The Lunch Date

Adam Davidson's Academy Award-winning short is about a rich woman who misses a train and then has an awkward experience in an eatery. "The Lunch Date" isn't anything profound yet manages to be thought-provoking. It forces you to ask what you would do in this situation. Don't expect the short to result in a life-changing experience. As far as I can tell, it's about making you confront your privilege and prejudices.

Worth seeing.

This film is a story about a woman who misses a train and has lunch to kill some time. I think the interesting point of this film is that although there is no clear explanation, we can assume the characteristics of the woman by only watching the first 30 seconds of the film. There are two points which shows the characteristics of the woman in this film. Firstly, the woman dresses up shiwily, carrying many shopping bags in her hands. We can easily assume that the woman is rich. Secondly, when the woman cannons into a man and he tries to gather the strewn items of the purse, she coldly denies his help and leaves him quickly. She does not believe people easily. She may be a very suspicious person. Since this film is only ten minutes long, there is not enough time to explain the character's characteristics in detail. This film succeeds in depicting the least information about the main character possible to describe in such limited time.

This is an amazing must see short film by what I consider a brilliant screenwriter/director. I first viewed "The Lunch Date" while taking a cross cultural counseling class during my graduate program, and was simply amazed at the message that was conveyed in a matter of ten minutes. This is of course coming from a person who does not typically take the time to appreciate the true aesthetics of film making.

I love the way the story is told with minimal dialog between characters because it challenges first time viewers to decipher the plot and understand what message is being shared. The location setting, an underground subway station/shopping plaza provided me with a sense of nostalgia as I was raised in a city that had similar surroundings. The choppiness of the scenes and usage of black and white film also allowed me to appreciate the art of good film making. I had never really stopped to pinpoint what it takes to tell a story while being conscious of production techniques that assist the viewer to comprehend a message more effectively.

I would love to find this DVD Short for sale some where. If anyone is aware of where to find it, please direct me to a URL address. I work in the field of College Student Affairs, and would love to use this piece in one of my diversity training workshops.

I absolutely love this film. It really points out stereotypes that we all hold. I spent considerable time trying to locate a copy of this outstanding film. I finally found it on a DVD collection entitled Cinema 16: American Short Films. It has been well worth the search and the cost. I use it in my classroom to prompt discussions about stereotypes. I have my students watch it first from the point of view of the main character, the woman who has missed her train. I have them record their thoughts and perceptions from her point of view. I stop the film as she leaves the diner to catch her train. This is when I have my students share their thoughts. I then have them finish watching the story. Are they ever surprised! After this, I have them watch it from the perspective of the man eating the salad. After sharing their thoughts from his point of view, we discuss stereotypes. My students really enjoy this outstanding short story. The message contained in this short film is incredible.

I watched "The Lunch Date" recently. I think it is good contents. The film is a monochrome film. I can find out resistance of discrimination against black people from one scene in which a white woman and a black man have one salad bowl together happily. Actually, at the start of the film, she bumps into a black man and then scatters her baggage. He helps to pick it up but she refuse that because she just cannot stand black people. Besides I can find out the kindness of black people. For these reasons, I think the contents is good socially. However, I feel something lacking in the ending. I suggest that she should meet the black man again and say "thank you and see you again". Then, I think it looks like a lunch date.