The Lunch Date

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.

The Lunch Date is an interesting movie. A wealthy woman is looking for her train, but she misses it because she encounters trouble at the terminal. She eventually goes to the cafeteria to eat something. She orders salad and sits on a seat. She notices there are no forks, so she goes to get one. After returning to the seat, she finds a strange man eating her salad. She is angry with him, but he doesn't care. Eventually, she shares the salad with him. He buys her a cup of coffee, but she looks unhappy. After that, she goes out of the cafeteria and notices she forgets her bags. Returning to the cafeteria, she realizes a significant thing... This short film expresses a sense of discomfort, but it is also funny. This woman is arrogant and wealthy. She doesn't apologize anytime and is highly vigilant about everyone. She should receive her comeuppance, but she doesn't. It seemed unfair. On the other hand, there is a twist in this film, so I like it.

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.

This film is interesting, so I recommend it.

The story is, a woman who misses the train eats lunch in a cafe. She buys salad. And she gets up from her seat to go take a fork. When she returns, there is a man eating her salad. She is puzzled. But she is so irritated that her salad is being eaten that she begins to eat it with the man. Then the man looks somewhat happy and buys coffee for two. The woman says thank you, leaves the cafe, and goes to the station. However, when the woman realizes she has forgotten something, she returns. That's where she realizes the truth.

This film has very little dialogue. But I understand the story. It's an amusing experience when you're done looking at it.

So you should see it once.

An old white lady, who has a lot of bags, harries to take a train in a station. But she bumps into a man, and she drops her bags to miss the train. Then she have lunch there. She buys her lunch and sits a seat. She realizes that there are no fork and stands up to take it. When she returns the seat, there is a black man. He has lunch, and she claims this is her lunch. But he continues to eat, and she also has it. The man buys two cups of tea. She drinks it a little and leaves there to take a train. Later she comes back there to forget a part of her bags.

After watching this short film, we realize that we have prejudices about a race. We tend to think color people are inferior to white people or low social ladder. Also the lady looks unhappy in this film, because she is driven by time. But she laughs in the end of this film. This is useful to stress the climax of it.