Soul of a Banquet

Soul of a Banquet

By Wayne Wang

  • Genre: Documentary
  • Release Date: 2014-10-19
  • Advisory Rating: NR
  • Runtime: 1h 18min
  • Director: Wayne Wang
  • Production Company: Oscilloscope
  • iTunes Price: USD 9.99
  • iTunes Rent Price: USD 3.99
3/10
3
From 1 Ratings
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Description

Director Wayne Wang (THE JOY LUCK CLUB) takes us into the world of Cecilia Chiang, the woman who introduced America to authentic Chinese food. Chiang opened her internationally renowned restaurant The Mandarin in 1961 in San Francisco and went on to change the course of cuisine in America. The film is equal parts a delectable showcase of gastronomy and a touching portrait of Chiang’s journey from a childhood in Beijing before the Cultural Revolution to accidental restaurateur on the west coast of the United States. SOUL OF A BANQUET features interviews with Alice Waters, Ruth Reichl, and Cecilia Chiang herself.

Trailer

Reviews

  • Great story, but bad everything else.

    1
    By iJackr
    Purchased this documentary on iTunes because of the preview, but almost fell asleep watching it. During the interviews, there is no visual evidences of anything, just talking heads. When showing b-roll, there is no information on what she is cooking, plus poor sound design and bad lighting that didn’t move the story forward. Great story with great potentials, but poor execution.

  • Rotton

    1
    By Also Too
    Not worth watching, very poorly made not a film about Chinese food rather it is about a person first and second a whole lot of closeups of chopping, follow by a private banquet in which very little is conveyed about the actual food.

  • Disappointing

    2
    By MarcandMarie
    This documentary could have been wonderful - a quick google on Cecilia Chang reveals so much more about her life. Only towards the end do you get an idea of the kind of cooking she brought to the USA. Niether do we get her intriguing background, nor anythuing about the wonderful food being prepared. A shame... But, I was hungry afterwards!

  • Could have been Great. Poor Filmmaking

    1
    By sabornieto
    Don't bother wasting your time and money.

  • Great subject matter! Poor filmmaking!

    2
    By Bluser660
    So sad this could have been a remarkable film, but moves so slowly with no great visuals and no historical research. Painfully long interviews one after another.

  • really great time capsule

    5
    By Lucatello
    Seeing so many amazing dishes being served would be okay with me, but with all of the context Cecilia provides the film really becomes something else. Add all of the awesome visuals and personal elements and this becomes way more than just a foodie doc

  • fantastic doc that’ll make you hungry

    5
    By RogerMexico
    I caught this movie at a free screening in Brooklyn. Not only is it an interesting look at how authentic Chinese food is prepared, but also provides Cecilia Chiang’s story of her immigration to the United States to avoid the dangers of living in communist China. It’s certainly a feast, with a side of nourishing history lesson!

  • Delicious documentary

    5
    By tjs1908
    If you liked JIRO DREAMS OF SUSHI, you'll love this. Beautifully photographed, fascinating story of a Chinese food pioneer.

  • WARNING

    5
    By Jellymynelly
    The only reason I wouldn't recommend watching this film is because you're GUARANTEED to order in Chinese food afterwards only to realize a few bites in that for the rest of your life you're NEVER going to eat anything as good as what Cecilia Chiang made for her banquet.

Movies by Wayne Wang

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