- Joined
- Oct 17, 2001
- Messages
- 592
This film has been out a couple of years now, but I can't finf a thread on it, so mods, please feel free to move. 
I am a lifelong fan of Asian cinema, and found this to be one of the most unsettling films I have ever seen, but one that I would highly recommend.
It was directed by Hong Kong director Fruit Chan.
Basically the story is about an ageing TV actress , Mrs Li (Miriam Yeung), who through sheer vanity (as well as having a philandering husband) wants to regainher youthful looks , so she pays a visit to Aunt Mei (the ever-beautiful Bai Ling), on a tip-off that she has a special dumpling recipe which can take years off her in no time. The snag is , though, that the dumplings contain aborted human foetuses.
Eventually , things go wrong , after she eats a 'rare' foetus (I won't spoil the plot by revealing why it is rare), and Mrs Li begins to develop an overpowering fishy smell. The film culminates in a truly disturbing ending in which Mrs Li gets her vengeance on her roving husband and his mistress (in a mode which, again, I will not spoil the plot).
This was a real thought-provoking film.....it made me think "Does this really go on?".....There was a scene in which Bai Ling is pontificating about and justifying cannibalism, which truly places the idea of cannibalism within its Chinese cultural context and creates a realism to the tale.
Bai Ling , although very beautiful, seems to have formulated a career out of lies about her past and never to have really done much in the way of memorable films, but for once she has appeared in a real gem.
Very unsettling , but highly recommended for anyone with an interest in Asian cinema.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0472458/
I am a lifelong fan of Asian cinema, and found this to be one of the most unsettling films I have ever seen, but one that I would highly recommend.
It was directed by Hong Kong director Fruit Chan.
Basically the story is about an ageing TV actress , Mrs Li (Miriam Yeung), who through sheer vanity (as well as having a philandering husband) wants to regainher youthful looks , so she pays a visit to Aunt Mei (the ever-beautiful Bai Ling), on a tip-off that she has a special dumpling recipe which can take years off her in no time. The snag is , though, that the dumplings contain aborted human foetuses.
Eventually , things go wrong , after she eats a 'rare' foetus (I won't spoil the plot by revealing why it is rare), and Mrs Li begins to develop an overpowering fishy smell. The film culminates in a truly disturbing ending in which Mrs Li gets her vengeance on her roving husband and his mistress (in a mode which, again, I will not spoil the plot).
This was a real thought-provoking film.....it made me think "Does this really go on?".....There was a scene in which Bai Ling is pontificating about and justifying cannibalism, which truly places the idea of cannibalism within its Chinese cultural context and creates a realism to the tale.
Bai Ling , although very beautiful, seems to have formulated a career out of lies about her past and never to have really done much in the way of memorable films, but for once she has appeared in a real gem.
Very unsettling , but highly recommended for anyone with an interest in Asian cinema.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0472458/