Movie · 1994 · Comedy, Drama, Romance · 2h 3m · NR · Chinese
Curator score: 9.0/10 (65.2K ratings)
A comedy to arouse your appetite.
Overview
Retired and widowed Chinese master chef Chu lives in modern day Taipei, with his three attractive daughters, all of whom are unattached. Soon, each daughter encounters a new man in their lives. When these new relationships blossom, stereotypes are broken and the living situation within the family changes.
Ratings
Curator score: 9.0/10
IMDb: 7.8/10
Letterboxd: 4.15/5
Rotten Tomatoes: 88%
Metacritic: 80
TMDB: 7.6/10
Director
Ang Lee
Production
Good Machine, Ang Lee Productions, Central Motion Picture Corporation, Xiongfa Film Company
A warm, meticulously observed family dramedy with a memorable food-centered opening, sharp comic timing, and a bittersweet look at generational change, duty, and desire. It’s especially rewarding if you like character-driven ensemble stories that balance domestic intimacy with emotional restraint.
Best for
fans of family dramas with humor
viewers who love food on film
audiences interested in Taiwanese or Asian cinema
people who enjoy bittersweet coming-of-age stories
fans of quiet, performance-led ensemble films
Skip if
you want fast pacing and constant plot twists
you dislike domestic melodrama
you’re looking for a romance-first story
you prefer highly stylized or action-driven filmmaking
Overview
Ang Lee turns a family dinner table into a stage for longing, duty, and change. The film is built around ritual: chopping, simmering, serving, and the unspoken emotions that gather around each meal. Its opening sequence alone is a showcase of cinematic appetite, but the real pleasure is how patiently it reveals the private lives inside a seemingly orderly household.
Worth noting
What makes it linger is the tonal balance. It can be funny, tender, and melancholy within the same scene, often without announcing the shift. The father-daughter dynamics feel lived-in rather than schematic, and the film’s interest in modern Taipei gives it a gentle sense of social transition without turning into a thesis statement.
Bottom line
This is a movie about people who express love imperfectly, sometimes through labor, sometimes through silence, and sometimes too late. If you respond to domestic stories with emotional texture and a strong sense of place, it’s an easy recommendation.
Top Letterboxd reviews
Les_Vampires (4★) · 1056 likes
Gving this one star lower than perfect because the opening cooking montage didn't last for literally two hours.
Ciara (4.5★) · 885 likes
There really aren't enough father/daughter movies out there. I wish there were more, because I don't realize how much I yearn for them until I accidentally stumble upon them. This was a real delight.
I didn't realize until after it ended that it was made by Ang Lee, and once I learned that it all made sense: the attention to detail, the wonderful atmosphere, the great narrative and performances, juggling of the tones, from outright comedy to restrained drama. If… more
fran hoepfner (4.5★) · 654 likes
in a very vulnerable emotional place and just genuinely loved it
Darren Carver-Balsiger (4★) · 416 likes
Eat Drink Man Woman is a lovable comedy-drama about family and moving on. Primarily it deals with the way that old traditions are disappearing, as the new and modern world brings fast food, technology, and most significantly changes in societal roles. Divorce exists, so does more open sexual expression, and relationships are built on love more than expectation. Home / family, one and the same, is no longer the most important facet of people's lives.
Ang Lee's first three films… more
Chris Feil (4★) · 398 likes
There are few things as cinematic than the loving preparation of food