GamerTab
That was an excellent one.
Steineded
How sad is this?
Afouotos
Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.
Francene Odetta
It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.
pablorochio
Most films of this ilk, or if and when remade for western viewers, would sell itself on hanging onto the mystery ingredient for the age defying dumpling however here it doesn't. Any working brain can guess whats in aunt meis sui mei pretty early on.On this this occasion it has little relevance as the film holds its own without this suspense.Film was well acted, with few characters and enough revenge served cold and on the snide to satisfy my love of Asian films once again.For those used to this genre in my opinion it sits in between audition and tale of two sisters.Its not particularly shocking, but delivers enough without dragging on for too long.
thecatcanwait
"Contains scenes of abortion, incest, and cannibalism that some viewers might find upsetting" warns Film4. I don't remember it being especially upsetting the first time i watched it. Odd yes, but not graphic enough to be gruesome.Mrs Li wants rejuvenation. She gets Chinese Auntie – or Doctor, or ex-Abortionist – Mei to cook her up some nutritious little sushi parcels of power packed badness.You hear these dumplings being slowly crunched and scrunched down Mrs Li's pretty throat. Mrs Li knows, but isn't bothered, by eating dead baby dumpling. Crunch, crunch, crunch. Mrs Li vainly wants the "best stuff" so as to entice her philandering husband back; our Auntie Mei reckons first born foetus from a girl freshly raped by daddy is best. "A child of incest has extra potency". Chop, chop, chop with that meaty cleaver Auntie Mei, pop it in those funny tasting dumplings.They seem to have done the trick. Mrs Li is looking radiant, and Mr Li is all over her again. But there's an unfortunately side-effect: Mrs Li's skin has started to stink – like dead fish.Mr Li, the adulterous pig, is off to Aunt Mei to find out what's going on. Cannibalism was permissible in old China for medicinal purposes she tells him "When 2 people are deeply in love they desire to devour one another, to be inside each other" she's saying. That's urged him on to be inside her, shagging at her savagely over the kitchen table. Then he realises he's ravishing a pensioner (she eats her baby dumplings too) It's occurred to some critics – although not me – to see this film as a satire of China's authoritarian 'one-child' policy (which resulted in abortions galore) slyly soused inside the free market cannibalism of Hong Kong's capitalist consumerism.Reading this you might be feeling revolted at the mere notion of raw foetus being cooked up in dumpling. But because it's all glossily – even glassily – filmed, and synthetically conceived, you don't really feel like you're watching horror or horrible at all.Mind you, it did occur to me while watching that it's the South-East Asian appetite for exotic culinary ingredients that accounts for why half the planets population of tigers, whales, bats, etc is endangered.
Claudio Carvalho
In Hong Kong, Aunt Mei (Ling Bai) is a cook famous for her home-made rejuvenation dumplings, based on a millenarian recipe prepared with a mysterious ingredient that she brings directly from China. The former TV star Mrs. Li (Miriam Yeoung Chin Wah) visits Mei aiming her dumplings to recover her youth and become attractive again to her wolf husband Mr. Li (Tony Leung Ka Fai). Along the sessions, Mei tells Mrs. Li that she was a gynecologist in China with more than 30,000 abortions along ten years. When Mrs. Li requests an acceleration of the process, the opportunity comes when a fifteen years old teenager with a five months incestuous pregnancy comes with her mother and asks Mei to make an abortion.The bizarre "Gaau Ji" is a low budget Asian movie that Hollywood will never remake. The disturbing and gruesome story depicts an unpleasant theme, certainly a taboo for the American industry, and has excellent performances highlighting Ling Bai making the story totally believable. The Brazilian DVD prudently advises that this film contains strong scenes and is not recommended to pregnant women and sensitive persons, and I totally agree. However, it is highly recommended to audiences that expect to see the break of a taboo in Hollywoodian productions. My vote is eight.Title (Brazil): "Escravas da Vaidade" ("Slaves of the Vanity")Note: On 28 December 2012 I saw a short version of this film again in an imported DVD ("3 Extremes", segment "Dumplings").
DVD_Connoisseur
The absolutely delicious Ling Bai plays a sixty-odd year old cook whose dumplings are famous for their regenerative qualities. Bai's performance is memorable and really helps carry the film along. Miriam Yeung Chin Wah stars as the famous television star who craves for her youth and will do anything she can to regain her former looks and rekindle the relationship with her husband, Tony Leung Ka Fai.This is a very un-Hollywood production and shows the difference that Asian movies bring to the cinema. "Dumplings" is disturbing in its taboo-breaking subject matter and unflinching in its depiction of events. Rather than deliver "Ringu"-style supernatural shocks and surprises, "Dumplings" is a much more reality-based movie with only traces of the magical included. Slow-paced but atmospheric and beautifully produced, this won't be to all tastes.A strong 7 out of 10. Fans of category III films "The Untold Story" and "There Is A Secret In My Soup" should like this one.
