In Hong Kong, Aunt Mei (Ling Bai) is a cook famous for her home-made rejuvenation dumplings, based on a millenarian recipe prepared with a mysterious ingredient that she brings directly from China. The former TV star Mrs. Li (Miriam Yeoung Chin Wah) visits Mei aiming her dumplings to recover her youth and become attractive again to her wolf husband Mr. Li (Tony Leung Ka Fai). Along the sessions, Mei tells Mrs. Li that she was a gynecologist in China with more than 30,000 abortions along ten years. When Mrs. Li requests an acceleration of the process, the opportunity comes when a fifteen years old teenager with a five months incestuous pregnancy comes with her mother and asks Mei to make an abortion.
The bizarre "Gaau Ji" is a low budget Asian movie that Hollywood will never remake. The disturbing and gruesome story depicts an unpleasant theme, certainly a taboo for the American industry, and has excellent performances highlighting Ling Bai making the story totally believable. The Brazilian DVD prudently advises that this film contains strong scenes and is not recommended to pregnant women and sensitive persons, and I totally agree. However, it is highly recommended to audiences that expect to see the break of a taboo in Hollywoodian productions. My vote is eight.
Title (Brazil): "Escravas da Vaidade" ("Slaves of the Vanity")
Note: On 28 December 2012 I saw a short version of this film again in an imported DVD ("3 Extremes", segment "Dumplings").
The bizarre "Gaau Ji" is a low budget Asian movie that Hollywood will never remake. The disturbing and gruesome story depicts an unpleasant theme, certainly a taboo for the American industry, and has excellent performances highlighting Ling Bai making the story totally believable. The Brazilian DVD prudently advises that this film contains strong scenes and is not recommended to pregnant women and sensitive persons, and I totally agree. However, it is highly recommended to audiences that expect to see the break of a taboo in Hollywoodian productions. My vote is eight.
Title (Brazil): "Escravas da Vaidade" ("Slaves of the Vanity")
Note: On 28 December 2012 I saw a short version of this film again in an imported DVD ("3 Extremes", segment "Dumplings").