This film is best savoured on an empty stomach, and at the pace of a fine
dinner, in order to appreciate Lee's study in deferred gratification
and the quiet hungers of the soul. The film hinges on the fable of a
widower whose three daughters are leaving home. A master chef, he has
lost his sense of taste, but continues to prepare exquisite
ritualistic meals. For the audience, too, this is a visual banquet, a
sensual experience that reaches through the eyes to the stomach - and
the heart. Will satisfy the senses other films leave cold.
