Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, October 29, 1994                   TAG: 9411030044
SECTION: EXTRA                    PAGE: 12   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: MIKE MAYO CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

`EAT DRINK' IS A FINE FOREIGN FILM

With its exotic setting (Taiwan) and subtitles, the film probably isn't for everyone. But its concerns - families, friendships, relations between fathers and daughters - are so universal that the cultural differences are insignificant. This is simply a fine movie that ought to appeal to a wide audience.

Like director Ang Lee's most recent film, "The Wedding Banquet," it is primarily about parents and their adult children.

Master chef Tao Chu (Sihung Lung, from "The Wedding Banquet") has his hands full with his three daughters. His wife died several years before, and the three young women are about to strike out on their own. Jia-Chien (Chien-Lien Wu) is an aggressive young executive who's ready to announce that she has bought a condo. Jia-Jen, a devout Christian, is a high school teacher and appears content to stay in the family home. The youngest, Jia-Ning (Yu-Wen Wang), has just begun an improbable romance.

Their next-door neighbor, Jin Rong (Sylvia Chang), and her young daughter are almost members of the family; at least until Jin's overbearing mother (Ah-Leh Gua, also from "Banquet) arrives for an open-ended visit. Mom's all-purpose advice is "Don't marry the bastard," but she has her eye on Master Chu.

The only time Chu is able to gather everyone together is for the big Sunday dinner he spends all day preparing. Even then he knows there will be a fight, and besides, he says that after years of cooking, everything tastes the same to him.

From that premise, the script by Ang, Hui Ling Wang and James Schamus follows those characters and a few others through several eventful weeks. Ang balances the various storylines masterfully. Initially, it may be difficult to keep the characters straight, but that passes quickly and the film is as easy to follow - and as interesting - as a good soap opera. Toward the end, there is a letter-perfect plot twist.

Overall, Ang's directorial style is understated, but he does have his moments. Note the wonderful Scorsese shot when Master Chu first goes to his restaurant kitchen. And the key sequences of food preparation are astonishing. Ang makes them appetizing and shocking at the same time. Master Chu uses only the freshest ingredients, and that means live fish and fowl.

Ang handles the emotional side of the film just as deftly. The various kinds of love that drive the plot are presented with all their complications, frustrations and joy. And none of the relationships turns out as the individuals involved expect.

So, forget the superficial cultural distinctions. "Eat Drink Man Woman" isn't about the things that separate people. It's about the things and emotions that bring us together, and those seem to be about the same in Taiwan and Virginia.

Highest recommendations.

Eat Drink Man Woman

****

A Samuel Goldwyn Co. release playing at The Grandin Theatre. 124 min. Unrated, but would probably be PG-13 for some strong language, mild sexual material.