Ang Lee's 1994 classic film EAT DRINK MAN WOMAN is a wonderful drama that perfectly combines the themes of food, love and family. The film's producer Hsu Li-Kong (CROUCHING TIGER HIDDEN DRAGON) has now collaborated with director Tsao Jui-Yuan to bring us the sequel, JOYFUL REUNION.
The strong cast includes Kuei Ya-lei (the original EAT DRINK MAN WOMAN and another Ang Lee classic THE WEDDING BANQUET), Huo Siyan (who starred in MY NAME IS FAME that gave actor Lau Ching Wan his first ever Best Actor Award at the Hong Kong Film Awards), Lan Zheng-Long (NIGHT MARKET HERO) and Kenneth Tsang (recently seen to steal the show in OVERHEARD 2).
Synopsis: People once said, love is like flavour; once you have a taste of it, you will never forget. Wa'er's Father runs a well-known vegetarian restaurant in Hangzhou. Wa'er herself is a successful manager of a luxurious health resort. Her boyfriend, Zhang Quan, is a computer game designer from Taipei, who loves Wa'er but spends too much time in the virtual world. Zhang Quan's auntie, Apple, raised him like her own son. She's squandering her life in alcohol and nightclubs due to loneliness. In order to help his auntie get her life back on track, Zhang Quan takes her back to Hangzhou, which is also her hometown. Apple's arrival causes quite a stir in Zhang Quan and Wa'er's lives. After one incident, the tension between Wa'er and Zhang Quan explodes. The father is secretly planning on closing the restaurant due to his illness. Wa'er and her sister Xiao Lan decide to help their father fight the disease and keep the restaurant. Apple finds out the answer to the secret that she has kept for over fifty years. Because of the restaurant, the relationships of the two generations intertwines and bonds again.
EAT DRINK MAN WOMAN 2012: JOYFUL REUNION had its world premiere at Berlin Film Festival and will be released in Taiwan on 23 March.