The Lunch Date (1989) User Reviews

Kind of heartwarming

[momorytm · 8/10 · 25 February 2019]

An around-50-year-old lady rushes on the train, but she does not make it. She meets a black guy and will have a strange experience at a restaurant during lunch time. I really like this film regarding the story and music. I think that the black guy stole her salad at first because he has the tag with his beanie. Then, when I see the climax of this film, it makes me realize that I am one of the people who have a prejudice about race although it is not extreme like the lady in the film. We unconsciously tend to think that black people stole people's stuff. This film tells a message straightforwardly that there is a prejudice about African American. Also, in the end, the lady still ignores a black man begging for money and walk through. It shows that people do not change so immediately and it is hard to eliminate prejudice. In addition to the storyline, I like the music played at the beginning, at-the-lunch-date scene, and the end. Not only it is put in the right time creating an atmosphere that fits the scene, but also, in my opinion, the music itself is so beautiful. I like that they put those kinds of jazz music coming from African American descent to the film regarding a racial issue. While this film is heartwarming, it still makes us consider racism at the same time, which I think is nice.

have a bite

[lee_eisenberg · 8/10 · 7 May 2022]

Adam Davidson's Academy Award-winning short is about a rich woman who misses a train and then has an awkward experience in an eatery. "The Lunch Date" isn't anything profound yet manages to be thought-provoking. It forces you to ask what you would do in this situation. Don't expect the short to result in a life-changing experience. As far as I can tell, it's about making you confront your privilege and prejudices.

Worth seeing.

Fun surprise

[m28l17d · 6/10 · 28 February 2019]

This short film is about a white lady, who is selfish, looks rich, and racist. She tries to get on a train and is at a station. In the station, there are a lot of black men who are begging for money. She is in a hurry, and she drops her bag, and her stuff spreads to the ground. A black man helps her to pick her stuff up, but she is so intimidating and harsh to him. She runs to the train, but she misses it. With the feeling of disappointment, she goes into a café and orders a salad. She gets her seat but realizes that she needs a fork then she goes back to the counter to get one. Once she gets back to her seat, there is a black man eating a salad. She gets so mad and tells him "That's my salad!" But the man does not stop eating. She stares at him and starts eating the salad from his plate. After the awkward time, the black man leaves his seat suddenly and comes back to the seats with two cups of coffee. They do not talk a lot, but the atmosphere is much better than the very first one. The black man leaves the seat, and after a while, the lady realizes that she cannot find her belongings. She walks around the café, and she finally finds that she is at the wrong table. She cannot help laughing about what she has done. This film implies that the lady's mind is changed thanks to the event at the café, but there is a depiction that she ignores another black people even after she leaves the café. So it means that it is a bit hard to change people mind that quick. It is like a comedy, and I like it.

Where Can I find "The Lunch Date"

[Mike_Luna · 11 July 2005]

This is an amazing must see short film by what I consider a brilliant screenwriter/director. I first viewed "The Lunch Date" while taking a cross cultural counseling class during my graduate program, and was simply amazed at the message that was conveyed in a matter of ten minutes. This is of course coming from a person who does not typically take the time to appreciate the true aesthetics of film making.

I love the way the story is told with minimal dialog between characters because it challenges first time viewers to decipher the plot and understand what message is being shared. The location setting, an underground subway station/shopping plaza provided me with a sense of nostalgia as I was raised in a city that had similar surroundings. The choppiness of the scenes and usage of black and white film also allowed me to appreciate the art of good film making. I had never really stopped to pinpoint what it takes to tell a story while being conscious of production techniques that assist the viewer to comprehend a message more effectively.

I would love to find this DVD Short for sale some where. If anyone is aware of where to find it, please direct me to a URL address. I work in the field of College Student Affairs, and would love to use this piece in one of my diversity training workshops.

Fabulous film which can be found on Cinema 16: American Short Films DVD!

[charris7-1 · 10/10 · 11 November 2007]

I absolutely love this film. It really points out stereotypes that we all hold. I spent considerable time trying to locate a copy of this outstanding film. I finally found it on a DVD collection entitled Cinema 16: American Short Films. It has been well worth the search and the cost. I use it in my classroom to prompt discussions about stereotypes. I have my students watch it first from the point of view of the main character, the woman who has missed her train. I have them record their thoughts and perceptions from her point of view. I stop the film as she leaves the diner to catch her train. This is when I have my students share their thoughts. I then have them finish watching the story. Are they ever surprised! After this, I have them watch it from the perspective of the man eating the salad. After sharing their thoughts from his point of view, we discuss stereotypes. My students really enjoy this outstanding short story. The message contained in this short film is incredible.

A perfect film

[crittercat · 10/10 · 22 May 2005]

This 10 minute short is nearly perfect film-making. It should be mandatory viewing in film classes everywhere.

"The Lunch Date" tells a complete and complex story, makes you feel keenly for the two central characters, has complications, twists, reversals and a wonderful resolution. It never strays from context and reality and is utterly accessible.

And it's all done with virtually no dialog.

I would love to be able to own and look at this film from time to time when I'm trying to convince myself -- against all available evidence -- that really GOOD movies can be made small and simply.

I hope that "The Lunch Date" will be made available in either DVD or video cassette very soon.

Larry Santoro [e-mail]

A life turning point

[b-88494 · 6/10 · 19 February 2019]

The short film is about the story that an old, strong-willed and selfish woman changes her attitude after he has an unexpected lunch date. To be honest, I am not a big fan of this movie because I could not see much change in the main character herself and the roles of supporting characters throughout the story. I thought the growth of the woman is little: just her facial expression. Also, I was not sure of what impact a black man who asks people for money appeared near the ending has on the woman although she has no money. If she had money and gave it to the man, the impression of the movie would be totally changed. Then the audience can clearly recognize "she changes!!" On the other hand, I was impressed by the good tempo that the film creates. Especially, I like the lunch scene because it has a comedy aspect to make the audience giggle as well as the lead character's gradual development on her attitude. I would like to watch this short film again to find discovery the characters themselves and understand the content deeply.

Do the details mean something? Well though movie.

[akitagodfathers · 9/10 · 1 March 2019]

An old lady, who is rushing to get the train bumped into a black man and dropped her stuff. In the train home, after missing the train she realizes that she has lost her wallet. With no choice, she decides to kill time in a restaurant buying a cheap salad, but someone is in her seat.... The old lady attitude towards the typical poor black men changes during the movie. Although, it is difficult to tell that in the first time, the film is well planed to tell those emotional changes. In the beginning, you don't know what she thinks about those typical poor men. She just pass through one of them staring at him. Later however, you can observe that she stares at a typical black man with a disgusting face. It is because she thinks that the black man she bumped into, stole her wallet and she is angry in general towards those typical poor black man. Therefore, when the black man in the restaurant is eating the salad, she believes she is a victim again and aggressively reacts and eats it without asking. When this black man buys her a coffee she is surprised but not pleased. She does not drink it all because she has not forgiven the incident of her wallet. However, the old lady changes her mind completely after coming back to the restaurant and realizing that she was not eating her salad but the man's. The lady now knows that stereotypes mean nothing. Even more, she is ashamed of her acts and cannot stop laughing at her actions and biases. The last scene where she passes through a man begging for money shows that she has changed her mind because if she has not, she would be staring at this man with a disgusting face such as she did in the beginning. Again, is a well thought short film

The Lunch Date

[feae-72598 · 6/10 · 27 July 2016]

This film is one of the deepest movies I've seen. In this short movie characters are black people and a white woman. I think this movie shows that prejudice is not good and wrong. Because in this film there are many people who wait for pedestrians to get money, play the harmonica happily and help someone. But, The Lunch Date is made easily and comfortably. It is good point that all characters are not hurt by prejudice and this ending is happy, so people who watch it may feel refreshed. Also I think this tells experience may change thoughts and feelings. I recommend this short film for students, because it gives a chance to think about the world.

Funny and I liked it

[fefe222 · 9/10 · 27 February 2019]

"The Lunch Date" was a short film about an old white lady who misses train and takes lunch while waiting for the next train. She encounters a black man and have lunch together with him.

First of all, I really liked the scene that the woman realizes the salad the black man was eating was not hers. Viewers could realize that before the woman did, so it was fun to watch the scene that the woman has not yet found out the truth and the moment she finds it out. I also liked the main character's acting. She was a perfectly typical old white lady, and I really enjoyed watching her behavior.

I also found out that the film showed a typical racial discrimination and prejudices. People judge someone by their appearance, and sometimes people who belong to ethnically majority group can be very arrogant and selfish. I think this film can gives viewers good opportunities to think about those issues and to look back on their own behavior.

I was wondering why this film is a black-and-white film. I think that it might be because the person who created the film wanted to emphasize difference of characters' races, black and white.

Fun twist makes this one worth seeing

[Horst_In_Translation · 6/10 · 10 March 2016]

"The Lunch Date" is a 10-minute black-and-white short film from over 25 years ago that made writer and director Adam Davidson an Academy Award winner in his 20s already. He is still working as a filmmaker today, for example for "Community", but he never reached the success of this, his first film again, actually took a break from directing for almost 10 years after this short film and never even wrote another movie. I cannot say I am too surprised. While this movie has an entertaining plot twist at the end, it is still not too memorable and everything that happens before it is really mediocre. Yes it is a nice lesson on sharing and caring, but still. Overall, it was an okay watch and I give it a thumbs up. Woorth checking out, but probably not Oscar-worthy. Also I remember having watched an Eastern European (Latvia/Lithuania perhaps?) short film at some point in the past that had a fairly similar story, but was made way more recently. I am sure this was inspired at least by this one here. Anyway, "The Lunch Date" gets a cautious thumbs-up from me.

Funny and kindness

[draryutennis · 9/10 · 7 January 2022]

The Lunch Date

Made in 1989.

A woman enters a restaurant of the station for waiting next train. The funny story happens in the restaurant. She orders a salad and put it her seat. And she notices forget bringing a fork. However when she get back to her seat, a man eats her salad. What will she do next? And what is the funny scene?

I think it is so good film. That is because you will be able to feel various feelings through his film. And it is also important to understand last scene. Is it difficult? If you want to know, please watch it.

heart-warming story!

[milky2 · 7/10 · 15 July 2014]

I like this short film, because it is a heart-warming story. This is a monochrome film and there is not much dialog. However I can understand very clearly what they want to say from actors expression background music and camera works. I like camera of the particularly the last scene. I think that cameras work makes this story interesting. In addition, I thought that I can think about the issue of racism from this story, so I think that there is not the person feeling unpleasant to watch this story. There are few characters and the races are different, but I felt interesting it, because a story developed by few characters was beyond a races. The story made a profound impression on me, So I want many people to watch. I recommend this movie to you

White movie

[kazu-gaku · 4/10 · 22 July 2016]

I think that this film expresses the situation and relationship between Whites and Blacks. Frankly speaking, Blacks are described as shabby or ill-natured in this film. On the other hand, White lady is described as the elegant. White lady seems to look down upon blacks, so she doesn't thanks for his kindness. And this movie have a scene that make audiences misunderstand that blacks is bad. However the impression is overturned in the end, so audience ma be turned the table at the last moment. If anything, first impression is changed. On the whole, we can understand the contents of story but I think we overlook the close point because of camera work. It lead us to misunderstand, too. For myself, I don't like this contents because it's like the just ification of the white but I like the tempo of this story.

Prejidice

[risya-20218 · 27 July 2016]

An old white lady, who has a lot of bags, harries to take a train in a station. But she bumps into a man, and she drops her bags to miss the train. Then she have lunch there. She buys her lunch and sits a seat. She realizes that there are no fork and stands up to take it. When she returns the seat, there is a black man. He has lunch, and she claims this is her lunch. But he continues to eat, and she also has it. The man buys two cups of tea. She drinks it a little and leaves there to take a train. Later she comes back there to forget a part of her bags.

After watching this short film, we realize that we have prejudices about a race. We tend to think color people are inferior to white people or low social ladder. Also the lady looks unhappy in this film, because she is driven by time. But she laughs in the end of this film. This is useful to stress the climax of it.

The "lunch date"

[b-96128 · 8/10 · 3 March 2019]

Lunch Date is a short film of 10 minutes. It seems like a comedy film, but I find it is not interesting, but I feel that very natural human behavior is depicted. It is shot in a train, and the white woman is the main cast. One day, she misses her train, and goes to a restaurant for killing time until the next train and buys a salad. She leaves table to grab a fork, and after coming back, she finds that a man is eating her salad. She thinks it is weird and says "It's my salad" for several times, but he never stops eating. At last, after leaving the restaurant once, she comes back to the restaurant because she realizes she left her stuff there, and finds out that her whole salad is left at the seat behind the man's and it is misunderstanding of her. It seems that the restaurant staff knows that it is her misunderstanding, but he never tells her. I thought it is very natural human behavior. We might think that "Why does he not tell the truth to her!" as audience, but actual world is very passive like in the film. Also, at the end, she passed by the man asking for help, but she just ignored and still excited for her good fortune. I thought she is better to return the courtesy by helping a man, but it seems like she is not aware of it. I though these human behaviors are sad but quite natural.

funny

[silvayuki · 10/10 · 1 March 2019]

The short film The Lunch Date is a story about a middle-aged woman who is selfish. Since the image of the film is black-and-white, it seems to be a little bit old. In the film, some black people appear and most of them look poor. I think this means that racial discrimination against black people was horrible when the film was made. At the beginning, the woman bumps into a man who is black and her stuff get scattered. He tries to help her, but she refuses and even complains to him. From this scene, I understood she is a racist. Then, she goes to a restaurant and the scenes in this restaurant are very interesting. I wonder why the black guy who eats his own salad does not complain to her. He even buys her a cup of coffee. He is a very kind guy. I think this is nice comedy film.

The lunch date

[vxyytcsg · 7/10 · 6 January 2024]

I find the portrayal of black people in this movie interesting. There are scenes depicting discomfort towards a black man when he offers to help pick up something that the main character, a white woman, dropped, with the woman expressing a preference for doing it herself. The gaze towards a homeless person with a sense of strangeness also seems to depict the current situation of black individuals. Additionally, I wonder how the reaction might differ if the character getting upset while eating a salad were white. I didn't appreciate the portrayal of the final scene where, if the misunderstanding about the seat had been realized, a brief apology or an attempt to find the man would have been more appropriate, in my opinion. Moreover, I feel a sense of sympathy for the ordinary situations that black people face. In reality, I believe that any person, regardless of their race, would speak up if a stranger was casually sharing their salad without permission. The way the movie associates this discomforting action with the relationship between the white and black characters is a remarkable storytelling choice.

Review

[mao-yana32 · 8/10 · 17 July 2013]

A woman who seems to be wealthy has a lunch with a man who seems to be homeless. I think that this short film describes racial issues and the social with a large gap between rich and poor. Black people in this film seem to be homeless and do something sneaky to get money. On the contrary, the woman is white, wears luxury items and has some shopping bags. Furthermore, the woman is suspicious of black men all the time. This film is a comedy, but describes the fact well. It is interesting for me that the woman's mind does not change even though her good experience, for I feel that this woman's mind is the very mind that white people thought once. This is mainly a heart-warming comedy and it may be suitable to learn about the history of racial problems in America. Therefore, I recommend everyone to watch the film.

A Day for An Old Lady

[satoshiwindow · 7/10 · 4 July 2022]

"The Lunch Date" is an American short film from December 1989. This movie was selected for preservation for the cultural and historical value by the Library of Congress in the United States.

At the beginning of the story, an old lady is walking in a station toward a train terminal after she checked the time schedule board and her ticket. Then, she bumps into a man who is standing in the middle of the street. He tries to help her to pick up her belongings that she drops, but she refuses. This accident makes her miss her train, and when she leaves the station, she can't find her wallet. She goes to a cafeteria and takes a salad. She pays it, and when she takes a seat, she realizes that she forgets a fork, so she leaves the seat. When she returns, she sees a guy is sitting in her seat, and is eating her salad.

I like this story because this movie amazingly shows how the old lady's feelings and her view of the world changes without saying it. This is a nice movie that I can recommend with confidence.

The Lunch Date

[sashank_kini-1 · 9/10 · 8 February 2012]

The Lunch Date is such an effective short, because just when we are making our own assumptions about the complexity of the characters and the message, it gives us a face-palm with a charming, almost wicked surprise. It alters the reality for a while till we are almost satisfied with its unreality only to bring back reality and make us all the more satisfied; unlike many other student productions opting for a blatant and more obvious message, The Lunch Date uses an element of surprise which reinforces the message itself.

Let's take the woman here who is almost put in a moneyless position when she misses her train and loses her wallet. When she orders a salad with the remaining change and goes back to the counter to get the fork, she sees a black man eating the salad. Not able to watch this injustice anymore, she begins to eat from his plate. Both begin to eat from the same plate till the man leaves. The woman feels proud of herself, and we do root for her, since it was 'her' salad. The black man returns with two cups of coffee and both dine at the same table. The woman suddenly leaves, but returns to fetch her bag; she finds that the bag, along with the untouched salad, is on the next table. The woman, realizing her mistake, laughs out of embarrassment and surprise and proceeds on her journey.

The film, shot in black and white, along with the first scene gives the viewer a feeling that the woman is, like most other people surrounding her, racist. Then, in the lunch scene, we are surprised because the black man is shown unfazed by the woman's protests. Then when the man leaves and comes back with coffee, we are sure that the movie addresses racism. But when the ending is revealed, our entire perception changes and we laugh at the absurdity of life. Situations like this happen often in our lives, but the perception of the situations depends on the characters. Imagine if the guy at the table was white, would we have thought of the film in this way?

There is another film 'Toyland' which won the Oscar in the same criteria. There too, we are so convinced about the ending of the film that when things turn out differently, we feel glad that the ending though by us did not happen.

My Rating: 9 out of 10

Scatter-brain

[strawberry-jam-shake · 7/10 · 3 July 2013]

In a cafe, an old woman orders a salad, and she goes back to the counter to get the fork to eat it. After she comes back to the seat, there is a stranger sitting her seat and eating the salad.

This is a monochrome picture. The whole package and music is beautiful and just fits this film. In my view, it is very surprising that the stranger is a gentle man. What a funny mistake the old woman makes! No one can comprehend what happens without seeing the last part of the story.

I recommend you should watch this film. The main actress does very charming mistakes in this film. Watch it and you will never forget it!

Happiness, Which Is Usually Invisible

[AdamHawkes · 10/10 · 29 June 2013]

This film consists of racial discrimination, difference between richness and poverty and genuine happiness. A woman, who is white, misses a train because it takes time after she bumps into a man and gathers all of her scattered possessions. She is depressed and goes to a lunchroom in the station. She gets salad and tries to eat it, but she realizes that she forgets to bring a fork. Therefore she leaves her seat to get a fork and returns there to find a man, who is black, eating the salad. She is angry with him and tries to get it back, but he won't stop eating it. She gives up and eats the salad with him. When they finish it, things will start.

At first, I thought this film was a ind of tragedy because the woman is so unfortunate that a lot of troubles happens around her. However, in the middle of this film, it made a different impression on me. It is a rather heart-warming film. When you watch the ending, you might realize that my words make sense.

In addition to this, this film shows several problems, such as racial discrimination and poverty. In the station, there are a lot of people including both whites and blacks. Most whites are well-off compared with blacks. In the situation, the white woman and the black man eat one salad together. It is profound and had me think about the problems.

Today when a lot of things are very confusing, happiness is invisible. Therefore most of us hardly ever notice it. We should have breaks and watch around. This film taught me such a thing.

funny

[peg0120 · 7/10 · 9 July 2013]

One old woman is in the station. She is going to take the train. However, she collides with a man. Furthermore, her luggage is scattered. The time for the train approaches. So she gathers her belongings in a hurry. She hurries to a platform of a rail way station so as not to miss the train nevertheless she can't catch the train. While she waits for next train, she intends to eat lunch. She orders vegetable salad and chooses a seat. She forgets to get a fork. When she returns to her seat with a fork, a strange man sits down on the seat and eats her salad. She is very surprised and displeases. She makes a terrible mistake at this time.

This story teaches me two important things. First, we should act with time to spare. In this story, she collides with a man and misses the train. If she has enough time, she can take the train. Second, keeping calm is essential in all things. I think she feels impatient with missing the train when she goes to get a fork. So she makes a terrible mistake. If she kept calm, she didn't fail.

Conclusion, we fail and get depressed sometimes. However, if we fail, we can be taught from the mistake and develop ourselves.

nice

[satohakilesson · 5/10 · 17 July 2013]

This film which makes me feel something specific old of black and white film is about an old woman's funny misunderstandings and interesting give-and-take with African American man. It is very difficult film for me to understand!

First, she runs into a man standing in the middle floor. That is why she missed the train. After that, however she seemed to have lost something, I don't know what she lost. The next scene in cafeteria, she orders a salad. The African American man steels it. But he actually doesn't steel. That is her misunderstanding! She simply mistook her booth! This scene is the most interesting for me and maybe for all people watching.

The conclusion is that this movie is difficult, so I watched many times! I couldn't understand first time. The more difficult to understand, the more interesting the movie is! Whenever I watch movies, I want to understand for the first time!