Eat Drink Man Woman Essay

With regards to positive and negative aspects, the two indigenous Taiwan directors, Ang Lee and Tsai Mingliang, devote to filming the interpersonal connection between people in modern
Taiwan. In terms of the communication between the families, while Ang Lee's describes strong interpersonal connection, Tsai Mingliang's Taipei in essence possesses urban isolation. The contrast of communication can be reflected in the shot compositions, especially in the two scenes of having dinner. In “Eat Drink Man Woman”, the dinner in montage shots strongly functions as a tie between the individuals. The shot-reverse-shots vividly record the expressions of the families with regard to
Old Chu's fish. In a close-up, Jia-Chien's grimace and frown after she ate is shown. Right after that, her father's

Through the close ups of facial expressions, the series of shots reflect active feedback between the characters, the family members who care each other to a great extent. The continuous shots that connect to one another reveal the effective communication between the people in the scene. In contrast, dinner scene in the long take without any film editing in “What time is it there” depicts silent isolation between the Hsiao-Kang and his mother. Under the dim light, the background is depressingly dark. On the same table, Hsiao-kang and his mother as if sit separately and have dinner on their own. Lowering down their heads, they keep picking up food without
Zhou, 1 saying anything to each other. With remote, emotional eyes, Hsiao-Kang tries to look to his mother, failing to understand his mother's instable emotions. Supposed to be a useful vehicle to transform the emotions of the families, the dinner actually represents the disconnection because of his mother's superstitious belief. Hiding depressed feelings with morose faces, both characters are resistant to reveal. Instead of expressing loneliness to the son, the mother holds the