Every Sunday, widowed master chef Mr. Chu prepares a sumptuous banquet for his family. While he has a firm grasp on the fine art of Chinese cuisine, he is less successful when it comes to being a father to his three grown, unmarried daughters, each of whom challenge traditional Chinese values, and are often too busy with their own lives to appreciate their father’s gastronomical expressions of love. As communications breakdown and family bonds are strained, Mr. Chu takes drastic measures to win back his daughters’ affections, with hilarious and poignant results. Critically acclaimed and commercially successful, Eat Drink Man Woman—taking its title from a passage in the Confucian Book of Rites—was nominated for a BAFTAA, Golden Globe and Academy Award, signaling Taiwanese-born director Ang Lee’s international appeal, with subsequent films such as Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon (2000), Brokeback Mountain (2005) and The Life of Pi (2012).

The film screening will be followed by a short discussion.

This film is part of the monthly film series Asia and the Pacific Screens, sponsored by the Australian Centre on China in the World.

Directed by Ang Lee 李安

1994, 124 minutes

In Mandarin Chinese, with English subtitles

In collaboration with the organizers of the ANU’s annual Asia Pacific Week, Asia and the Pacific Screens will be hosting a special late-night screening to welcome local and international delegates with an interest in film and culture from the region. All welcome!