Chinese Foodscape in Films by Yan-ho Siu and June Lam

(for ‘Cultural Exchange between Switzerland and Hong Kong Artists/ Writers’ Film Screening on December 4, 2008 at Bethanie Campus of APA)

Ang Lee (李安) (born October 23, 1954) is an Academy Award-winning film director from Taiwan (Best Director for Brokeback Mountain, 2005)

Lee studied in the National Tainan First Senior High School where his father was a former principal. He was expected to pass the annual Joint College/University Entrance Examination, the only route to a university education in Taiwan. But after failing the Exam twice, to the disappointment of his father, he entered a three-year college, National Arts School and graduated in 1975. His father had wanted him to become a professor, but he had become interested in drama and the arts at college. After finishing the Republic of China's mandatory military service, Lee went to the U.S. in 1979 to study at the University of Illinois at Urbana- Champaign, where he completed his bachelor's degree in theater in 1980. Thereupon, he enrolled at the Tisch School of the Arts of New York University, where he received his MFA.

Lee's NYU thesis drew attention from the William Morris Agency, the famous talent and literary agency that later represented Lee. At first, though, WMA found Lee few opportunities, and Lee remained unemployed for six years. During this time, he was a full-time house- husband, while his wife Jane Lin (林惠嘉), a molecular biologist, was the sole breadwinner for the family of four. This arrangement, usually an embarrassment in Taiwanese culture, put enormous pressure on the couple, but with Lin's support and understanding, Lee did not abandon his career in films but continued to generate new ideas from movies and performances. He also wrote several screenplays during this time.

In 1990, Lee submitted two screenplays, Pushing Hands (推手) and The Wedding Banquet (喜宴), to a competition sponsored by the Republic of China's Government Information Office, and they came in first and second respectively. The winning screenplays brought Lee to the attention of Li-Kong Hsu (徐立功), a recently promoted senior manager in a major studio who had strong interests in Lee's unique style and freshness. Hsu, a first-time producer, invited Lee to direct Pushing Hands, a full-length feature that debuted in 1991.

Lee's first two movies were based on stories of Taiwanese Americans, and both were filmed in the US. In 1995, Hsu invited Lee to return to Taiwan to make Eat Drink Man Woman (飲 食男女), a film that depicts traditional values, modern relationships, and family conflicts in Taipei. The film was once again a box office hit and was critically acclaimed. For a second consecutive year, Lee's film received the Best Foreign Language Film nomination in both the Golden Globe and Academy Awards, as well as in the British Academy Award. Eat Drink Man Woman won five awards in Taiwan and internationally, including the Best Director from Independent Spirit. Hollywood optioned the film rights and remade it into Tortilla Soup (2001, dir. María Ripoll). This is one of the rare occasions in which a Taiwanese film was remade outside the country.

In 2003, Lee directed Hulk, his first big-budget Hollywood movie. Reception from critics and audiences was lukewarm, and the film ultimately failed to meet Universal's financial expectations. After the setback, Lee considered retiring early, but his father encouraged him to continue making movies…

P.1 Filmography

1992 Pushing Hands 推手 1993 The Wedding Banquet 喜宴 1994 Eat Drink Man Woman 飲食男女 1995 Sense and Sensibility 1997 The Ice Storm 1999 Ride with the Devil 2000 Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon 臥虎藏龍 2002 The Hire 2003 Hulk 2005 Brokeback Mountain 2007 Lust, Caution 色，戒

Film Foodscape 飲食男女（1994） Various Eat Drink Man Woman

Film Outdoor Foodscape 細路祥（1950） 燒鵝 Roasted goose The Kid 苦海明燈（1953） 大包 Large steamed bun A Son is Born 油條 Chinese twist cruller 父母心（1955） 餛飩麵 noodles Parents' Hearts 叉燒包 Steamed barbecued pork bun 雨過天青（1959） 燒鵝 Roasted goose For Better...... for Worse 叉燒包 Steamed barbecued pork bun 糯米雞 Glutinous rice wrapped in lotus leaf 蝦餃 Steamed fresh prawn dumpling (Ha-gau) 燒賣 Steamed stuffed dumpling with shrimp (Siu-mai) 南北一家親（1962） 蠔油鮑魚 Abalone with oyster sauce The Greatest Wedding on 小籠包 Steamed Shanghai-style dumpling (Siu-lung bun） Earth 蟹 Crab

半斤八兩（1976） 燒鵝 Roasted goose The Private Eyes 橫財三千萬（1987） 大排檔 food stall (the large license stall) The Thirty Million Rush 與龍共舞（1991） 燒味併盤 Mixed grill dish Dance with the Dragon 春卷 Spring roll 馬拉糕 Steamed sweet bun of Malaysia（Mai-lai cake） 豪門夜宴（1991） 臭豆腐 The Banquet 鳳爪 Steamed chicken feet with black bean sauce 雞扎 Steamed bean curd sheet roll with chicken 叉燒包 Steamed barbecued pork bun 蓮蓉包 Steamed lotus seed paste bun 大排檔 Dai Pai Dong food stall (the large license stall)

P.2 食神（1996） 車仔麵 Assorted noodle The God of Cookery 叉燒飯 Barbecued pork rice 牛丸 無間道 II （2003） 火鍋 Infernal Affairs II 千杯不醉（2005） 火鍋 Hot pot Drink Drank Drunk

Film Indoor Foodscape 危樓春曉（1953） 魚蛋 In the Face of Demolition 炒粉麵 Fried rice noodles and noodles 父母心（1955） 用柴煮飯 Cooking rice with firewood Parents' Hearts 同床異夢（1960） 燉雞湯 Simmered chicken soup The Bedside Story

可憐天下父母心（1960） 腐乳 Fermented bean curd The Great Devotion 叉燒 Barbecued pork 咸蛋 Salted duck egg 桃李爭春（1962） 餃子 Dumplings It's Always Spring 南北一家親（1962） 蒸與煎蘿蔔糕 The Greatest Wedding on Steamed and fried radish cake Earth 小兒女（1963） 蟹 Crab Father Takes a Bride

合家歡（1989） 腐乳 Fermented bean curd Mr. Coconut 豉油雞 Soy sauce chicken 豪門夜宴（1991） 咸魚 Salted fish The Banquet

Siu Yan-ho is a post-graduate student in the Chinese Department of Lingnan University. His research area is ancient Chinese writings. He was a student of Training Institute in the past. Also, he learnt cooking by working in a western restaurant for a year.

June Lam Pui-wah got her PhD from the Comparative Literature Department in the University of Hong Kong, with the research area of two French philosophers, Deleuze and Guattari. At present, she works in the Centre for Humanities Researches in Lingnan University, engaging in projects related to humanities and cultures of Hong Kong.

P.3