Midnight Diner is a 2019 Chinese film directed by Tony Leung as he tries out the director chair and stars an all star cast lead by the veteran actor. The television version of the story was also released around the same time to negative reviews from viewers. Midnight Diner is based off the 2009 two season Japanese drama and 2014 films which won high acclaim as well as an occult following throughout the world.
Many different kinds of people stumble upon a little dinner at midnight, located in a back alley, run by a quit man with a scar on his eye. The food brings them in while their stories make us listen......
This adaption has gain mostly negative reviews. I honestly the reason being that the film has the same title as a series that set such a high standard that many people go in watching with an expectation that just won't be met. For one thing, I couldn't watching this film readying myself to compare it to Japan's Midnight Diner. I knew that I was setting this film up to fail, so I watch with a mindset that this film is in an alternative universe away from the Midnight Diner that everyone knows. China's Midnight Diner had to make changes based on their own cultural norms and it very apparent as you watch the film progress. Nothing about these changes mess up the flow of the story or even the way the food is being presented. This Midnight Dinner still keeps that feel of home and togetherness with people that the original contains deep at it's core of stories. If you don't know, the formate of Midnight Diner is to tell stories of the customers who visit the restaurant. A man known as Master is the restaurants owner who is quiet, yet welcoming to all that enter into his establishment. Master in this universe gets a bit more involved in the customer's problems while the original Master did not. He pretty much let events naturally happen around him, only showing support through his food. Tony's portrayal of Master was what he knew, casing the character to come off as a middle aged cook who cooked simple food just to preach to customers when the time was right, I wouldn't say that I loved or disliked his acting. He kinda was just there. What I did love about Midnight Diner was the stories that ranged from happy to a slap in the face with harsh reality. My favorite story was the last one, however, I liked all of them overall. Some reviewers say that the stories are sad.... I don't agree mostly. Only one story is sad and that deals with the same old East Asian storyline of somebody having cancer.... Other than that, the stories are more on the realistic side of the scale. Maybe being true to life isn't for everyone.
Leung's vision missed the mark on giving Chinese viewers that in depth character background story that for Master that many were blessed with in the Japanese version. Stops where that was missed, Leung did however, make a point to create a feeling of "home" with this film that I believe every adaption of Midnight Diner should ultimately have. There's an interview documentary as the credits roll too that drives this idea further. No matter where you are in life, No matter what problems you may have, There will always be a Midnight Diner waiting for you to stop in.
My final thoughts are that I would watch most film adaptions of Midnight Diner mainly because spending an hour and some minutes to watch a film isn't that big of a commitment but I'm not wasting my time watching the drama adaptions. I'll just stick with the original Japanese classic for that. Looking at those reviews across East Asia, Many people agree with me whole heartily.
*Check out Japan's Midnight Diner on Netflix****
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