‘Fuxi: Four Tales of Feasting’ Review: Whimsical Chinese Film Explores Myth and History Through a Series of Tasty Treats
Chinese film-maker Qiu Jiongjiong’s *Fuxi: Four Tales of Feasting* uses four meals to explore more than 2,000 years of Chinese myth and history. Its theatrical style and shifts between slapstick and solemnity create an unusual, playful film with serious themes.
The 135-minute film links its separate tales through a film crew and personifications of the sun and moon. Its chapters range from a community eating a dying elder’s tail to stories about a king, poet Su Dongpo and a modern restaurant; the reviewer finds the later tales more dramatically substantial.
In short
- Qiu’s film spans more than 2,000 years through four food-centred tales.
- The 135-minute film mixes theatrical fantasy, comedy and solemnity.
- Its later stories, including one about poet Su Dongpo, carry greater dramatic weight.
Explained simply
Fuxi is a figure from ancient Chinese mythology, while Su Dongpo was an 11th-century poet and government official whose writing remains widely known. Chinese stories and history often bring together myth, famous historical figures and everyday life, giving film-makers ways to explore how the past shapes the present.
Food can carry meanings beyond nourishment: meals may mark family ties, social customs, power or remembrance. A film built around different feasts can therefore connect private experiences with larger questions about Chinese history and culture.
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