Taiwan food comedy is a smash hit

Sixteen years after Taiwanese director Chen Yu-hsun quit film-making because of his compatriots' poor response to local works, he returns with a box-office hit in Zone Pro Site: The Moveable Feast.

He says that audiences in his native Taiwan have turned the film, which has earned more than NT$300 million (S$12.7 million) and counting, into "a real family affair".

Speaking to Life! in Mandarin at a sit-down interview in Singapore, the 51-year-old says: "Suddenly, a lot of older folks or really young kids are all going to the cinema to see this movie. And you know, these are people who do not typically step into the cinema on their own accord.

"So for the older ones, that means that their children have bought tickets to take them to see the movie together. The same goes for the really young ones - they are going because someone else in their family had watched it and then decided to take them to watch it again, together."

The film, which opens in Singapore on Thursday, is about the Taiwanese tradition of "ban doh", or street banquet.

The title Zone Pro Site sounds like "zong pu shi", which means "master banquet chef" in Chinese.

Rising star Kimi Hsia, 29, plays aspiring actress Hsiao Wan, who flees from debt collectors with her mother (Lin Mei-hsiu) and sets up a small eatery in a quiet town. When the debt collectors discover their new abode, mother and daughter decide to enter a local "ban doh" cooking competition, with their eyes on the NT$1 million prize money.

They seek the help of "cuisine doctor" Yeh Ru-hai (Yo Yang), who has a talent for tweaking recipes.

Traditional dishes are featured heavily in the movie, which is one reason for its success, according to the director.

"I think audiences like the nostalgia and the food," says Chen.

He adds that he knows of one schoolboy who has watched the movie 13 times.

With a laugh, he says: "This kid posted a picture of himself online with all 13 ticket stubs. And next to each one, he'll write something like, 'My father took me' or 'My uncle took me'. By the 13th one, you know that he has gone to see the film with every single one of his relatives or something."

The movie's tendency to attract repeat viewings has translated to huge box-office takings. After eight weeks of screenings, the film is still showing in Taiwan.

In jest, Chen says that he is "not at all surprised" by the film doing so well, before turning serious:

"Directors always state a really big figure for their expected box-office takings because it gives us something to strive towards.

"But most of the time, that's all only in our fantasy. So no, in all seriousness, I never expected that it would become such a big hit."

Newspaper Taipei Times describes the film as "highly entertaining" and that "Zone Pro Site proves that Chen Yu-hsun is a director worth waiting for".

Film trade magazine Film Business Asia says that the director "makes a terrific comeback" with a film that " is a very clever construct that plays into local identity".

The movie's success is a much-needed boost of confidence for the previously disillusioned director. This is his first feature film in 16 years, since he quit film-making in 1997 to direct television commercials. Some of his clients include herbal syrup Nin Jiom Pei Pa Koa and Taiwanese food company Wei Lih.

He made the critically acclaimed comedy-drama Tropical Fish (1994), but left the world of feature films after his romantic comedy Love Go Go (1997) failed to make much of a splash at the box office.

"Back then, very few people in Taiwan watched local films. No one had faith in local movies because they all thought they were too long and boring or whatever. I wrote a few scripts after Love Go Go, but I never felt the motivation to follow through and turn them into films."

He adds that that reality changed only after Wei Te-sheng's Cape No.7 (2008) was released and grossed more than NT$530 million at the box office.

The movie about a man and a bunch of long-lost love letters was the highest-grossing film in Taiwan in 2008 and is the second highest-grossing film in Taiwan's cinema history, after James Cameron's Titanic (1997), which made more than NT$760million.

Chen says: "After Cape No. 7, people started taking an interest in local films again. And in recent years, we've had more great Taiwanese films that have performed well at the box office.

"People have been asking me to come back to direct a feature film for a long time, but I never felt that the timing was right - until now."

He adds with a pause: "I'm already more than 50 years old. If I don't do it now, I may never get around to it and I will definitely regret not giving movie-making another shot."

After so many years away from feature filmmaking, he admits that he had his concerns.

"Making a commercial means that you can be done with the project very quickly. But a feature movie requires many, many months of concentration and organisation. I was worried that I wouldn't be able to have that kind of energy to finish the whole thing.

"But you know, willpower is a very strange thing. I managed to do it and filming always went smoothly. We didn't have a single day of delay to our schedule. Everything was perfect."

The story for Zone Pro Site is inspired by his love of traditional foods in Taiwan, which he says are "phasing out".

"There are all these amazing old Taiwan dishes where the recipes have been lost through the generations. I wanted to do a movie that could pay homage to all of that.

"For Taiwan, food is a huge deal and it's nice if we can promote it more, not just to our own audiences, but also to the world," says Chen, who also wrote the screenplay.

He adds with a laugh that restaurant chefs in Taiwan have become "extra busy" since the release of the movie.

"After watching the movie, a lot of people are going to traditional Chinese restaurants to request these dishes that we feature in the film. So the chefs have to work extra hard to find the recipes and cook them.

"I can tell you that I've heard of quite a few restaurants like that, which have seen a surge in business recently."

On set, the cast and crew were constantly fed plenty of food as well.

"I wasn't this chubby before," says the director with a laugh. "There's always so much food around and people kept coming to shove another bowl of food at me. I remember during Chap Goh Meh (Lantern Festival), people just kept coming to show me different types of tang yuan (glutinous rice balls) and making me try them all. It was a really happy set."

Now that his movie has become such a hit, is he more confident about making films for his fellow Taiwanese?

He says with an embarrassed grin: "Yes, I think I'll be making more movies. Already, the producers are on my case about making a prequel to Zone Pro Site. There are still a lot of Taiwanese traditional dishes we have not yet featured."

yipwy@sph.com.sg

Zone Pro Site: The Moveable Feast opens in cinemas on Thursday.

Get a copy of The Straits Times or go to straitstimes.com for more stories.