Gau ji

Not so much a horror as horrific. With youthful properties gained from apparently eating dumplings containing special stuff, I won't give away the twist that happens in the films opening sequence, this is a visceral ride through this sordid Hong Kong tale. With cinematography by Christopher Doyle who did last life in the universe and 2046, it looks amazing, the crazy colours and dazzling visuals are offset by disturbing ideas and gross out scenes. What follows is a story of the length people will go to in pursuit of vanity. Well acted, well paced and always unnerving you are never sure where the film is going to go from the start to the madness of the final chop ending. Fans of the twisted and people used to the bizarreness of Asian extreme films will really be swept along in the story and all the disgusting close-ups that add to the horror. Adding also is the crispy clear sound that has such attention to detail that the slightest noise even one as banal as a clock suddenly takes on an eerie feel. Overall a brilliantly played out film but one for those with a strong stomach.

What an indigestible mess! I'm not talking about the story.

My only experience with Fruit Chan was "Public Toilet." It was a very successful movie for me. It sketched an open world — unending quests, open characters, like we find in life. The forces we see are those of death postponed, recycled. Sure, it introduced a coprophagiac mermaid and such notions, but the thing had a kind of life; elements passed by one another and through and by these motions it defined life.

So imagine my expectation for this project that combines such a promising a filmmaker with the most interesting cinematographer working today. Doyle has the ability to create an inner animation, a pulse of the retina's veins, within the vision of the filmmaker — if he has a vision.

But this project has a closed world. Its a simple narrative, completely unlike "Toilet," except for being unreal. Less so but in the same magical direction. There are three main characters: a wealthy man, his aging wife (a former actress), and a sort of magical witch doctoress who serves up the dumplings that reverse aging. (Actually, it merely enhances the body for sex, an interesting substitute.)

The story actually matters here: we have to invest in these characters, where the "Toilet" characters were tokens, moving bits of a larger machine. So we expect the story to give value as a story. It doesn't. What it does is set up a few scenes: three athletic sex scenes, one abortion and the penultimate scene which is intended to be the most disturbing. But because we have no human connection to the thing it loses the effect.

There's one interesting device. Lots of energy is spent in hearing the eating of the dumplings. We also hear the noises of bodies joining. Its quite shocking — explicit, and obviously deliberate as the sex scenes are staged in such a way that there is less to watch than film convention usually provides, so you notice this sound. They are pretty much the same, the dumplings and the copulation.

Ted's Evaluation -- 2 of 3: Has some interesting elements.

Now this is my least favorite segment in "Three Extremes", but seeing how the it's a lot longer than the short segment made me enjoy it a lot more. Now some horror movies are better left with some of the mystery surrounding it and is better left with leaving some stuff out. I personally think that wasn't the case for this film, although I thought some of the stuff in this extended version would have been better if left out, majority of the stuff is a real plus. A lot of the dialogue is interesting that was left out in "Three Extremes", and makes you think about women and there struggle to look young. The film also deals with the one child policy in China and questions how far would someone people go in order to look young. The cinematography was good and it's a well acted, well paced film with a pretty good horror plot. I wasn't so sure about the extended version, but glad it came about. It's a engrossing and disturbing yet interesting while having other elements that will keep most horror fans pleased.

7.6/10

Sometimes you see a movie where (factual content and (emotional)effect are strongly in opposition to each other. For example, in 'Pulp Fiction' the content includes a lot of random and 'accidental' violence, even against totally innocent people, but the way it is portrayed prevents you from taking it seriously. It is like the violence in a cartoon such as 'Tom and Jerry'. It provokes laughter rather than disgust.

Dumplings is such a movie. It portrays a young (sort of) woman: 'aunt' Mei, who earns her living making dumplings that rejuvenate the eater, effectively giving him or her eternal youth, as long as they are regularly eaten. Now the catch is in the 'special ingredient'. I won't reveal what this secret ingredient is (although it becomes clear very early in the movie) but it is one of the sickest ingredients that I have ever seen, read about or heard of. The unique feature of this movie is that it is able to utilize this horrible element without becoming a movie that is either simply disgusting (like 'Braindead') or slapstick (such as 'Ichi the Killer'). On the contrary, it is actually a quite funny story about the interaction between Mei and her clients and about their increasing dependence on her dumplings.

But what makes the movie really worth it ( to me, at least) is social commentary that it includes. The real issue is not the 'special ingredient' of the dumplings, but the fact that people are so desperate for 'youth' that they're willing to do everything for it. In a society totally focused on the external norms (like wealth, beauty, and appearance) it is no surprise that the internal norms (like law, morals and compassion), atrophy and get discarded like a snake discards his old skin. This externalization of norms, however, is not criticized or punished, but rather advocated (by the film, not necessarily by its maker) as natural and acceptable, indeed inevitable. It is this highly subversive and thought-provoking element of the film that makes it truly worthwhile.

"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.