. Introduction
At the beginning of the film, a brisk musical sound accompanies Dad Zhu as he prepares the family's Sunday feast. After the audience enjoys a big scene of food making with their eyes, the musical sound stops abruptly and is replaced by a crisp phone call ring. The audience does not know who is on the other side of the phone, which has become the suspense of the whole film and a clue to understanding "Diet Men and Women".
"Diet men and women, people have great desires", the film cuts from diet, around six dinner parties, and gradually unravels the life of the family members of this family - a father and three daughters, the desires on the taste buds are mixed with The desire for love, in the conflict between old and new ideas, the plot of the film is ups and downs, and the climax is frequent. At the dinner party where all the members were present, the plot of the movie suddenly changed, and the mood of the whole film reached its peak. After the dinner party that ended in panic partially deconstructed and subverted those restraints and traditional concepts, the protagonists in the story all found his home. The order of life is constantly broken in this room, and finally the film achieves a new balance again through the traditional "return". The sudden turn and discovery of the plot in the movie - the development of the story changes in the opposite and unknowable direction1, which brings a strong dramatic conflict, on the one hand, it makes the audience feel strong mental stimulation, and on the other hand, it also makes the audience think about the plot setting inner meaning.
The deconstruction of traditional ideas
(1) Deconstruction of the role of the father
Zhu's father is a widower. His wife has been dead for 16 years. During these 16 years, he has worked hard to raise his three daughters. To some extent, Dad Zhu sacrificed his love for his three daughters. He has love for Jinrong, but he is concerned about his "father" status, so he has never made this "incestuous love" public. Jin Rong is a classmate of Jiazhen, the eldest daughter of Zhu's father, and has always been regarded as the fourth daughter of Zhu's family. But the thirst for love in human nature will not be wiped out by one's old age. Besides, Dad Zhu is very healthy, and his jogging and massage in the bathroom show his strong side. The film has laid the groundwork for Dad Zhu's "confession" at the dinner party many times. When Dad Zhu was about to retire from the kitchen, Dad Zhu said something meaningful to the manager:
Dad Zhu: People say: "People die for wealth, birds die for food". Dying for wealth is a matter of human beings, and dying for food is a matter of birds. Is it worth it? People are rough, no matter how well they eat, there is no point in eating... What is a pity, only when there is a word of cherish in my heart can I know it is a pity. Fortunately, I didn't plan to spend my whole life on this.
Dad Zhu also has a deep friendship with the kitchen. At the first dinner, Dad Zhu took a call from the hotel and went to the kitchen to help without a word. In the scene of the big kitchen of the hotel, Dad Zhu was shouted all the way: "Master Zhu", which shows his status in the kitchen. Even the hotel manager relies on Dad Zhu, even if the Cui Gai Pai Wing is replaced by a dragon and a phoenix. The hotel will lose a lot of money, and Dad Zhu can also calmly say, "I'll explain it to the head later." But now, Dad Zhu has decided to retire. On the one hand, losing the best partner also means losing the "taste". The death of Mr. Wen, a good friend for many years, made Dad Zhu rethink the meaning of life. Should he spend his whole life in the kitchen? does it worth? Do you want to live your whole life for your daughter? Later, Aunt Liang's words also urged Dad Zhu's heart to pursue his love, "It's time to think about yourself." Father Zhu, who has always been limited by his fatherhood, finally decided to announce his love for Jinrong at a grand dinner - the suspense was revealed. This is undoubtedly very rebellious. Dad Zhu's courtship is the first time he has removed the role of "father" and presented it to the audience as a "man". Different from the traditional old father image, Zhu Dad's image is fresh and alive. Although everyone at the dinner was surprised by the result, and the dinner became a mess because of Aunt Liang's collapse, everyone finally accepted the fact. In the last scene of Jin Rong's departure, the whole scene was surrounded by bright tones, and the audience also naturally accepted the fact that Jin Rong was pregnant. This seems to be a part of life, and although it may seem absurd, it has reached a "happy" ending. The subversion of Zhu's role is reflected in two aspects in the film. One is that Zhu's sense of taste disappears, and his glory as a chef is therefore dispelled; the other is that Zhu's father has given up his fatherhood and announced to everyone that he will take care of Jin Rong, which subverts him. Traditional father role.
(2) Deconstruction of the female image
1. Zhu Jiazhen's Road to Liberation
In addition to her father, the daughters of the Zhu family have also achieved the liberation of humanity by breaking through the shackles of tradition. The characters in the film are very successful because the characters' personalities are not single, "but gradually revealed through the pressures and choices faced by the characters in the advancement and development of the film's story" 2, they will face internal challenges. Conflicts and contradictions in human nature.
The eldest daughter Zhu Jiazhen is the most obvious character in the film. Jiazhen is the eldest daughter of the family. The loss of her mother at a young age made her take on the responsibilities of the family at an early age. A quarrel between Jiazhen and Jiaqian during a dishwashing process highlights the long-covered contradictions in the family: Jiazhen believes that Jiaqian has always She refused, while Jia Qian believed that Jia Zhen became a "mother" after her mother's death, and it was her sister who isolated herself.
In line with the traditional image of the eldest daughter, Jiazhen is responsible and responsible, relatively traditional and conservative. At the same time, Jiazhen is also a devout Christian. She observes the strict rules and regulations of the believers, goes to church to listen to the priest's explanation, prays before dinner, and often listens to religious music with headphones. The scene of listening to religious music is symbolic. On the one hand, the headphones are a tool to isolate Jiazhen from the external world, and she intentionally isolates herself from the outside world of desire; Suppress your desires.
However, the deliberate "abstinence" and "repression" cannot cover up Jiazhen's thirst for love. Jiazhen experiences a change in her attitude towards love. At first, she resisted and rejected love. When she found out that the students in the class had received love letters, she said angrily, "Who has not received love letters?" and threw the students' love letters into the trash can. At the same time, she is also dissatisfied with neighbors singing love songs all day long. She not only rejects the love of others, but also envy the love of others. She is very sensitive to others talking about her relationship status, so she has several conflicts with Jiaqian. For example, when Jiaqian was chasing the shouting cat to leave, Jiaqian said, "At least they are very happy." Jiazhen's dissatisfaction. However, Jiazhen's thirst for love could not be hidden. When the neighbor sang a love song again one day, she finally broke out. She changed the traditional character of suppressing desire before, put on red clothes, ironed the avant-garde hairstyle, transformed into With strong makeup, the change in image means a change in personality. In the past, Jiazhen was conservative and traditional, which was reflected in her monotonous clothes and stereotyped hairstyle. Today, her avant-garde and fashionable appearance also reflects her own. The character becomes more open and modern. At this point, Jiazhen's inner thirst and impulse for love has been vividly reflected, and it is not surprising that she took the initiative to kiss Zhou Mingdao.
In the final shot the director gave Jiazhen, Jiazhen watched her husband Zhou Mingdao being baptized in the church. There is no foreshadowing in the film that can foreshadow Jiazhen's future marital situation, and finally the scene where the godfather baptizes Zhou Mingdao in the church, presumably the director's tendency to bless the couple. Therefore, the audience naturally accepted the couple's marriage, and it also made the audience re-examine the way human nature should be. Women should be bold, passionate, and free, and they have the right to pursue their own happiness.
2. Zhu Jianing's Courtship Road
As for the third daughter, Zhu Jianing, she is the most enthusiastic and bold of the three daughters of the Zhu family. Jia Ning was young, and the social and family constraints on her were also very small. Instead, she became the first one to leave home. She stole her friend's boyfriend in her own way. Jia Ning's presence at home is not very high, so she does not actually have a very strong "traditional and modern" conflict. She does not have to take on family responsibilities like her sisters. At the same time, she accepts emerging ideas, so she Be more proactive in pursuing your love. Although this way of pursuing love is not glamorous, the director did not criticize Jia Ning for his actions. On the contrary, the final shot of Jianing and Guolun is soft and positive, and Guolun looks at Jianing and the child with loving eyes.
In fact, the way Jia Ning and Guo Lun reached a love "agreement" was special. When Guo Lun brought Jia Ning home for the first time, Guo Lun showed Jia Ning a photo of his grandmother. Grandma can't speak, but she can respond to the flash, so Guo Lun bought a lot of photography equipment. When Guo Lun was developing the photo of his grandmother, the two held hands in front of the portrait. It was two people who reached a contract of life in a way of mutual understanding when facing the solemnity in the face of birth, old age, sickness and death. And this may be something that Jia Ning's friends can't do. The maintenance of the relationship is not just about love, but also requires a mature heart to be considerate of each other and perceive each other's feelings. Jia Ning and Guo Lun reached a consensus on the fate of aging. In this sense, their love is not an ordinary "girlfriend seduce boyfriend" drama, their love has a deeper meaning and is therefore more lasting.
(3) Deconstruction of "home"
In the first five dinners, food and dinner were the bonds that connected the family relationship. The old Zhu Dad managed to maintain the conflicted family relationship by making a sumptuous dinner for his daughters, and everyone repeated "I have something to announce. "It is the "deconstruction" of this traditional family again and again. "I announce" is an unquestionable expression, which means that I have made a decision, and "announcement" is to inform, not to "discuss". Everyone expresses their thoughts through "announcements," and once a decision is made, the family can only accept it. This way of "speaking" implies the delicate relationship of this family, which may become fragmented due to the constant "I announce".
At the first dinner, Jia Qian's puzzled expression when eating the food caused Pa Zhu's dissatisfaction, and the tense dialogue between father and daughter also made the audience nervous. It was Jia Qian who announced the matter at this dinner, and she bought the The new house was about to move, and the dinner ended when Dad Zhu received a call from the hotel kitchen. It was still Jiaqian who announced the matter at the second dinner party. Her investment failed, and her father allowed her to go home. At this time, her father gave Jiaqian a crab. This action seemed trivial, but in fact it was full of fatherly love. of tolerance and relief. At the third dinner, Jia Ning announced that he was pregnant with Guo Lun's child and wanted to leave the house. Although the family was shocked, they did not object. In this way, Jia Ning was the first to leave the house. Jia Ning's departure is the first step towards the "disintegration" of this traditional family. At the fourth dinner, Jiazhen shyly announced that she and Zhou Mingdao had formed a husband and wife relationship, and eventually left the Zhu family. Jiazhen got on a motorcycle and looked back at her family. Tears were shed. There were reluctance and nostalgia in these tears, and there may also be gratification for finding love or fear for the unknown future. This family is once again heading for "disintegration". At the fifth dinner party, all the important characters in the film were present. After toasting three glasses of wine to the three daughters, Dad Zhu expressed his heart:
"I have a few words that I have held in my heart for a long time. I didn't say anything because I didn't want to hide anything. I just felt that I didn't want my personal affairs to be a burden to my family and become a burden... In fact, I didn't say anything. , I'm not sorry anyone, I said, I just don't want to make compromises. In my life, no matter how I do it, I can't be like cooking, I can't put all the ingredients together before I cook..."
Finally, with the encouragement of everyone, Dad Zhu, who was hesitant to speak, expressed his heartfelt voice - although the result was unexpected - Dad Zhu asked Aunt Liang to take care of Jin Rong. At this point, the family has almost fallen apart. Aunt Liang passed out, and the banquet ended in a panic. The last scene of the banquet was that Dad Zhu looked back at the crying second daughter standing in the dining room, and left silently.
The second daughter seems to be the most independent in the movie, but is actually the most humane. She has a deep attachment to Uncle Wen, her father, and her family. Otherwise, she would not have arrived as soon as she learned that Uncle Wen was hospitalized. The hospital will not choose to refuse the opportunity for promotion because of taking care of his father. Between love and family, Jiaqian also chose family. When Raymond invited her to go to the exhibition on the weekend, Jiaqian refused Raymond's invitation because she wanted to go home for dinner. In Jiaqian's view, family and affection come first. And when her father made the decision to sell the old house, it meant that Jiaqian became the only one who adhered to the tradition. She was like an abandoned person at this time. Everyone, even her father, left her. Amid the noise of the crowd, she was the only one left, left alone in the kitchen of her hometown, crying in the face of the absurd life, she realized that what she was holding on to was something that her relatives couldn't wait to leave and give up. When the crowd pursues her love, she becomes an outsider.
The return to tradition
(1) Zhu Jiaqian's difficult choice
Jiaqian is the second daughter of the Zhu family. She is independent, confident, generous, and beautiful. She is a white-collar worker in an airline company and a woman with modern consciousness. In the film, she is also the first person to offer to leave home to buy a house.
However, the person who seems to be the most rebellious is the one who stayed in the old house and continued the family dinner every Sunday. The setting of this plot also makes the story full of tension and the characters' personalities are fuller. In fact, Jiaqian's "return" has long been hinted that Jiaqian is the one who has the most inheritance of her father's cooking skills among the three daughters, and she also knows the truth of cooking. But because her father didn't let her into the kitchen when she was at home, Jiaqian's desire to cook was suppressed by the family. But Jiaqian still likes to cook. When she is happy, she will cook at her lover's house. Jiaqian seems to hate this family, but in fact she misses the family the most, and she is also full of affection for her father. When Jiaqian told her lover about her past at the dinner table, she was very emotional. She fondly recalled the things her dad had done - bracelets and rings made of dough, studded with diamonds made of sugar and star anise. When Jiaqian's lover, Raymond, joked about this, Jiaqian seemed very serious and serious. Because in her opinion, these things can't be used as a joke or a sexual interest. When Raymond turned Jiaqian's pure and sincere memories into a vulgar joke, he was undoubtedly sullying Jiaqian's family. emotion. But Raymond only regarded Jiaqian as a sexual partner, so he didn't realize the sincerity of Jiaqian's feelings for his father. This also lays the groundwork for Raymond to abandon Jiaqian and marry someone else.
The relationship between Jia Qian and her work partner Li Kai also ended without a hitch. Jiaqian maintained a rational attitude towards Li Kai. When she mistakenly thought that Li Kai was her sister's ex-boyfriend, Jiaqian ended what was about to happen in the middle of her "feeling" with Li Kai, and then asked Li Kai if she had really forgotten about her. sister? The misunderstanding was finally resolved, and their relationship became a friendship. Li Kai is happy that he didn't do "that thing". Although Jiaqian also said that she was also happy, but from her expression, she could see Jiaqian's loss. Jiaqian hoped to have a man who could love her evenly. However, Li Kai is a married man after all, at least not doing that thing is a clear conscience for Jia Qian. Later, Jia Qian, who failed in the investment, returned to the old house because the house failed.
The arrangement of the storyline seems to be unfair to Jiaqian. Although Jiaqian is independent and beautiful, why is she repeatedly frustrated in love? But the director may be extremely gentle towards this character, and Raymond's "betrayal" can make Jiaqian realize Raymond's hypocritical feelings for him as soon as possible. The appearance of Li Kai once brought new hope to Jia Qian, but since Li Kai is a married man, the director made their relationship into a "friend", which is also responsible for Jia Qian. Unlike the eldest sister, Jia Qian does not regard "marrying out" as her goal, nor does she put love and men in a very important position. At that grand dinner, when Jiazhen brought her husband home for dinner, Jiazhen became the only one at the dinner table because Aunt Liang said that Shanshan (Jin Rong's child) would not be able to marry if she was so picky and careful. Laughing man. And Jia Qian saw all of this in her eyes. Jiazhen does not have an independent female consciousness, and her "initiative" towards Zhou Mingdao is Jiazhen's complete release after suppressing her personal desire for love for a long time, but this does not mean that she has embarked on the path of an independent woman since then. When Jiazhen stepped out of the role of "can't get married", she appeared complacent and very confident. It can be seen that she regards "can you marry" as a reflection of her charm. But Jiaqian is not like that.
The setback in love may not be a tragedy for Jia Qian, but the beginning of her "discovering herself" and "achieving herself". It is Jiaqian's wish to cook in the kitchen, so returning to the old house to cook is not only a return to tradition but also a "return to yourself", and Jiaqian does not have to spend her time and youth on useless men. After everyone's emotions got home, Jiaqian also chose to go to Amsterdam to work. The conflict between tradition and modernity is also reflected in Jia Qian's body.
(2) Reconstruction of "home"
Although formally the original family has been separated, it is not really fragmented, not emotionally hostile or hostile. In the first few "complete" dinner parties, it seemed to be harmonious, but everyone was suppressing their own thoughts. But at the last dinner party, although only Dad Zhu and Jia Qian were present, the feelings between the family members were even stronger. At the end of the film, everyone's expressions were happy and relaxed. Jia Ning and Guo Lun, Jia Zhen and Zhou Mingdao, and Jin Rong did not come to the final dinner due to their own reasons, but it was not because they did not miss it. Or do not love this home, but because this home is gentle to them, the host of the dinner will not be angry because of their absence or non-arrival, it is precisely because of the warm and harmonious atmosphere of their hometown that they can Live your life freely. The emotional bond that connects you changes from food to phone. In the past, contradictions and suspicions overlapped under the seemingly "complete" dinner, and the relationship between father and daughter was also very tense.
At the last dinner party, Dad Zhu regained his sense of taste after drinking his daughter's soup. The loss of taste in the past symbolized the inability to communicate emotionally between father and daughter3, but the restoration of taste now symbolizes the reconciliation and reconciliation between father and daughter. Knowing each other, Jiaqian and Dad Zhu not only inherit their cooking skills, but also communicate with each other in spirit. "At the end of the film, when the second daughter hosted a banquet alone to entertain her father, firstly, it continued the tradition of family banquets in form, and secondly The continuation of culinary skills can be seen from her skilled cooking techniques”4. In the end, Dad Zhu grabbed his daughter's hand when she was scooping soup and said, "Daughter", which was the father's long-lost call to his daughter, and also the release of his father's love after he had suppressed his feelings for a long time.
4. Summary
"Diet Men and Women" creates a distinctive image of the Zhu family, showing people's choices under the conflict between old and new ideas. Although there is a conflict between modernity and tradition, in the film, there is no absolute right or wrong between the old and the new, and "Diet Men and Women" perfectly integrates the two. The film not only recognizes different forms of love - youthful, mature and passionate, and protects each other, which is similar to Ang Lee's other films - showing different aspects of life and different types of love, and love can make people feel the vitality , can make people feel at ease with each other. "The traditional family model disintegrated under the conflict of modern culture, and finally reached a new balance, and everyone's freedom of personality was maximized." After deconstructing the tradition, after everyone pursues the freedom of individuality, the home is "established" on a new level. Home has not disappeared, nor has it been fragmented because of the departure of everyone. On the contrary, home has returned to its original state - home is warm.
references
[1] Aristotle, "Poetics" [M]. Commercial Press. 1996.7: 89
[2] Ma Liang, Analysis of the characters and deconstruction in the movie "Diet Men and Women" [J]. Film and Television Observation. 2017.07
[3] Yang Zupeng, Liang Chunzhu, Eating and Emotion: On the Narrative Strategies in "Eating and Drinking Men and Women" [J]. Drama Home. 2014.12
[4] Yang Liuxin. Metaphors of delicacies: On the dietary strategies in Ang Lee's films [J]. 2010.05: 42
[5] Sun Yutao. "Aesthetic Research of Ang Lee's Films".[J].2013.05:8
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