Rice Rhapsody
From the onset, I wanted to present an Asian world that is not commonly seen in Asian cinema. A world that is multi-faceted and multi-layered where values between generations and cultures collide but also where understanding meets.
If the melody of the rhapsody is a traditional Chinese mother dealing with her three sons' sexuality then the bass line is the progression of discovery on the narrowness of our minds. The world is a great place with many things to occupy our thoughts and emotions. When the French girl tells Jen, the mother, about how the water spirals down the basin differently in France, the mother subtly feels the hidden power of the universe that exists in her presence and her own ignorance. It is the beginning of her discovery.
Jen is the heartbeat of the film, a contemporary Mother Courage. She is simple but full of complex emotions. Her resilience is the resilience of a million mothers around the world. In writing and making the film, I have found this strength tangible and inspiring for it would surface from the character, the actress or even the producer. This female strength of facing things head on permeated into the film.
Food is the central symbol for a Chinese family. Dinner is where a family gathers for a brief moment and it is a place where they are forced to face each other. In Rice Rhapsody, food not only serves as something that makes us grow physically, it transcends its function and makes us grow emotionally. As Oscar Wilde said, “After a good dinner one can forgive anybody, even one's own relatives.”
SYNOPSIS DIRECTOR'S STATEMENT CAST FESTIVALS
