Director Ang Lee’s follow-up to his surprise box-office hit The Wedding Banquet is another look at ethnic and sexual conflicts in a Chinese family, with meals as a centerpiece of the film. Master chef Chu (Sihung Lung) is a long-time widower who lovingly cooks large Sunday dinners for his three daughters. Each daughter maintains a different attitude toward his traditional (and beautifully shot) meals, and a shifting personal relationship to her significant other, as well. In Mandarin and French languages with English subtitles. (35mm presentation, 124 mins, Not Rated.)
This semester’s East Asian Film Series line-up features recent classics from Taiwan and South Korea as they intersect with this semester’s Themester theme, Eat, Drink, Think: Food from Art to Science. This series is sponsored by the IU East Asian Studies Center and IU Cinema. Special thanks to Stephanie DeBoer.