Ni hao, China!

I realized that I haven’t really been familiar with Chinese movies other than those starring the legendary Jackie Chan. But after recently seeing two wonderfully crafted stories from Mainland China and Taiwan, I can pretty much say that unlike other Western cinemas, Chinese films are exceptionally genre bending. Besides all those martial arts and kung fu movies that we are most familiar of, there are apparently other unique genres in Chinese cinemas that will most likely capture the hearts of many.

As such are the movies Together by director Chen Kaige, and Eat Drink Man Woman by Ang Lee. These two movies are uniquely Chinese in a lot of ways – from the language and the setting to the distinctive individual behavior and collective values held as a Chinese community. These two films may tackle two completely different tales that existed in modern day China, but yes, a number of similarities slowly began to unravel as minutes turn into hours watching.

One same thing in both movies that I noticed is the strong emphasis on a father’s love to his child. Chen Kaige’s Together appears to me as a touching portrait of a loving father (Liu Cheng) who is fearless and forthright in getting his talented son, his pride and joy, find a good violin teacher in the city. He does everything and is, in fact, willing to go through anything just to see his son (Xiaochun) rise to success in his chosen art – playing the violin. Liu Cheng has invested all of his hopes and energy in Xiaochun despite life’s lacking times. But for me, the ultimate thing that proves his love to his son is the fact that he is willing to be left behind, he is prepared to be separated from Xiaochun, if that means the only way for his son’s dreams to be fully realized. Meanwhile, Ang Lee’s Eat Drink Man Woman also has this element of a father’s love to his children, but subtler than that of Liu Cheng’s to Xiaochun. Old Chu, naturally inexpressive of his feelings, only channels his love and affection to his three daughters (Jia Jen, Jia Chen and Jia Ning, respectively) through his chosen art – cooking. He really makes a point of the family to sit together around a groaning table every Sunday evening. As awkward as it is for an old widower to do this, he still tries his best to relate with and to reach out to his daughters who are all heading in different directions. This attempt to understand the girls amidst his struggles in juggling traditional values and his pride in his girls, issues of age and the end of his cooking career, for me is already enough proof of his affection towards his children.

Also, I found a strong use of symbolism for both movies. For Together, Liu Cheng’s love, dreams and hopes for his son are symbolized through music, complemented by his attempts to make his son the best violin player in town. For Eat Drink Man Woman on the other hand, we can see the important role of food as an expression of love between Old Chu and his daughters. Because of the family’s difficulty in verbal interaction, food also serves as their chance and way of communicating.

Both movies also highlighted the conflict between drive for success and firm family relationship. This is seen through Liu Cheng’s and Xiaochun’s dilemma as the international competition fast approaches. It was actually clear to the both of them why they adventured to Beijing at the first place: that is, to grab every opportunity of making their dreams closer to reality. But as the story unfolds, as the consequences that come together with this risky journey to stardom became clearer and clearer each day, Xiaochun realizes big time the greater importance of being with his father, his only family, all the step of the way. He found out that facing this life journey together is way important than reaching that star of commercial success. For the Eat Drink Man Woman counterpart, this conflict is made manifest by Chu’s second daughter, airline executive Jia Chen. Bright as she is, she was given this chance to reach her dreams, a big time opportunity to take a big leap in the corporate ladder. Promotion to a vice-president post entails her to move to another country for good. Considering how her dad (Old Chu) would feel after all the unexpected happenings in their family (and her assumption regarding his father’s health) made her choose to do the otherwise. She declined the offer and stayed here instead, with a clearer vision to take care and be with his father instead.

In terms of technique, however, I both find them very slow-paced especially in the beginning. There are some parts which are, for me, not necessary, but still managed to pull off an overall good storyline. How to prove that? Well, I can identify to you clearly the meaning of both movie titles. The title ‘Together’ just affirms the importance of being ‘together’ with your loved ones throughout your quest to reach your own star. Eat Drink Man Woman, on the other hand, just negates the saying that these four (eating, drinking, men and women) are the only things humans can only desire for in life. In fact, there is more to life than all those appetites. A family filled with love and affection is perhaps an example.

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< Paper on Chinese Cinema, Film Class at Ateneo de Manila University