The premise is about an interracial, gay couple living in New York City. The Wedding Banquet is marketed as a comedy, but it is more than that. The Wedding Banquet was the first Ang Lee film that I watched. Ang Lee did a very good job on depicting the traditional father figure in Taiwanese society. I guess the first thing anyone should know before going in is that the movie is mostly subtitled. United States, Taiwan, 1993. But then, in the end, I realized who the cruel character was Watch it, and you'll see what I mean. It touches on many issues/themes which have never been combined before in one movie: Taiwanese Americans vs. Chinese Americans, Asian American families, old school parents vs. younger generation(s), multi-racial couples, gay couples, gay Asian Americans, immigrants, pride, family values and love. After the banquet, Wei-Wei seduces the drunken Wai-tung, and becomes pregnant. Maybe children might be a little young for this, but it is indeed a "family film" like no other. However, it is the delicate, understated moments that make The Wedding Banquet sing; there is a late scene in the film, focused on two characters, who are facing away from the camera, and there is one line, which I… The Wedding Banquet Trailer. Synopsis. Directed by Ang Lee. The wedding banquet took place because of their motivation from their culture and the love they share for Wai Tung and his new 'bride'. This wonderful work talks more about family than gay-life. I suppose The Wedding Banquet could be considered a romantic comedy. In the end, both derive some happiness from the situation, and they walk off to board the aircraft, leaving the unconventional family to sort itself out. May Chin. The film is about a woman wants to stay in the country gets married to a gay man. Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions. And the new "daughter-in-law" is hilarious (although you might think she goes too far in one important-to-the-plot scene). She is shocked and insists that he not tell his father. Wei-Tung's boyfriend Simon in well-meaning fashion thinks he should tell them, clearly not quite grasping the full degree of inter-generational dynamics at play. Heterosexual viewers unaccustomed to gay-themed dramas may find this early Ang Lee film palatable. Chinese opera singers are always men, so they demand an opera singer and add that she must be very tall, must have two Ph.D.'s and should speak five languages. This is the case for Wai-Tung and Wei-Wei. The mother is the first to disprove this stereotype, with the father following at the end of the movie. My parents are so serious that sometimes if I joke about me liking a man they would get upset. Simon watches the wedding banquet preparations with growing awareness that he has accidentally awakened a sleeping dragon. The Wedding Banquet becomes surprisingly satisfying, as it reaches its humane and sweet final course. Wai-Tung Gao (Winston Chao) and Simon (Mitchell Lichtenstein) are a happy gay couple living in Manhattan. He knits his brow and ponders as if there were something troubling him to no end. Sometimes parents ask their children when they want to get married without knowing they are gay at all, which is a very usual problem gay people face. | I saw the movie I Berlin, Germany, and I cherished it, the acting perfomance of each actor was superb, the father that deep in his soul knew all, and for him was more important the family line was not broken. Wai-Tung dares not tell his parents the true situation, because his father has just recovered from a stroke; they go through with the wedding. as Mr. Gao. This is the earliest film from the respected and great Taiwanese director Ang Lee that seems to be available in the U.K - even then it seems only on VHS or as a Korean import (which is how I got mine.). When they manage to find a woman who is pretty darn close and put her on a plane to meet him without warning him until she is already en route, the most awesomely silly sequence of the film begins, and Wei-Tung realizes this problem is not going to be put off much longer. When Wai-Tung's parents hire a dating service he and Simon stall for time by inventing impossible demands. And it's fun to watch as he goes through the motions of pleasing family and lover and acquaintances to take his mind off his troubles. All the way through the story, I had the notion that somehow it couldn't be right that they were playing such a cruel game. Ang Lee has not created a great movie, simply a perfect one. Through lying to others, and lying to himself, he becomes spiteful and distanced from loved ones like his parents and lover Simon. as Wai-Tung Gao. All of the actors are wonderful at expressing subtle emotions through face and body language. Directed by Ang Lee, the film features a cast that includes Winston Chao, Sihung Lung, Mitchell Lichtenstein and … The movie starts off in farce mode: Wei-Tung, whose name becomes an apropos pun in English which is probably not a coincidence, is a handsome and affluent gay man in a committed relationship, but he has a problem. the expectations of his culture) of a heterosexual marriage and 'normal' life. The definitive site for Reviews, Trailers, Showtimes, and Tickets. The filial expectations that go along with joining their lives in matrimony loom as they go ahead and try Simon's suggestion anyway. Their culture has been slowly instilled in them and often seemed to fill the stereotype of blindly traditional Asian parents. By the end, the characters had churned through this story, touched and felt the angles of each other's feelings, true and unnecessary expectations, and found each other as humans rather than a collection of fears and misunderstanding. Definitely worth watching, especially for anyone who enjoy's Ang Lee films. One Oscar nomination: Best Foreign Language Film. His parents want to set him up to get married and give them grandchildren, and they are not letting it go. Then Wei-Tung's parents show up, expecting to attend an elaborate wedding and feast, only to attend a courthouse wedding and quiet dinner. Follow. Culture plays into unsaid motivation for each character's actions and decisions throughout the movie. The Wedding Banquet Trailer (1993) Wai-Tung Gao (Winston Chao) and Simon (Mitchell Lichtenstein) are a happy gay couple living in Manhattan. as Mrs. Gao. Wai-Tung is in his late 20s, so his Taiwanese parents (Sihung Lung and Ah-Leh Gua) are eager to see him get married and have a child. The early part of the movie is madcap comedy. Released 1993 USER EDITOR. Database of movie trailers, clips and other videos for The Wedding Banquet (1993). As for Wei Wei, she finds herself stuck preparing for a hollow marriage. Winston Chao. , Tom Clancy's Without Remorse Feature Trailer, 7 Comic Book References You Might Have Missed In Birds of Prey, 7 Obscure Facts You Might Not Have Known About Tim Burton’s ‘Batman’, 5 Marvel Movie Trailers That Gave Away Major Spoilers. In a moment of anger, after a fight with both Simon and Wei-Wei, Wai-Tung tells his mother the truth. I loved this film - have seen it twice. Wai-Tung is in his late 20s, so his Taiwanese parents (Sihung Lung and Ah-Leh Gua) are eager to see him get married and have a child. However, her visa is about to run out and none of her recent boyfriends have been marriage material for one reason or another, so her arrow might be leading her back to mainland China. When she is accepted like a daughter from Wai Tung's mother, she becomes motivated by cultural expectation to maintain the ruse, especially through the wedding banquet scene, to do refrain from disappointing Wai Tung's mother. Wai Tung Gao (Winston Chao) a Taiwanese-American gay real estate entrepreneur is living in Manhattan with his physical therapist and lover Simon (Mitchell Lichtenstein). I didn't think the comedic qualities of the film trivialise the magnitude of the issues. Ang lee's The Wedding Banquet is a great addition to gay film, it's a movie for Chinese and then the world. This film is about a gay Chinese man having to bow down to parental pressure and marry a woman. It will cause you both sadness and laughter as it keeps you wondering about being gay and being friends with them. Simon is extremely upset when he finds out, and his relationship with Wai-Tung begins to deteriorate. Wei-Tung is convinced he has a foolproof way of keeping his parents from finding him a wife: he gives them a set of hilariously specific criteria that his potential wife must have before he will agree to meet her, not thinking his parents will ever find a lady who has all those degrees, speaks all those languages, sings opera and looks like a supermodel. His mixed emotions have no place to go; so they sit on his face, incomplete and unexpressed, except as unresolved anger, much of it at himself. Its emotion impact, its humanistic beauty never diminish. Comedy, Drama, Romance. LONG before Brokeback Mountain, Ang Lee tread the very tempestuous waters of gay relationships, this one set in the contemporary US of the 1990s. 164 were here. FAQ Though Ang Lee’s The Wedding Banquet is rated R for language and brief frontal nudity, it’s included here because the 1993 comedy-drama deals with issues faced by people on the fringe of society. The movie ends with an understanding, where Wai Tung's father undoes the assumption of his ignorance to Wai Tung's homosexuality, and Wei Wei keeps the baby with Simon and Wai Tung as fathers. Wai-Tung (Winston Chao) and his boyfriend (Mitchell Lichtenstein) live happily as a gay couple in New York City. Directed by. The perceptive Mr. Gao sees more than he is letting on; he secretly tells Simon that he knows about their relationship, and, appreciating the considerable sacrifices he made for his biological son, takes Simon as his son as well. No Editor. An early Ang Lee film, he made this one year after his debut film, Pushing Hands, but had actually written it some six years before. We let you watch movies online without having to register or … The service actually locates a 1.75 m (5'9") Chinese woman who sings Western opera, speaks five languages and has a single Ph.D. She is very gracious when Wai-Tung explains his dilemma. ... 'Gemini Man' Trailer Pits Will Smith's Assassin Against His Younger Self. It is set in New York with English speaking cast members, but most of the cast is Chinese and they speak Mandarin through larger portions of the movie. In the final parting scene, as Wai-Tung's parents prepare to fly home, Mrs. Gao has clearly forged an emotional bond to daughter-in-law Wei-Wei. Overall, Wai Tung struggles with his desire to fulfill his parent's wishes (i.e. – The Wedding Banquet Trailer. It is so in the best senses of both words: romantic without being sappy, and comedic without being ridiculous. How Does ‘Flash Gordon’ Stack Up To Other Classic Superhero Films? Trailer. One of the most beautiful endings of any comedy ever. Watch trailers, read customer and critic reviews, and buy The Wedding Banquet directed by Ang Lee for $11.99. 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