Dumpling

Dumpling is a serious movie that is based on social satire through cannibalism as well as abortion. Through the various ethical issues that have been raised the creator has described capitalist cultures. The movie then evolves to reveal the hidden dimensions of youthfulness and commoditization of the state of beauty in the societies today. Shock is pumped though imagery and critique. Central characters have been used to tell the story. These characters are Ching Li, Mr. Li and Bai. The movie has been said to raise matters of cross culture relations.

Introduction

As far as history can go, horror movies have been the oldest genre of movies globally. However, other kinds of movies have grown to be known by many people in the world. The most outstanding feature of horror movies is the feature of confronting the primal fears of people within the usual confinement in theatre (David 124).  Horror movies pose the society into a complete state of chaos and eventually succeed in their execution. Dumpling is a Hong Kong horror movie, which is known by many people in the world today.

Movie Overview

A famous cook, Aunt Mei in Hong Kong is well known for her tasty rejuvenation dumplings. In their preparation, she uses a mysterious ingredient that is directly brought from China. Many customers liked the dumplings due to their ability to make them look young again. In her business, Aunt Mei meets a customer who claimed to have been a gynecologist with numerous successful abortions (Winston 54). This opportunity matures when a young girl with a five-month pregnancy arrives asking an abortion.

No woman can resist the favorable temptation of rejuvenation. For many women it is a dream to look young and attractive again. Many make endless efforts to pursue rejuvenation. It is at this point that Qing is introduced to the story. She is a very rich woman who could afford the cost of the rejuvenation. She begins her search of the mysterious chef in pursuit of her tasty dumplings. The reason for her pursuit of rejuvenation was to regain her state of beauty for the sake of her job as a homemaker of the rich men. Mei’s dumplings are the alternative service deliverers this time round.

Mei’s career as an abortionist was replaced with the rejuvenation recipe. She serves women who are in total despair just like Qing. This is because she clearly understands women’s needs and desires. Taking a bite of her dumplings requires a bit of faith. As a good example, she looks very young and very attractive. The root secret to these looks is her homemade dumplings that are made from a special recipe. Qing is willing to pay any price for her to look young and attractive again because her husband has neglected her. However, the story continues and later the audience realizes that the secret recipe is based on the remains of the fetuses, which she obtained after the abortions she had induced in her previous career.

The movie Dumpling is a product of creators who have become the most prolific horror creators later. The process of obtaining the ingredients of her dumplings is the main reason why the audience finds the movie terrifying. The deliberate way of obtaining the ingredients is the source of shock to the audience. She slowly hunts down her ingredients and prepares them for consumption by her clients who have a dying desire to become young and attractive to their husbands (Schönherr 110). The sequence of this creation is appetizing and horrifying at the same time. It looks as if she is preparing a very tasty delicacy, but the thought of the ingredients turns the stomach and the brain away from such thoughts in future.

Qing had mixed emotions when consuming the dumplings. Just as the audience, her own disgust of taking them was obvious. Nevertheless, her main intention is the driving force that finally pushes her to eat the dumplings. The major benefits she would reap were so important to her. However, she still has a kind of curiosity to the origins of the ingredients of the special dumplings that she is craving.  This is the main source of the shock, but she later accepts and develops a desire to eat the dumplings.

Filming Issues

In filming, great deal of creativity is required, just like Chan’s Dumpling. Chan has shot many horror movies in Hong Kong having received recognition by critiques as well as common audience. Dumpling is about a starlet that has fallen. The reclamation of youth is the center of the story and which develops the story to the heights of terror. The ultimate aim of this reclamation is philandering the men in the relationships. It is eventually realized that Mei uses the remains of the aborted fetuses in preparing her dumplings. However, this plot is exposed briefly in the movie. This very unsettling film brings the intention of keeping the eyes of the people open.

Lillian Lee initially wrote the movie. Her main intention was to terrify the audience. The movie does not in any way make the audience comfortable at any point due to the consistent terror that Lee creates. Erratic scene framing has been used to keep the characters as close as possible in the movie. These far away shots have been incorporated well in the cinematography perspective with regard to the movie. Each character is presented with his or her needs within the plot, and this is what keeps the movie going. These needs are intersecting in various instances and in the flaw of the movie.

Motifs and Problem Areas

Lee, in her strategy to keep the film moving, however, in the continuity, various mistakes are made in the process. The movie naturally keeps its audience away from the characters because of the things that are happening. People are eating fetal remains. The movie revolves in different angles, which make the movie even scarier. There is no single character at the center of the mise-en-scene. The way the characters wonder leads to the confusion that the audience goes through because of concentrating so much on the movie.

In the movie, there is a tendency of the camera moving towards the character and the activity. It causes some sort of disorientation, when the camera moves with the expectation of the audience. There is also a tendency of people being in frame and in focus, but this is not the case with the movie. In Dumpling, the camera does not focus to adjust to the many movements of the characters. However, Dumpling has a stylistic nature that every filmgoer can appreciate. The movie is stylistically rich. The tight pants that Mei wears are the source of the attention that exists in the eyes of the audience, especially the men. The use of different coloration is another indication of the creativity of movie makers.

With regard to Dumplings, the most important thing is the message; however, the message should be presented creatively. The greatest items are not supposed to be revealed on the spot. They should unfold as the movie goes on. In Dumplings, we get to learn about the source of the ingredients that Mei uses in her dumplings. For many, this is the most important thing and thus when revealed to the audience, there is no use trying to watch the whole movie.

Dumpling is presented like a movie depicting social satire than horror. Many would not be surprised to find out that Dumpling is the best of the three movies. However, the presence of an offbeat sensitivity to the movie makes it dubious. The narrative has been severally said to be very incoherent. Despite the fact that we all know what is going on, there is a need for coherency. Many crucial plots have been skipped towards the end of the movie. A measure of resolution is necessary, considering the writer and creator invested in so much time and money. It would be very unfair to deny the audience the right of resolving the many controversies that exist as well as the terror in the movie (Chin-Wah, Ka-Fai and Oi-Gan).

Consequently, the producers of Three Extremes were capable of making the movies their own creation by making them even worse than Dumplings. The plot of the movie has been uniquely developed to bring out a completely new feature in horror movies. Many have always thought that horror movies are all about someone being killed by a monster or something alike. However, the main question many ask is whether umplings has a placebo effect. There could be an answer to this question due to the uniqueness of the characters. This is because the characters openly use the dumplings themselves, for the reason we all know. This means that each person can interpret the happenings in the movie..

The origin of the mystery meat is not a surprise to many. From one point of view, Qing knows what she is eating. Her willingness to eat the dumplings is exactly the reason why many people in the audience are upset. This was the intention of the movie. The creator gives the movie a very slow but disturbing trend. Instead of preserving the best for the last, she reveals the terror and its origin before going further into the movie. The audience is given a clear show of how the ingredients are brought forward and prepare for the tasty dumplings. This is another issue that makes the audience upset. The sequence of events is very appealing to the attentive person watching the movie (Dumplings: Three...Extremes).

Cinematography, Editing and Sound Design

Cinematography is the art of motion picture photography. This is the most important thing when making a movie. Here, the ideas of the creator and the writer are put into action. The cinematography of a film is crucial due to its effect to the audience. If it does not appeal to the audience, it means the movie is of low quality. The shooting and the movie development are the two components of cinematography. In Dumpling, it is very difficult to judge whether the cinematography was poor or not. This is because the various instances of unclear motion pictures could be a creation of the writer. All the same, the most important thing is the impact of the motion picture on the audience (Nix). Dumpling is a very appetizing movie, for those who appreciate creativity. The making of the movie cannot be estimated as extremely expensive but all the same, the most important thing is the way the motion pictures are brought forward.

The editors of this movie must have had an  easy time, according to many cinematographic critiques. This is because of the looseness of the motion picture. It seems the photographer was not careful or was irresponsible. Other instances reveal that the movie was meant to be so. However, the editors did a good job in the area of sound because very suitable music was played. This makes the movie very authentic and effective in message delivery. The sound design was a suitable one, with sounds appearing everywhere. This is the characteristic of modern cinematography and editing.

The selection of a film stock is essential in making a decision in a movie. Apart from a movie determination, the film gauge used in the movie is 35mm. This gives the movie the characteristic of an epic movie that is professionally made. The movie has several stocks. They are arranged in reversal effect. This varying sensitivity to light and ISO creates a view of minor mistakes and a differing feedback to light. The film has high saturation in terms of the response to color. There is a dark theme in the film between the over exposure. The gauges are advanced and adjusted. They are additionally used to expand the single frame of the image. However, the gauge remains the same. It has a super 35mm view. The technical quality in the film is controlled by the superior film gauge to give the appropriate overall film resolution. The techniques that are used in the film laboratory to produce the processed film stock are also exceptionally convenient.

Christopher Doyle is the one behind the motion pictures we see in the movie. He is the master of planning in the movie and thus he is the sole creator of the motion pictures. In the interior sections, the cinematographer is in charge of the way the actors should perform. This means that the actors are no longer under the directorship of the movie director. In Dumplings, the motion pictures have been arranged well. However, there are instances that the audience my not fully agree with the cinematographer. A lot of plan sequence is employed to bring out the clear effects that bring forth the active nature of the movie. The sequence begins when Mr. Li and Mei are talking about politics, and the second instance is when they are seducing. The realization that Mr. Li is having sex with a sixty four year old woman was so shocking to her. Aesthetically, the movie is full of color, and a cinematic style is the best description of the movie.

All over the movie, it moves with a great deal of cinematic transitions that are full of coincidences and various conversations. Just as Mei runs out of the ingredients of the dumplings, a young student approaches her for an abortion. Comedy is also a feature that comes with the movie. Prostitution is another theme that comes within the movie. Mei is not really a prostitute, but she operates an illegal sector. Given the opportunity, she could trade sex with Mr. Li for money.

Conclusion

Dumpling is a serious movie that is based on social satire through cannibalism as well as abortion. The creator through the various ethical issues that have been raised has underlined capitalist cultures. This is a clear example of horror movies. The most outstanding feature of horror movies is the feature of confronting the primal fears of people within the usual confinement in theatre.  Horror movies pose the society into a complete state of chaos and eventually succeed in their execution. For many women it is a dream to look young and attractive again. Many make endless efforts to pursue rejuvenation. It is at this point that Qing is introduced to the story. She is a rich woman who could afford the cost of the rejuvenation. Dumpling is basically about a starlet that has fallen. The reclamation of youth is the center of the story and which develops the story to the heights of terror. The ultimate aim of this reclamation is philandering the men in the relationships. In Dumplings, the motion pictures have been arranged well. However, there are instances where the audience may not fully agree with the cinematographer. A lot of plan sequence is employed to bring out the clear effects that bring forth the active nature of the movie.