Dumplings (2006)

Don't listen to the Hype. It's awful

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

Those who've seen the Dumplings short on the rather awesome 3 Extremes compilation know basically what to expect here. Much as Se7en became known for its "What's in the box?" sequence, this movie has become infamous for "What's inside the titular dumplings?", the answer of which is far grimmer than the severed head of a terrible actress. It's played very well, with the revelation ensuring that many lines of dialogue create shivers and every crackly crunch of a dumpling being munched on inducing squirms in most audience members. Sure, it's a one trick pony, but when the trick involves sledgehammering one of humanity's ultimate taboos, then you don't really need another.Dumpings is about a woman who's desperate to get rid of some wrinkles and give her skin that youthly glow in order to hold her husband's interest. Of course, any husband worth a damn would oblige by dropping trou and offering up a batch of the world's most effective face moisturiser, but this guy's too busy with business and shagging women on the side to perform this kindly service. Their relationship is somewhat typical of the phenomenon whereby male wealth and female beauty go hand in hand. It's how we end up with the sugar daddy concept and why we see Donald Trump types marrying fake-tanned, fake-titted models a third of their age; females across the globe striving for ultimate beauty just so they can spread their legs for a guy old enough to be their grandfather in return for a diamond necklace. The sacred bond of marriage has become, in many cases, nothing more than a form of socially acceptable prostitution. I now pronounce you scumbag and whore. Now sign your certificate and start trading services.So, Dumplings comments on this societal plague that sees a woman's beauty as a quantitative valuation of her overall worth, but it's also about the need to prolong one's youth to the detriment of others, mainly the youth themselves. The idea of leaving a better world for our children has been discarded in favour of a "me first" attitude where scrambling for every possible way to make the most out of life contributes to a legacy that damns the children before they've even left the womb. The Beatles told the baby boomers that all they needed was love, but the baby boomers weren't listening. They don't want love, they want a nicer house. Then they want the car they've always dreamed of, but then they need another car to drive to work. Of course that means they need a new house with a double garage, and while they're at it, why not buy another house as an investment property. The next generation inherits a world where luxuries have become necessities because you can't possibly be happy unless you own lots of stuff, right? Right? So you'd better work your ass off to get those things or else other people will think you're a failure. Screw weekends, that's 2 whole days that you could be working to buy more things. Oh, but make sure you get to the gym at 5 am because you're no spring chicken anymore, and remember your next Botox treatment is on Sunday. Follow that through to its logical conclusion and you have a whole bunch of great looking parents spawning the most spoiled, privileged generation of kids in history who are cutting themselves out of sheer boredom and apathy toward their own self-worth. Future fetuses being masticated between the teeth of superficial here-and-now "happiness", because the human race forgot that all it needed was love.What does that have to do with Dumplings? Nothing really. Got a little side-tracked. Sorry 'bout that. Incidentally, it's a good movie. You should check it out, even if you've already seen the short.

Dumplings is a film that takes eating dumplings to another level. When going to watch this movie I thought it was going to be a little weird but after seeing it, it was nothing that I expected. The dumplings were made out of babies and embryos.The concept behind the film is interesting. These specially made dumplings are created to make women appear younger in age. It makes the characters look even more obsessed with their looks. Although the want to look younger is a normal thought it is how it is done and the images shown in the film that make the film both eye grabbing and uncomfortable.One of the most disturbing parts is when a girl comes in to get an abortion. The way it is performed is uncleanly and painful. Blood spills everywhere as if it were a gory horror film. After the abortion is performed the bloody (almost fully grown) baby is placed in a filled sink. Later it is shown being processed and cut up to be put in the dumplings.Normally watching people eating food isn't bad to watch however after seeing all that is done to make it when the camera zooms in to a woman's face slowly eating the dumplings the site of someone chewing becomes nauseating. Sitting there watching her eat seemed like the longest scene in the film.I strongly recommend this film to watch how ever if you have a week stomach I would stay away. More movies should be made like this. It is interesting to see an ordinary daily action turn into something twisted.

In Hong Kong, an owner of a small Dumpling restaurant named Aunt Mei (Bai Leng) is famous for her special dumplings that help rejuvenation fast. Retired TV Actress Mrs. Lee is a loyal costumer who enjoys her delicious delicacy and feels more younger, but her dirty bastard of a husband is cheating on her as it wouldn't make any difference. Mei use to be a former abortionist and later Mrs. Lee will soon discover the secret recipe.Grueling, well acted and alarming horror thriller from Hong Kong that is one of the most shocking films to ever come from Asia. Director-Editor Fruit Chan has made one sick little movie that doesn't really have much gore but disturbing subject matter to make the viewer a little queasy. There is some dark humor to propel the sickening atmosphere of this movie that makes this little film one controversial shocker. The cinematography is well crafted and the direction is quite nifty, this movie will guaranteed to mess with your mind once it's over.

Hmmm, bit of a let down this one, my own fault and no one else to blame what so ever, I must add. While building myself up to seeing what I presumed to be a horror tale, Dumplings turned out to be a horrific tale of just plain food for thought, thinking, where was the waiter who should have brought us a more flavoursome dish? Dumplings left me unsatisfied and just a little peckish for that missing something, maybe a meaningful and thought provoking plot, a sense of drama, an air of trepidation or simply put: excitement, though not altogether dull, just empty and uninspiring While beautifully shot, in places, by the cinematographer Christopher Doyle, Dumplings is a movie of narcissistic vanity and over indulgence of trying to recapture lost youth and, of course, beauty, as these two ingredients, of life, must come together as one package for the participating sleeping beauties here.Unfortunaly, with reprising ones years gone by one tends to become blinked and totally self-motivated, whatever the consequences. Here we see the middle and upper classes going to any extremes to remain ever so pretty, just for the sake of a glance and a nod.This movie could have worked, but it just didn't, the location for the protagonist's home, a run down part of the city, was very effective, but, as with the overall plot, the rest of the locations and the drive for Dumplings were virtually non-existent.This age old story line, take the 1935 and 1965 movies She with Helen Gahagan, Randolph Scott and Ursula Andress with Peter Cushing, respectively, for example, this story has rejuvenated itself in many forms, with Dumplings, this is more regurgitation than revitalisation.The characters are given no scope, no depth, then again, it really isn't about "them", they're too vain to be anything else, and it's about the life long human interest of eternal youth and the price that is duly paid by us all. Their preoccupation with their reflective self's are all that there is to play with, the feeling of shock at the methods are short and swift, when this has passed we are left with a shallow and fruitless concept that has been trod in the sands of time all so very often.