Yin shi nan nu (1994)

Director:

Ang Lee

Writers:

Ang Lee (writer)
James Schamus (writer)

Release Date:

3 August 1994 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Romance | Drama

Tagline:

The Ingredients of Life

Plot:

A senior chef lives with his three grown daughters; the middle one finds her future plans affected by unexpected events and the life changes of the other household members.

Plot Keywords:

Chef | Christianity | Food | Restaurant | Baptism

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 4 wins & 9 nominations

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Sihung Lung	...	Chu
Yu-Wen Wang	...	Jia-Ning
Chien-lien Wu	...	Jia-Chien
Kuei-Mei Yang	...	Jia-Jen
Sylvia Chang	...	Jin-Rong
Winston Chao	...	Li Kai
Chao-jung Chen	...	Guo Lun
Lester Chit-Man Chan	...	Raymond
Yu Chen	...	Rachel
Ya-lei Kuei	...	Madame Liang
Chi-Der Hong	...	Class Leader
Gin-Ming Hsu	...	Coach Chai
Huel-Yi Lin	...	Sister Chang
Shih-Jay Lin	...	Chief's Son
Chin-Cheng Lu	...	Ming-Dao

Also Known As:

Eat Drink Man Woman (USA)
Yin shih nan nyu (Taiwan) (alternative transliteration)

Runtime:

124 min

Country:

Taiwan | USA

Language:

Mandarin

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:L | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PG (Manitoba/Ontario) | USA:TV-PG | Australia:PG | Singapore:PG | Argentina:13 | Chile:14 | Finland:S | Peru:14 | Portugal:M/12 | Spain:T | Sweden:7 | UK:PG | USA:Unrated | South Korea:15 | Germany:12

Filming Locations:

Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall Park, Taipei City, Taiwan

Company:

Central Motion Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

The opening sequence - in which a Sunday lunch is lovingly prepared - took over a week to film.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Madame Liang arrives by cab at her house together with her daughter and her grandchild, it is heavily raining, however, right in front of the taxi the road is wet, but there are no rain drops visible, in particular not in the puddle right in font of the cab.

Quotes:

Chu: These past two days, I... something wrong?
Jia-Chien: No, it's fine. Nothing.
[Jia-Chien makes a face from the soup]
Chu: Say it!
Jia-Chien: The ham was oversmoked.
Jia-Ning: It's fine.
Jia-Jen: Father probably forgot to taste it.
Jia-Chien: Or his taste is getting worse.
Chu: My taste is fine!

Movie Connections:

References Tonari no Totoro (1988)

Soundtrack:

GONE WITH THE WIND

Pretty Wonderful

Throughout this film, I was reminded of the film "Tokyo Story", in that it deals with how the changes in a child's life affects the parent(s). In this film, lensed in Taipei, the widowed father prepares Sunday dinner for his three daughters, all of whom experience life changes during the film. At first you do not like the eldest daughter, whose beauty reminds me a bit of the late, lamented Anita Mui, but she grows on you. What makes this film a delight is that during the film, as the story unfolds, you want to see something good happen to all of them. That is truly the mark of a well made film. The film has a richness that keeps you interested. In terms of scope, I also liken this film to the wonderful "YI YI". Not to be missed.