Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

If you don't like this, we can't be friends.

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

Despite not containing a single second of on-screen violence, DUMPLINGS is one of the sickest movies I've ever seen. I feel nauseous just thinking about it and ever watching it again is out of the question. Whether you view it as a modern-day parable of the age-old quest for eternal youth, as a gross-out comedy, a satire of anti-ageing products, or as a bleak horror film about cannibalism in China, you're guaranteed to have a reaction to what has to be one of the bravest films I can recall watching.It's a well-made movie. Fruit Chan is proficient at the technical aspects and he also elicits a couple of fine performances from his two leading ladies. Bai Ling dominates proceedings with her ultra-sensual turn as Aunt Mei, but the story really belongs to Miriam Yeung, whose quest for youth and jealousy of her husband's infidelity leads her to some very dark places. The film was originally conceived as part of a trilogy of short films under the THREE EXTREMES banner and later expanded to full length, and it does have the feel of a short – this is a mood piece rather than a focused narrative, and there's little in the way of action.Still – it's no secret that the story is about dumplings that contain human foetuses that help restore youth. The whole idea is completely disgusting and watching people eating said dumplings is utterly repulsive. There are graphic abortions here too, along with some horrible egg things that people enjoy eating, so I'd advise viewers to eat NOTHING before watching as you're liable to bring up your lunch with this one. DUMPLINGS is a disturbing little movie that's all too effective.

An 800 year old Chinese witch makes Dumplings that give the Fountain of Youth to paying clients. The active ingredient of the Dumplings presents a repugnant moral quandary as it appears that the more debauched that the clients gets to obtain her youth, the more potent that the ingredient needs to be. To be the most potent the ingredient needs to be alive and older. Contains a raucous sex scene that has the client's husband bonking the witch to add to the humiliation of the client's fear of aging. The final thrilling end comes as the client becomes fully debauched to the ultimate act of cannibalism worthy of Hannibal Lector. Stem cell transplants will never seem the same again.

Those who've seen the Dumplings short on the rather awesome 3 Extremes compilation know basically what to expect here. Much as Se7en became known for its "What's in the box?" sequence, this movie has become infamous for "What's inside the titular dumplings?", the answer of which is far grimmer than the severed head of a terrible actress. It's played very well, with the revelation ensuring that many lines of dialogue create shivers and every crackly crunch of a dumpling being munched on inducing squirms in most audience members. Sure, it's a one trick pony, but when the trick involves sledgehammering one of humanity's ultimate taboos, then you don't really need another.Dumpings is about a woman who's desperate to get rid of some wrinkles and give her skin that youthly glow in order to hold her husband's interest. Of course, any husband worth a damn would oblige by dropping trou and offering up a batch of the world's most effective face moisturiser, but this guy's too busy with business and shagging women on the side to perform this kindly service. Their relationship is somewhat typical of the phenomenon whereby male wealth and female beauty go hand in hand. It's how we end up with the sugar daddy concept and why we see Donald Trump types marrying fake-tanned, fake-titted models a third of their age; females across the globe striving for ultimate beauty just so they can spread their legs for a guy old enough to be their grandfather in return for a diamond necklace. The sacred bond of marriage has become, in many cases, nothing more than a form of socially acceptable prostitution. I now pronounce you scumbag and whore. Now sign your certificate and start trading services.So, Dumplings comments on this societal plague that sees a woman's beauty as a quantitative valuation of her overall worth, but it's also about the need to prolong one's youth to the detriment of others, mainly the youth themselves. The idea of leaving a better world for our children has been discarded in favour of a "me first" attitude where scrambling for every possible way to make the most out of life contributes to a legacy that damns the children before they've even left the womb. The Beatles told the baby boomers that all they needed was love, but the baby boomers weren't listening. They don't want love, they want a nicer house. Then they want the car they've always dreamed of, but then they need another car to drive to work. Of course that means they need a new house with a double garage, and while they're at it, why not buy another house as an investment property. The next generation inherits a world where luxuries have become necessities because you can't possibly be happy unless you own lots of stuff, right? Right? So you'd better work your ass off to get those things or else other people will think you're a failure. Screw weekends, that's 2 whole days that you could be working to buy more things. Oh, but make sure you get to the gym at 5 am because you're no spring chicken anymore, and remember your next Botox treatment is on Sunday. Follow that through to its logical conclusion and you have a whole bunch of great looking parents spawning the most spoiled, privileged generation of kids in history who are cutting themselves out of sheer boredom and apathy toward their own self-worth. Future fetuses being masticated between the teeth of superficial here-and-now "happiness", because the human race forgot that all it needed was love.What does that have to do with Dumplings? Nothing really. Got a little side-tracked. Sorry 'bout that. Incidentally, it's a good movie. You should check it out, even if you've already seen the short.

Dumplings (2004) **** (out of 4) Feature length version of the short that appeared in Three...Extremes. It's rather interesting how different these two versions are and what the director sets out to do in both of them. In Three...Extremes it's clear that the director was going for shock and horror value and he captured that like no other film I can remember. The big "secret" had me near throwing up and that same element is here in this feature version but there's some added twists in the extra 45-minutes worth of screen time. The biggest storyline added to this version is the husband who we didn't see too much of in the short. He plays a much bigger role here as we see him in a couple different affairs and this here sets up why the woman would keep eating the dumplings even after learning what they are. A couple sex scenes are also added but an even bigger addition is the director's statement about women and age. How "women are thrown out" as they get older is an interesting subplot as is the Chinese legend behind what is actually eaten in the film.