I did not expect when I started this, that it will be one of my new favorite movies. What a fucking gem!

Actually, Dumplings should be a disgusting experience. On paper, you can practically smell and see it, and it really shouldn’t be something you’d enjoy. But what can I say? The film itself isn’t entirely like that—or at least not all the time.

What stood out to me the most was the way Aunt Mei prepares her dumplings with such confidence and normality. She talks about them, explains her recipes, and effortlessly gathers the necessary ingredients without a second thought. She is one of my favorite people in movies now!

While the viewer—and even the dumpling eater—descend into discomfort, she casually chats away as if everything were perfectly normal. And somehow, this permeates the entire film. Her lightheartedness is downright infectious, yet at the same time, you’re shown the most repulsive things and hear every sound in excruciating detail.

And between the meals, there are harsh realities and fates, power imbalances between rich and poor, and the relentless pursuit of perfection. The true victims of this film are the mother and daughter, for whom reality is harsher than any pursuit of beauty. Their fates are subtly woven into the narrative, told almost as a side story, yet they leave the greatest impact.

I find it really hard to put into words why this film fascinates me so much, but it’s simply something special. Even though the themes and some moments and images can be truly disturbing, Fruit Chan manages to create something here that holds much more than it initially seems. Definitely an underrated gem that at least every fan of The Substance should watch.