A spiritual successor rather than a direct sequel to Ang Lee‘s classic “Eat Drink Man Woman”, the 2012 Taiwanese drama “Joyful Reunion”, also billed as “Eat Drink Man Woman 2”, also focuses on the ‘adventures’ of a family and their connection with food, this time with a vegetarian twist.
Watch This Title
by clicking on the image below
Tang Shizhe is a master chef in Hangzhou, running a vegetarian restaurant where attention to every detail, from the chef’s posture while slicing vegetables to the timing and weather conditions of ingredient harvesting, is paramount. Just as the story begins, he finds himself faltering, and without explaining his reasons, decides to shut down the business. He announces the news to his two stunned, meat-loving daughters, Wa’er and Xiaolan, who are already forced into awkward weekly vegetarian family dinners, sending their messy lives into further disarray.
Wa’er is in a relationship with a socially awkward game designer, Zhang Quan, whose lack of time and emotional awareness increasingly frustrate her. Matters worsen when his meddling grandaunt, Bai Ping, tries to play matchmaker with comically disastrous results. Her disdain for gourmet and vegetarian cuisine is only the beginning, as her free-spirited, constantly dancing demeanor causes chaos. Meanwhile, Xiaolan, the more impulsive sister, is entangled in her own relationship troubles, though much of her turmoil seems rooted in misunderstanding. When Shizhe announces a final dinner at the restaurant, unresolved issues rise to the surface, but so does a glimmer of hope.
To address the drawbacks first, comparisons to Ang Lee’s original leave “Joyful Reunion” trailing behind. “Eat Drink Man Woman” remains stronger across the board. In particular, the focus on Bai Ping feels disconnected and overly flamboyant, with an attempt at comedy that falters early. The daughters’ relationship arcs are also underdeveloped, and the love story that eventually unfolds feels overly sentimental and unconvincing.
Apart from this, however, there are a number of traits here. For starters, the presentation of food, and particularly the intricacy involved, both in the restaurant and outside of it is a feat in itself. The flower-blooming dish in particular will definitely stay in mind, with the movie being a true treat to any vegetarian viewer.
Follow our tribute to Taiwanese by clicking on the image below
This aspect benefits the most from Chin Ting-chang’s cinematography, which captures particularly the food and its preparation and the rather picturesque restaurant in impressive fashion. Stone Ho and Liao Ching-Sung’s editing results in a fitting, fast pace, but as previously mentioned, the movie has pacing issues and the editing does not help with that.
Furthermore, the acting and charisma of the two daughters retains interest in the movie for the majority of its duration. Huo Siyuan plays the calm, composed and gorgeous Wa’er with artistry, with the moments she is sad, frustrated or happy being among the best aspects of the movie. Jiang Mengjie as Xiaolan is equally fun to watch, particularly with her short temper and erratic behaviour. Gua Ah-leh as Bai Ping has a number of moments, particularly in the most dramatic scenes, while Kenneth Tsang as Shizhe steals the show in all the cooking-relevant scenes in the movie.
“Joyful Reunion” is a problematic film, but there are enough elements here, particularly the presentation of food and the acting that make it a title worth watching.
