Blog Entry 8

Blog Entry 8

The two films are very similar, except for the tone which is different. In “Eat Drink Man Woman” most of the same scenarios are played very straight. One example is in the scene where the middle child goes to her boyfriends apartment to find there is another woman there. The same scene plays out much more lightly in “Tortilla Soup”. Whereas in this it the scene is literally dark because its outside a door at night and the way the bars shadow reflects the door to her face really do show a more serious moment. Or the scenes where the daughters all gradually leave. The daughters say why they leave then it cuts to them leaving. As far as the role of food one particular scene stands out where in “Eat Drink Man Woman” the father tells the woman's daughter he will make her lunches. She goes into the bus crowded with adults, showing how the woman's mothering of her child is forcing the child to come closer to adulthood. Closer then what the father feels she should be at that age. In “Tortilla Soup”, the change in tone may be the result of having the family be more happy. Most likely resulting from the idea that if the daughters are as old as they are then why are they still living with their father, unless they all love to. However they do still get together to eat with each other. Which despite the father always putting a great deal of effort into making the food, something that would normally make that scenario happy. The opposite happens at most of the dinners where the daughters announce that they are leaving. Also earlier in “Eat Drink Man Woman” where the youngest daughter eats with the man who she will marry. In the scene she eats normally and he picks at his food to reflect how he feels about the daughters friend sticking him up. Which is something Ang Lee uses a lot in the film setting up a scene a certain way to determine what the characters are feeling. One example being where the one daughter finds another woman at her boyfriends house and the scene is done so darkly with the shadows reflecting on her face as if to show she is being shut out by someone she thought loved her.