Beautifully shot and disturbingly interesting

Masumi Miyazaki and Rie Kuwana in Strange Circus (2005)

They say your dumplings are the most expensive.

Bai Ling and Miriam Yeung in Dumplings (2004)

Bai Ling

Miriam Yeung

Sum-Yeung Wong

Pik-Wah Lee

Aunt Mei&apos;s famous homemade dumplings provide amazing age-defying qualities popular with middle-aged women. But her latest customer - a fading actress - is determined to find out what the secret ingredient is.

Fruit Chan

Gau ji

&quot;Dumplings&quot; tells the tale of a former doctor, who operates a dumpling shop from her home with a secret youth creating ingredient. A former actress, past her prime seeks out this special food created by Aunt Mei in order to attract her adulterous husband&apos;s attention. Fruit Chan makes no attempt to imply or hide the secret ingredient from the audience, but rather lays out the premise from the beginning, while increasing the graphic details throughout the film. This film explores some disturbingly probable themes, especially how far people will go to reclaim their youth, and the emphasis society places on looking young. He manages to explore the repercussions of this quest for youth, while still leaving some details up to the interpretation of the viewer. The film is exquisitely shot, with some amazing angles and close-ups surrounded by beautiful cinematography, and set design. He manages to bring the viewer into the world of the characters making the theme all the more real and disturbing. Fruit Chan accomplishes this realism by juxtaposing Aunt Mei&apos;s blunt and complacent attitude with Mrs. Li&apos;s deterioration into desperation. Definitely not for the squeamish, or easily disturbed. To some this topic will be upsetting. However, for those who like something a little different, or fans of such directors as takashi miike or chan wook park, you will love it. I enjoyed it thoroughly.

Mei is a trashy, former abortion doctor who shuttles back and forth across the HK-China border with benign-looking containers of glistening dumplings. Bound not for the family dinner table, these dumplings are of a special sort, and the preferred meal of a high-paying clientele who seek their famed youth-renewing powers. Qing is a nearing-40 former soap actress clinging to her youth and attempting to win back her philandering husband, who sucks down chicken fetuses in an attempt to maintain his own vigor. Regular meals at Mei&apos;s apartment only whet her appetite for eternally smooth skin, and trigger an ominous search for an even more potent variety of the dumplings&apos; secret ingredient. 

The ingredient in question, while appalling, is only a warm-up to the twisted moral and cosmic consequences that result from the ethical-boundary-free rules that govern their universe. In his best film to date, Chan masterfully holds a mirror up to the increasingly frightening world around us, and pushes all the right buttons.

Official Trailer

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BZjM0ZDJlY2MtMWU5OS00ZjJkLTllOTQtZTFjOGJiNThhNTk3XkEyXkFqcGdeQXRyYW5zY29kZS13b3JrZmxvdw@@._V1_.jpg

"Dumplings" tells the tale of a former doctor, who operates a dumpling shop from her home with a secret youth creating ingredient. A former actress, past her prime seeks out this special food created by Aunt Mei in order to attract her adulterous husband's attention. Fruit Chan makes no attempt to imply or hide the secret ingredient from the audience, but rather lays out the premise from the beginning, while increasing the graphic details throughout the film. This film explores some disturbingly probable themes, especially how far people will go to reclaim their youth, and the emphasis society places on looking young. He manages to explore the repercussions of this quest for youth, while still leaving some details up to the interpretation of the viewer. The film is exquisitely shot, with some amazing angles and close-ups surrounded by beautiful cinematography, and set design. He manages to bring the viewer into the world of the characters making the theme all the more real and disturbing. Fruit Chan accomplishes this realism by juxtaposing Aunt Mei's blunt and complacent attitude with Mrs. Li's deterioration into desperation. Definitely not for the squeamish, or easily disturbed. To some this topic will be upsetting. However, for those who like something a little different, or fans of such directors as takashi miike or chan wook park, you will love it. I enjoyed it thoroughly.

character repeats someone else's dialogue

Aunt Mei's famous homemade dumplings provide amazing age-defying qualities popular with middle-aged women. But her latest customer - a fading actress - is determined to find out what the secret ingredient is.

bappamtv

Gau ji

🎭 Top Cast

💰 Box Office

🎬 Technical Specs

🏷️ Keywords

🎯 Categories

⭐ Featured Review

💡 Did You Know?

🎬 More Like This

📖 Synopsis