A new spin on an old idea

I usually enjoy the movies made by Zhang Yimou.  He has a quirky film called A Woman, A Gun and a Noodle Shop.

Have you ever heard about the contests or display of prowess some pizza makers put on to spin up or throw their pizza dough?

Watch this!

[wp_youtube]oLJiLp_mMCU[/wp_youtube]

About Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Fr. Z is the guy who runs this blog. o{]:¬)
This entry was posted in Fr. Z's Kitchen. Bookmark the permalink.

12 Comments

  1. ghp95134 says:

    Very nice!! It reminds me of a kung fu movie I saw donkey’s years ago; the scene was also set in a small family restaurant … but noodle making!

    The first two youtube clips are similar to that kung fu episode, but without the “Hollywood” show. There were lots of frills such as banging the table while stretching the noodle dough, etc.; the third clip shows a young cook using only a small strand of dough … this was more in line with the kung fu movie:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZTfC5tDlOqo
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQWQrgZOPgU
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iB9Hx6aceh0

    Guten appetit!
    –Guy

  2. Marcin says:

    I haven’t seen the movie. Are they Catholics by any chance? The dough comes down to a size just right to make a nice ombrellino out of it.

  3. Joe in Canada says:

    “Zhang Yimou”, “Zhang Yimou”. Is that Italian?

  4. Tony Layne says:

    That was pretty cool!

  5. Joe in Canada: But of course!

  6. Konichiwa says:

    Alrighty, FatherZ. I’m going to watch it next week. Do you have any more recommendations? I’d like to see you create a movie section for the blog.

  7. Eric says:

    What a piker.
    You wanna see someone spread dough around, watch Rahm Emmanuel over the next couple of months. [ROFL! Very nimble.]

  8. Konichiwa: There are more films by Zhang Yimou I could recommend. In particular, The Road Home.That is a gorgeous film to look at.  Zhang Yimou was a cinematographer before he was a director.  It deals with connection between past and present, previous generations and modern up to date folks, sons and fathers.  These are common themes in Chinese movies I have noticed.  There was a terrible wound caused by the Great Leap Forward and Cultural Revolution.  They lost so much in those years.  This loss is being worked through in some movies. You must see To Live.  It is about a family who lives through one disaster after another over the decades from the end of the War Lord period to the Cultural Revoution. Superb.  Also, there is a theme of the country and the growing city.  To that end you might look at Not One Less.  The city/country thing is also at the heart of Beijing Bicycle, which is not by Zhang Yimou, but is very good.  Back to Zhang Yimou and the change of the way of life, the loss of old ways and imposition of the new, look at Shower, which is in an area of the city were old things are being battered down to make room for the new.  A son who is doing his modern thing comes back to the family home and business, an old-fashioned bathhouse – rather like the ancient Roman baths – where men would spend the day, gambling (a big thing for Chinese men) or having cricket fights, resting, drinking tea and generally socializing.  As the old father loses his strength the returning son has to find solutions for him and also a younger brother who is mentally challenged.  Some pretty poignant stuff in that one. There are also quite a few films which deal with the changing role of women in Chinese society.  But that is enough for now.

  9. Gail F says:

    Wow!!! I heard that this film is a comedy partly based on the Coen Brothers “Blood Simple” (not a comedy). Is it?

  10. Gail F: That could be, now that you mention it. I didn’t see the Coen Bros. film. I don’t like them. But Zhang Yimou does “dialogue” in his films with Western films. And it is quirky at the beginning and gets pretty serious by the end. Sometimes Zhang Yimou’s films are like that. I have in mind his Happy Times.

  11. Norah says:

    I hope they washed their hands! lol

  12. irishgirl says:

    Wow-that’s pretty cool!
    Very dexterous!
    And probably pretty yummy, too!
    I’m with Konichwa, Father Z-you should add a movie section to the blog!

Comments are closed.