7. Eat Drink Man Woman
Ang Lee is probably the most celebrated Chinese director for Western audiences. Unlike a Tsui Hark or a John Woo, Lees sensibility was able to translate to western terms. That is probably due to the fact that he was trained as a filmmaker in America. His films runs the gambit of genres from his take on the wu xia film, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Sense and Sensibility and the CGI epic Life of Pi. But his most celebrated film is the emotional drama, Brokeback Mountain and that is where his strengths lie. That is clearly evident if you go back to Lees earliest works in China especially the wonderful Eat Drink Man Woman. The central conceit of Eat Drink Man Woman is the emotional relationships centered on food. From two generations, a chef contemplating retirement and his three daughters struggling with relationship issues gives a dynamic look on both modern Taiwanese life and the universal idea of relationships and generational struggles. Lee masterly combines romance, drama and comedy with really poignant looks at these three sisters. Their characterization is so dynamic and unique that its hard not to fall under the trapping and joy of being with this family despite all their flaws. This was later remade into the Spanish themed Tortilla Soup.