The Emperor's Banquet
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | The Emperor's Banquet |
| Original title | Jin yu man tang |
| Country of production | Hong Kong |
| original language | Cantonese |
| Publishing year | 1995 |
| length | 100 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 12 |
| Rod | |
| Director | Tsui Hark |
| script |
Philip Cheng Ng Man-Fai Tsui Hark Yuen Kai-Chi |
| production | Tsui Hark Raymond Wong Lee Ling |
| music | Lowell Lo |
| camera |
Peter Pau Poon Hang-Sang |
| cut | Marco Mak |
| occupation | |
| |
The Emperor's Banquet ( Chinese金玉滿堂) is a film by Chinese director Tsui Hark , who also worked on the script and production.
action
Kit, an outstanding chef who has proven himself to be a master of his trade in many competitions, has to decide in a competition in the finals between the love for his wife and the love for his craft. His wife, who is about to give birth to a child and is at risk of losing it, calls for him by phone because he is taking part in an important cooking competition at the same time. However, his passion and adherence to his profession prevent him from going to her, but he cannot finish the competition. Since he can't get to his wife in time, she leaves him. Kit becomes a lonely alcoholic, traumatized by the breakup - his career ended, his life over.
At a later time in a Chinese restaurant in Hong Kong:
The loan shark and leader of a small gang, Chiu, is fed up with the criminal environment and wants to retrain to become a chef in order to emigrate to Canada to his Japanese girlfriend. Although without talent, with the help of a patron, head chef Lung Kwan Bo, he finds entry into the Qing Han restaurant in Au. Initially, however, this only obliges him to do simple activities, such as washing dishes and carrying out rubbish. On the side, Chiu meets the eccentric daughter Aus, Ka Wai, and a romance gradually develops between the two.
Shortly afterwards, an unscrupulous master chef named Wong, leader of the seedy organization 'Super Group', whose goal is to take over all Chinese restaurants like a cartel, challenges the Qing Han Restaurant to a cooking competition that involves the legendary banquet to cook the emperor. At the same time, all employees of the Qing Han restaurant are lured away by the 'Super Group' with the prospect of receiving shares in the restaurant and better pay. When the Au family announced their intention to leave, he had a serious heart attack and ended up in the hospital.
The Qing Han Restaurant Aus, only represented by Ka Wai and Chiu, fails to conjure up the simplest dishes after several unsuccessful attempts, so that the two are forced to request the professional help of a real chef. Lung Kwan Bo, whom they visit first, tells them that of the few people who have ever cooked the emperor's banquet, he knows only one: Kit. Lung Kwan Bo himself was the opponent in the very last competition with Kit.
When looking for Kit, who has lost the sensory acuity that is essential for cooking due to his alcoholism, they discover that without his wife he cannot muster the passion for cooking. You manage to bring the two back together and through training you can restore his old skills. Master Chef Kit and Chef Lung Kwan Bo are now available to Qing Han Restaurant.
In the final competition between the Qing Han Restaurant and the 'Super Group', three different dishes from the emperor's banquet are to be prepared on three consecutive days with the respective main ingredients bear paw , elephant trunk and monkey brain . If the Qing Han Restaurant wins, it will receive $ 50 million from the 'Super Group'; in the event of a defeat, the Qing Han Restaurant will be incorporated into the 'Super Group'.
After the first and victorious day for the Qing Han restaurant, the 'Super Group' sabotaged the opponent's cooking utensils and utensils, so that the second day of the 'Super Group' brings the victory. On the third and decisive day, the Qing Han Restaurant does not seem to come, so that the 'Super Group' wants to present the monkey brain with confidence. Suddenly, the team at the Qing Han restaurant turns up with a freshly prepared, lively twitching monkey brain, explaining that no more than three minutes should pass from preparation to presentation.
The jury gives both dishes the full number of points and cannot make a clear decision as to who should win the competition.
Since monkeys are protected animals, Wong secretly informs the police and the animal welfare authorities in order to eliminate the opposing party. He also explains that his monkey brain is actually a goat's brain and that he can therefore not only take the profit, but also go unpunished. The team at the Qing Han restaurant replied that the 'Super Group' had planned such a deceit, saying that their monkey brain was made from tofu with various sauces and that they did not commit any offense against species protection. Her presentation of the twitching monkey brain with a coconut shell as the skullcap was also staged with simple aids and was intended to simulate the authenticity of a freshly prepared monkey brain.
The jury finally selects the Qing Han Restaurant as the winner, because they have managed to create a dish that goes beyond any rating scale - if only because of the fact that you can so deceive the senses with simple ingredients and skilful culinary art, deserves the victory .
The Qing Han Restaurant has been saved and a big cooking party will take place in the same restaurant at the end. Chiu, who fell in love with Ka Wai, decided not to travel to her Japanese friend in Canada and stayed with Ka Wai.
Reviews
“It takes a while for the film to get going. Until then, you have to survive silly slapstick (the fight with the fish) and a confused plot. However, as soon as there is magic in the kitchen - including monkey brain, bear paws and elephant trunk - it gets really amusing. "
Web links
- The banquet of the emperor in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- The Emperor's Banquet in the online film database