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THE
GOD
OF COOKERY
AKA:
Shi Shen
Year:
1996 Reviewer: Phil
Mills
Stephen
Chow Sing Chi stars as the "God of Cookery", the
number one chef in all the world. As the film
opens, he is currently judging a cookery competition for
the cameras but is less than kind to most of the competitors.
It appears that the money he has earned over the years has
turned this self-proclaimed God into a rude and heartless man
who has forgotten the true meaning of what it is to be a
talented cook. When his new found apprentice Bull (Kok)
challenges him to a culinary face off everything starts to go
horribly wrong. Disgraced in his own profession and
completely broke, the God finds solace at the hands of a
street vendor by the name of Turkey (Mok). She employs
him on her food stall and you begin to wonder; is it possible
that from such humble beginnings he will be able to rebuild
his empire?
This
was Chow's most critically acclaimed film during the earlier
stages of his career (somewhat overshadowed now by the recent
success of 'Shaolin
Soccer') but also remains one of his most contested.
Some fans loved it whilst others were not so keen and this can
probably be attributed to the inclusion of various new
elements.
Up
to this point in time, the audiences in Hong Kong had been
used to seeing a lot of comedies with a mindless narrative and
a lot of slapstick routines but what 'The God Of Cookery'
introduced to the genre was a whole new way of producing this
type of movie. This magic ingredient is that it cannot
easily be bookmarked into any category because it has the
criteria that fit into a number of differing styles; it
contains humour, drama, action and an interesting story.
Chow introduced this innovative method that not only allowed
for a more sophisticated sense of humour but also brought in
real life conflicts and a plot that could be followed.
Maybe this was too radical for the time which is why some
people were less than pleased but it is definitely the
backbone for all of his hit films that he makes today.
'The
God
Of Cookery' can also be rewarded for some extremely enigmatic performances from the usual line-up of cast members.
As many times as I have said it before, Chow is truly a
stunning all-round entertainer and doesn't fail to produce the
goods for the millionth time here. He is also ably
accompanied by the often overlooked Karen Mok who seems to
have an endless range of characters in her repertoire (and
doesn't sing too badly either), as she plays one of her most
challenging roles to date. Vincent Kok and Ng Man Tat
complete the circle, playing bad guys that just ooze pure evil
and it makes you wonder why Kok spends so much time behind the
camera these days when he does this well in front of it.
I
have to admit that originally, I was amongst those that
condemned this film rather than praise it the way I do today.
Maybe I have grown to love it or just that it was an early
introduction to the works of Chow that I couldn't full
appreciate but either way, nowadays it is easy
to see so many of it's good qualities. Perhaps a
little ahead of it's time, 'The God Of Cookery' is one of Chow's
most outrageous efforts but it's as stylish, witty and
enjoyable as any of his other films.
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