Dumplings - 2004

Cautionary tales are about as cliché as your average boy-meets-girl story. By now, they both often require one key ingredient: a highly specific angle or a big twist. This is how old stories remain fresh, which keeps us buying movie tickets and renting DVDs.

Hailing from China, Fruit Chan’s 2004 film “Dumplings” certainly brings a unique element to a well-worn cautionary tale subject, the fountain of youth. Most reviews of the movie give away this secret, primarily because it comes so early in the film. I think the viewing experience is more jarring and effective if the secrets remain until Chan uncovers them in due course.

While the early reveal is the most memorable and most important part of the story, focusing on it ignores the frequently stunning work that follows. Again, the movie follows some of the clichés you might expect as aging people become increasingly desperate to discover immortality, but it does so with such artfulness that it’s worth watching.

“Dumplings” focuses on Mrs. Li, an aging TV star in China who is looking to go back to the beauty of her former years. Her husband no longer pays attention to her and she has lost her place in the world without her once captivating looks. To recapture her husband’s attention, she visits Aunt Mei, a chef of sorts who serves her clientele dumplings that will keep them young. Her special and potent ingredient gives new meaning to the phrase “ancient Chinese secret.”

The obsession with youth predictably leads to chaos for the characters. But the downward spiral unravels quickly and unexpectedly, which keeps the movie from being just another cautionary tale. It’s an unquestionably shocking movie, but it only rarely goes over the top with the gross-out factor. The horror of “Dumplings” isn’t like the horror of recent torture-based movies or old school slasher flicks. Instead, Chan is often more interested in finding little ways to mess with his audience’s minds, like consistently clever sound design.

If you seek out “Dumplings,” you’ll quickly find out what Aunt Mei’s secret ingredient is. The movie also leaves no secrets about the quality of the script or the talent of Chan. The film is sickening, but that’s exactly why it’s so good.