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Rice Rhapsody VCD

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Rice Rhapsody
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Customer Rating: Customer Review Rated Bad 2 - 2 out of 10 (1)
All Editions Rating: Customer Review Rated Bad 8 - 8.1 out of 10 (8)

YesAsia Editorial Description

Hainan Chicken Rice is a famous Singaporean cuisine. But in Rice Rhapsody, it means much more than just a delicious dish. It nourishes our souls as much as it does to the bodies. Chicken Rice embodies warm familial affection and is adding rich flavor to people's lives in the film. Food, family and love interweave to form a story that is going to touch all.

Jen (Sylvia Chang) raises her three sons alone by running a restaurant famous for Hainan Chicken Rice. A traditional mother who looks forward to grandchildren, she has all her hopes on her youngest son Leo (Tan Lepham) because both her elder sons are gay. Collaborating with her neighbor Kim Shui (Martin Yan, the famous TV Chef), also a restaurant owner, Jen hopes to arouse Leo's interest in girls by having a young and passionate female exchange student from France moving in. Meanwhile Jen finds Kim Shui's newly invented Hainan Duck Rice challenging her self-esteem. She runs into a cooking contest with Kim Shui, but then she discovers something more important to her than her chicken rice...

You must not miss Sylvia Chang's vivid acting and Martin Yan's first amazing appearance in cinema. Sylvia Chang, Best Actress of Hong Kong Film Awards 2002 (Forever and Ever), stars as a contemporary Singaporean mother who demonstrates a complex emotion and a female courage that is shared by many mothers in the world. Martin Yan continues to amuse his audience in Rise Rhapsody by his humor in the famous TV cooking show Yan Can Cook.

Kenneth Bi, son of the famous Chinese actress Ivy Ling Po, was born in Singapore and educated in the States. Having a reputation as Ang Lee the second, his Rice Rhapsody strikes a chord of resonance with Lee's successful films Eat Drink Man Woman (also starring Sylvia Chang) and The Wedding Banquet, in terms of stylistic elements as well as thematic concerns.

The script of this film was awarded the Outstanding Screenplay of 1999 by the Taiwan Government Information Office. This year the film is selected for the Tokyo International Film Festival and Pusan International Film Festival. Rice Rhapsody also has Sylvia Chang nominated for the Best Actress and Kawasaki Masahiro for the Best Original Film Score in the Taipei Golden Horse Awards.

  • Browse the official site of: Rice Rhapsody.
  • Click to view Movie Trailer 1.
  • Click to view interviews with producer Jackie Chan and actor Martin Yan
  • Click here to see some stills from Rice Rhapsody: (1), (2), (3), (4), (5), (6).
  • © 2005-2009 YesAsia.com Ltd. All rights reserved. This original content has been created by or licensed to YesAsia.com, and cannot be copied or republished in any medium without the express written permission of YesAsia.com.

    Technical Information

    Product Title: Rice Rhapsody 海南雞飯 海南鸡饭 ライス・ラプソディ (海南鶏飯: Rice Rhapsody) Rice Rhapsody
    Artist Name(s): Sylvia Chang | Martin Yan Wen Da | Chen Li Peng | Laurent Melanie | Maggie Q | Kenneth Bi 張艾嘉 | 甄文達 | 陳立鵬 | Melanie Laurent | Maggie Q | 畢國智 张艾嘉 | 甄文达 | 陈立鹏 | Melanie Laurent | Maggie Q | 毕国智 張艾嘉(シルビア・チャン) | Martin Yan Wen Da | Chen Li Peng | メラニー・ローレン | マギー・Q | 畢國智(ケネス・ビイ) Sylvia Chang | Martin Yan Wen Da | Chen Li Peng | Laurent Melanie | Maggie Q | Kenneth Bi
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    Release Date: 2005-03-18
    Language: Mandarin
    Subtitles: English, Traditional Chinese
    Country of Origin: Hong Kong
    Disc Format(s): VCD
    Rating: IIA
    Duration: 106 (mins)
    Publisher: Joy Sales (HK)
    Other Information: 2VCDs
    Package Weight: 110 (g)
    Shipment Unit: 1 What is it?
    YesAsia Catalog No.: 1003944675

    Product Information


    導演:畢國智
    Director: Kenneth Bi

      珍(張艾嘉飾)是個傳統的女子,縱然遭丈夫遺棄後,仍然堅持「繼後香燈」。為了獨力養大三個兒子,十二年來,珍以祖傳秘芳調製的海南雞飯,打響名堂。怎料發現,長子及次子皆是同性戀者後,把希望孤注一擲放在小兒子Leo身上。

      金水(甄文達飾)同樣是開飯店,與珍兩人亦敵亦友,暗中支持珍,保住最後的「香燈」,常給他介紹女孩子。一天,法國交換生Sabine入住飯店,與Leo甚為投契,珍大感安慰。Leo與Sabine酒後糊塗,一夕風流後,Leo竟然現自己也是同性戀者,不敢面對母親。其時,金水自創的「海南鴨飯」一炮而紅,響徹廚壇,他的新菜間接拆毀了珍以海南雞飯起家的生意。珍家庭事業兩失意,她帶著無限嘆息,參加高手雲集的廚藝比賽中,珍發現,觸動她生命每個點滴的,並不單是一碗海南雞飯……

      After being abandoned by her husband twelve years earlier, Jen (Sylvia Chang) raised her three sons alone. She uses her mother's secret Hainan Chicken Rice recipe and opened a restaurant to support the family. Her two older sons, Daniel and Harry are gay, as a woman with traditional values, Jen is fretful that she would have no grandchildren, if Leo, too, turns out to be gay. Together she and best friend, Kim Chui (Martin Yan) device a plan to keep Leo straight by bringing in a French exchange student to live with them. She is Leo’s age and her name is Sabine. Leo develops a strange but intriguing relationship with her, which greatly pleases Jen.

      However, things begin to crumble for her again when Kim Chui becomes “the toast of the town” with his invention of a new dish deeply challenging her Chicken Rice. Kim Chui becomes a national celebrity overnight, and Jen's self-esteem is threatened. Finally, their conflicts come to a head when Jen participates in a cooking contest with Kim Chui and other chefs from Singapore. Food unexpectedly becomes a medium that not only nourishes their bodies but also opens their hearts.

    監 製:李嘉繪
    出品人:成龍、楊受成、陳自強、蘇志鴻、GARY HAMILTON
    製作顧問:張艾嘉
    Additional Information may be provided by the manufacturer, supplier, or a third party, and may be in its original language

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    Awards

    This film has won 1 award(s) and received 1 award nomination(s). All Award-Winning Asian Films

    Customer Review of "Rice Rhapsody"

    Average Customer Rating for this Edition: Customer Review Rated Bad 2 - 2 out of 10 (1)
    Average Customer Rating for All Editions of this Product: Customer Review Rated Bad 8 - 8.1 out of 10 (8)

    Kevin Kennedy
    See all my reviews


    March 28, 2008

    This customer review refers to Rice Rhapsody (DTS Version)
    Sylvia is great! Customer Review Rated Bad 6 - 6 out of 10
    I purchased "Rice Rhapsody" because (a) I really enjoyed director Kenneth Bi's recent film "The Drummer", (b) I'm a big fan of Sylvia Chang, and (c) I grew up watching Martin Yan's cooking show on a Windsor, Ontario TV station. The good news is that Sylvia Chang did not let me down and Martin Yan can act.

    Perhaps it is due of my North American background, but the subject matter of this movie seems very stale. Hollywood has been inundating American culture over the last 10 years with movies and TV shows seeking to "mainstream" homosexual lifestyles. "Rice Rhapsody", for me, didn't add anything new to this discussion.

    In the film, Sylvia Chang has three sons. The eldest son is wrestling with whether to enter into a homosexual marriage. The second son seems to be something of a homosexual tramp; we see him in an endless series of relationships with different men, all of whom appear to be wealthy. The youngest son is confused about his feelings for his best male friend. Sylvia wants grandchildren, so she tries to manipulate the youngest son into a heterosexual relationship. To accomplish this end, she brings a young female student from France (Melanie Laurent) into her home. She then uses reverse psychology on both the boy and the girl to get them interested in each other. Lo and behold, it works ... at least for a while.

    While Miss Laurent does her best with her part, I found the character she played to be an insufferably pretentious twit. The notion that an accomplished and mature middle-aged woman like the mother of these three sons would find this shallow teen-aged girl to be a source of profound wisdom struck me as ridiculous. (I also doubt that, in real life, such a mother would be quite so thrilled to see her teen-aged boy engaged in premarital sex with this girl.)

    In general, the film treated Sylvia Chang's character unfairly. Her concerns about the homosexual lifestyles pursued by her sons appear to flow only from a desire to have grandchildren, a wish to avoid embarrassment, and a degree of homophobia. In other words, she is made to seem merely selfish and bigoted. Might she not also have deeper concerns about her sons following this path?

    I found the dialogue in "Rice Rhapsody" to be quite stilted and artificial. Fortunately, Sylvia Chang was able to rise above it to deliver a strong and moving performance. The soundtrack music is a delight. "Rice Rhapsody" certainly is watchable and ends with a touching cinematic coda, but it is a deeply flawed work. (By the way, I am not the "Kevin" who posted the review dated May 29, 2005, shown below.)
    Did you find this review helpful? Yes (Report This)
    Anonymous

    June 23, 2005

    This customer review refers to Rice Rhapsody (DTS Version)
    TERRIFIC Customer Review Rated Bad 10 - 10 out of 10
    I thought Rice Rhapsody was one of the most intriguing films to come out of Hong Kong. It's not preachy yet subtly inspiring. It's emotional but wasn't treated heavyhandedly. The French girl, Mélanie Laurent, in the film is wonderful. Unlike most Hong Kong films with a Western character, she doesn't stick out. The whole cast is believable and endearing. Sylvia Chang is so graceful and her acting so effortless. It's a real joy to see her interact with the different characters in the film. And the music is really special. I highly recommend this.
    Did you find this review helpful? Yes (Report This)
    Anonymous

    May 29, 2005

    What!?! Customer Review Rated Bad 2 - 2 out of 10
    This is nothing but a rather shallow examination of a serious problem. Let's not even dicuss the stereotypical treatment of homosexuality! The movie somehow will have us believe that some random white woman is wiser than all the Asian characters combined. Self-loathing is our (and I mean everyone!) true enemy, and there is no shortage of it here!

    What's that line by Martin Yan's character: "They are more romantic, more cultured, more fun." Give me a freaking break, man!

    With that said, the real star of this thing really is Martin Yan. What a surprise.
    Did you find this review helpful? Yes (Report This)
    Anonymous

    March 30, 2005

    This customer review refers to Rice Rhapsody (DTS Version)
    Bravo Kenneth Bi! Customer Review Rated Bad 10 - 10 out of 10
    I bought this dvd for the wrong reason.......to watch Kenneth Bi's mother Ivy Ling Po in a cameo. The brevity of her performance disappointed me but the movie did not. Kenneth Bi has crafted a touching yet realistic movie filled with dazzling visuals. Sylvia Chang who disappointed me so in Dream Of The Red Chamber is simply amazing here right down to her mastery of Singlish (the Singapore version of English). We sympathise and empathise with her as Sylvia portrays the concerned mother convincingly. For your second movie, Kenneth, how about featuring your mum......Asian Movie Queen Ivy Ling Po......in a major role? Meanwhile this dvd is highly recommended, very entertaining and can be viewed over and over again. Bring out the champagne Kenneth!
    Did you find this review helpful? Yes (Report This)
    Anonymous

    March 29, 2005

    This customer review refers to Rice Rhapsody (DTS Version)
    Excellent Customer Review Rated Bad 10 - 10 out of 10
    its beyond my expectation .. and i did shed a tear (its way too touching)
    no one could ever thought of the way this ending could be ..
    just Fabulous ... watch it and rate it for yourself
    it touches the reality of a family dealing with the gay sons ..
    Sylvia Chiang should get the most credit for the movie ... all her acting and tears .. u just cant resist it but to watch it again
    the messages that the movie is trying to convey is great ... regardless of what sexual preferential one is but true love cant beats it all
    well .. i think i better stop here before i get into too detailed ...
    MUST WATCH !
    Did you find this review helpful? Yes (Report This)
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