The Lunch Date (1989) User Reviews

Kind of heartwarming

[momorytm · 8/10 · 25 February 2019]

An around-50-year-old lady rushes on the train, but she does not make it. She meets a black guy and will have a strange experience at a restaurant during lunch time. I really like this film regarding the story and music. I think that the black guy stole her salad at first because he has the tag with his beanie. Then, when I see the climax of this film, it makes me realize that I am one of the people who have a prejudice about race although it is not extreme like the lady in the film. We unconsciously tend to think that black people stole people's stuff. This film tells a message straightforwardly that there is a prejudice about African American. Also, in the end, the lady still ignores a black man begging for money and walk through. It shows that people do not change so immediately and it is hard to eliminate prejudice. In addition to the storyline, I like the music played at the beginning, at-the-lunch-date scene, and the end. Not only it is put in the right time creating an atmosphere that fits the scene, but also, in my opinion, the music itself is so beautiful. I like that they put those kinds of jazz music coming from African American descent to the film regarding a racial issue. While this film is heartwarming, it still makes us consider racism at the same time, which I think is nice.

A life turning point

[b-88494 · 6/10 · 19 February 2019]

The short film is about the story that an old, strong-willed and selfish woman changes her attitude after he has an unexpected lunch date. To be honest, I am not a big fan of this movie because I could not see much change in the main character herself and the roles of supporting characters throughout the story. I thought the growth of the woman is little: just her facial expression. Also, I was not sure of what impact a black man who asks people for money appeared near the ending has on the woman although she has no money. If she had money and gave it to the man, the impression of the movie would be totally changed. Then the audience can clearly recognize "she changes!!" On the other hand, I was impressed by the good tempo that the film creates. Especially, I like the lunch scene because it has a comedy aspect to make the audience giggle as well as the lead character's gradual development on her attitude. I would like to watch this short film again to find discovery the characters themselves and understand the content deeply.

The "lunch date"

[b-96128 · 8/10 · 3 March 2019]

Lunch Date is a short film of 10 minutes. It seems like a comedy film, but I find it is not interesting, but I feel that very natural human behavior is depicted. It is shot in a train, and the white woman is the main cast. One day, she misses her train, and goes to a restaurant for killing time until the next train and buys a salad. She leaves table to grab a fork, and after coming back, she finds that a man is eating her salad. She thinks it is weird and says "It's my salad" for several times, but he never stops eating. At last, after leaving the restaurant once, she comes back to the restaurant because she realizes she left her stuff there, and finds out that her whole salad is left at the seat behind the man's and it is misunderstanding of her. It seems that the restaurant staff knows that it is her misunderstanding, but he never tells her. I thought it is very natural human behavior. We might think that "Why does he not tell the truth to her!" as audience, but actual world is very passive like in the film. Also, at the end, she passed by the man asking for help, but she just ignored and still excited for her good fortune. I thought she is better to return the courtesy by helping a man, but it seems like she is not aware of it. I though these human behaviors are sad but quite natural.

Where Can I find "The Lunch Date"

[Mike_Luna · 11 July 2005]

This is an amazing must see short film by what I consider a brilliant screenwriter/director. I first viewed "The Lunch Date" while taking a cross cultural counseling class during my graduate program, and was simply amazed at the message that was conveyed in a matter of ten minutes. This is of course coming from a person who does not typically take the time to appreciate the true aesthetics of film making.

I love the way the story is told with minimal dialog between characters because it challenges first time viewers to decipher the plot and understand what message is being shared. The location setting, an underground subway station/shopping plaza provided me with a sense of nostalgia as I was raised in a city that had similar surroundings. The choppiness of the scenes and usage of black and white film also allowed me to appreciate the art of good film making. I had never really stopped to pinpoint what it takes to tell a story while being conscious of production techniques that assist the viewer to comprehend a message more effectively.

I would love to find this DVD Short for sale some where. If anyone is aware of where to find it, please direct me to a URL address. I work in the field of College Student Affairs, and would love to use this piece in one of my diversity training workshops.

Fabulous film which can be found on Cinema 16: American Short Films DVD!

[charris7-1 · 10/10 · 11 November 2007]

I absolutely love this film. It really points out stereotypes that we all hold. I spent considerable time trying to locate a copy of this outstanding film. I finally found it on a DVD collection entitled Cinema 16: American Short Films. It has been well worth the search and the cost. I use it in my classroom to prompt discussions about stereotypes. I have my students watch it first from the point of view of the main character, the woman who has missed her train. I have them record their thoughts and perceptions from her point of view. I stop the film as she leaves the diner to catch her train. This is when I have my students share their thoughts. I then have them finish watching the story. Are they ever surprised! After this, I have them watch it from the perspective of the man eating the salad. After sharing their thoughts from his point of view, we discuss stereotypes. My students really enjoy this outstanding short story. The message contained in this short film is incredible.

A perfect film

[crittercat · 10/10 · 22 May 2005]

This 10 minute short is nearly perfect film-making. It should be mandatory viewing in film classes everywhere.

"The Lunch Date" tells a complete and complex story, makes you feel keenly for the two central characters, has complications, twists, reversals and a wonderful resolution. It never strays from context and reality and is utterly accessible.

And it's all done with virtually no dialog.

I would love to be able to own and look at this film from time to time when I'm trying to convince myself -- against all available evidence -- that really GOOD movies can be made small and simply.

I hope that "The Lunch Date" will be made available in either DVD or video cassette very soon.

Larry Santoro [e-mail]

Fun surprise

[m28l17d · 6/10 · 28 February 2019]

This short film is about a white lady, who is selfish, looks rich, and racist. She tries to get on a train and is at a station. In the station, there are a lot of black men who are begging for money. She is in a hurry, and she drops her bag, and her stuff spreads to the ground. A black man helps her to pick her stuff up, but she is so intimidating and harsh to him. She runs to the train, but she misses it. With the feeling of disappointment, she goes into a café and orders a salad. She gets her seat but realizes that she needs a fork then she goes back to the counter to get one. Once she gets back to her seat, there is a black man eating a salad. She gets so mad and tells him "That's my salad!" But the man does not stop eating. She stares at him and starts eating the salad from his plate. After the awkward time, the black man leaves his seat suddenly and comes back to the seats with two cups of coffee. They do not talk a lot, but the atmosphere is much better than the very first one. The black man leaves the seat, and after a while, the lady realizes that she cannot find her belongings. She walks around the café, and she finally finds that she is at the wrong table. She cannot help laughing about what she has done. This film implies that the lady's mind is changed thanks to the event at the café, but there is a depiction that she ignores another black people even after she leaves the café. So it means that it is a bit hard to change people mind that quick. It is like a comedy, and I like it.

Do the details mean something? Well though movie.

[akitagodfathers · 9/10 · 1 March 2019]

An old lady, who is rushing to get the train bumped into a black man and dropped her stuff. In the train home, after missing the train she realizes that she has lost her wallet. With no choice, she decides to kill time in a restaurant buying a cheap salad, but someone is in her seat.... The old lady attitude towards the typical poor black men changes during the movie. Although, it is difficult to tell that in the first time, the film is well planed to tell those emotional changes. In the beginning, you don't know what she thinks about those typical poor men. She just pass through one of them staring at him. Later however, you can observe that she stares at a typical black man with a disgusting face. It is because she thinks that the black man she bumped into, stole her wallet and she is angry in general towards those typical poor black man. Therefore, when the black man in the restaurant is eating the salad, she believes she is a victim again and aggressively reacts and eats it without asking. When this black man buys her a coffee she is surprised but not pleased. She does not drink it all because she has not forgiven the incident of her wallet. However, the old lady changes her mind completely after coming back to the restaurant and realizing that she was not eating her salad but the man's. The lady now knows that stereotypes mean nothing. Even more, she is ashamed of her acts and cannot stop laughing at her actions and biases. The last scene where she passes through a man begging for money shows that she has changed her mind because if she has not, she would be staring at this man with a disgusting face such as she did in the beginning. Again, is a well thought short film

The Lunch Date

[feae-72598 · 6/10 · 27 July 2016]

This film is one of the deepest movies I've seen. In this short movie characters are black people and a white woman. I think this movie shows that prejudice is not good and wrong. Because in this film there are many people who wait for pedestrians to get money, play the harmonica happily and help someone. But, The Lunch Date is made easily and comfortably. It is good point that all characters are not hurt by prejudice and this ending is happy, so people who watch it may feel refreshed. Also I think this tells experience may change thoughts and feelings. I recommend this short film for students, because it gives a chance to think about the world.

funny

[silvayuki · 10/10 · 1 March 2019]

The short film The Lunch Date is a story about a middle-aged woman who is selfish. Since the image of the film is black-and-white, it seems to be a little bit old. In the film, some black people appear and most of them look poor. I think this means that racial discrimination against black people was horrible when the film was made. At the beginning, the woman bumps into a man who is black and her stuff get scattered. He tries to help her, but she refuses and even complains to him. From this scene, I understood she is a racist. Then, she goes to a restaurant and the scenes in this restaurant are very interesting. I wonder why the black guy who eats his own salad does not complain to her. He even buys her a cup of coffee. He is a very kind guy. I think this is nice comedy film.

Heartwarming interaction (maybe) between the woman and man

[b-13616 · 7/10 · 12 February 2019]

This story is about a typical misunderstanding of the main character and teases her unconscious prejudice toward others. It consists of a minimal extent of dialogues between characters, monochrome visual, and classical music, and so audiences can enjoy how the woman, main character, is changing by an unexpected encounter in only around 10 minutes. It starts from the scene at the crowded central station and the woman is rushing for her train. On the way to the platform, she runs into a black guy and refuses his help, though he seems to be a kind person. In spite of the effort to hurry along, she misses her train and even drops tears! It seems so over reaction and is one of the funniest moments for me in this film. But except that, she is full of prejudice towards other races, too naïve, and also gets on people's nerves. So I did not assume that I come to like her slightly more compared with in the beginning. Through the interaction with a black guy, who are "stealing" her salad at her seat, however, she starts to take a step to change (I do not want to say she has changed through the film, rather she seizes the opportunity). The scene of sharing salad, and then buying a coffee without any conversation is so lovely that I got disappointed when finding both take no action to each other.

have a bite

[lee_eisenberg · 8/10 · 7 May 2022]

Adam Davidson's Academy Award-winning short is about a rich woman who misses a train and then has an awkward experience in an eatery. "The Lunch Date" isn't anything profound yet manages to be thought-provoking. It forces you to ask what you would do in this situation. Don't expect the short to result in a life-changing experience. As far as I can tell, it's about making you confront your privilege and prejudices.

Worth seeing.

Old woman in the station

[acingst · 7/10 · 15 September 2015]

This film is made in black and white. Large station, such as the Central Station in New York and Washington is a stage. There are many people in the station. One old elegant woman is closed up. She looks at the time table of trains and she picks up a ticket from her baggage. There are some people such as the tramp in the station. The old woman hit a man, her small items out of the bag falls to the floor. She and he pick up those things in a hurry, however, she misses the train which she plans get on. The reluctantly, she buys the salad at the restaurant of the station. She try to eat them, however, she goes to take a fork because she forgets to take it. When she return to her seat, a man like black vagrants sit in her seat and he has to eat her salad! She acts not to lose the man. The film also I said that at first glance suspense. However, it also has a heartwarming episode. This film is not only simple, but also gives surprising the audience.

nice

[satohakilesson · 5/10 · 17 July 2013]

This film which makes me feel something specific old of black and white film is about an old woman's funny misunderstandings and interesting give-and-take with African American man. It is very difficult film for me to understand!

First, she runs into a man standing in the middle floor. That is why she missed the train. After that, however she seemed to have lost something, I don't know what she lost. The next scene in cafeteria, she orders a salad. The African American man steels it. But he actually doesn't steel. That is her misunderstanding! She simply mistook her booth! This scene is the most interesting for me and maybe for all people watching.

The conclusion is that this movie is difficult, so I watched many times! I couldn't understand first time. The more difficult to understand, the more interesting the movie is! Whenever I watch movies, I want to understand for the first time!

Prejidice

[risya-20218 · 27 July 2016]

An old white lady, who has a lot of bags, harries to take a train in a station. But she bumps into a man, and she drops her bags to miss the train. Then she have lunch there. She buys her lunch and sits a seat. She realizes that there are no fork and stands up to take it. When she returns the seat, there is a black man. He has lunch, and she claims this is her lunch. But he continues to eat, and she also has it. The man buys two cups of tea. She drinks it a little and leaves there to take a train. Later she comes back there to forget a part of her bags.

After watching this short film, we realize that we have prejudices about a race. We tend to think color people are inferior to white people or low social ladder. Also the lady looks unhappy in this film, because she is driven by time. But she laughs in the end of this film. This is useful to stress the climax of it.

Funny and I liked it

[fefe222 · 9/10 · 27 February 2019]

"The Lunch Date" was a short film about an old white lady who misses train and takes lunch while waiting for the next train. She encounters a black man and have lunch together with him.

First of all, I really liked the scene that the woman realizes the salad the black man was eating was not hers. Viewers could realize that before the woman did, so it was fun to watch the scene that the woman has not yet found out the truth and the moment she finds it out. I also liked the main character's acting. She was a perfectly typical old white lady, and I really enjoyed watching her behavior.

I also found out that the film showed a typical racial discrimination and prejudices. People judge someone by their appearance, and sometimes people who belong to ethnically majority group can be very arrogant and selfish. I think this film can gives viewers good opportunities to think about those issues and to look back on their own behavior.

I was wondering why this film is a black-and-white film. I think that it might be because the person who created the film wanted to emphasize difference of characters' races, black and white.

Funny and kindness

[draryutennis · 9/10 · 7 January 2022]

The Lunch Date

Made in 1989.

A woman enters a restaurant of the station for waiting next train. The funny story happens in the restaurant. She orders a salad and put it her seat. And she notices forget bringing a fork. However when she get back to her seat, a man eats her salad. What will she do next? And what is the funny scene?

I think it is so good film. That is because you will be able to feel various feelings through his film. And it is also important to understand last scene. Is it difficult? If you want to know, please watch it.

A mental state affects thinking

[yfm3594 · 7/10 · 17 July 2013]

This is a monochrome film made in 1989. the main character is an old woman who misses a train because she bumped into a black man. She feels unlucky and sad about it, and after that she goes to a restaurant to have a light meal. However, she faces something unpleasant again there.

When we are depressed, we tend to worry about trivial things. Sometimes such a state causes unexpected misunderstandings or unnecessary conflict. In this film we can see the typical case. It may look trifling when you watch someone else is in the situation. But nevertheless we feel impatient if we experience it directly. Don't you think the difference between subjectivity and objectivity is interesting?

On the other hand, this film has a slightly disturbing thing that I cannot overlook. That is the fact that all of characters who bother her in this film are black. It may be my excessive interpretation, however I think it implies the discrimination against them. Taking account of the date of this film's production, 1989, I can say that consciousness of human rights was relatively lower. If my words are true, it is an important social background.

In conclusion, the story itself is very simple. But still it has something to do with our point of view.

The Lunch Date

[sashank_kini-1 · 9/10 · 8 February 2012]

The Lunch Date is such an effective short, because just when we are making our own assumptions about the complexity of the characters and the message, it gives us a face-palm with a charming, almost wicked surprise. It alters the reality for a while till we are almost satisfied with its unreality only to bring back reality and make us all the more satisfied; unlike many other student productions opting for a blatant and more obvious message, The Lunch Date uses an element of surprise which reinforces the message itself.

Let's take the woman here who is almost put in a moneyless position when she misses her train and loses her wallet. When she orders a salad with the remaining change and goes back to the counter to get the fork, she sees a black man eating the salad. Not able to watch this injustice anymore, she begins to eat from his plate. Both begin to eat from the same plate till the man leaves. The woman feels proud of herself, and we do root for her, since it was 'her' salad. The black man returns with two cups of coffee and both dine at the same table. The woman suddenly leaves, but returns to fetch her bag; she finds that the bag, along with the untouched salad, is on the next table. The woman, realizing her mistake, laughs out of embarrassment and surprise and proceeds on her journey.

The film, shot in black and white, along with the first scene gives the viewer a feeling that the woman is, like most other people surrounding her, racist. Then, in the lunch scene, we are surprised because the black man is shown unfazed by the woman's protests. Then when the man leaves and comes back with coffee, we are sure that the movie addresses racism. But when the ending is revealed, our entire perception changes and we laugh at the absurdity of life. Situations like this happen often in our lives, but the perception of the situations depends on the characters. Imagine if the guy at the table was white, would we have thought of the film in this way?

There is another film 'Toyland' which won the Oscar in the same criteria. There too, we are so convinced about the ending of the film that when things turn out differently, we feel glad that the ending though by us did not happen.

My Rating: 9 out of 10

Oddly Amusing

[gavin6942 · 7/10 · 22 January 2016]

A woman misses her train and buys lunch in a café. When she returns to her table, a man is eating her salad.

That summary really is all that happens in this short film. But what happens next is unexpected and fun, and makes it worthwhile to see this if it was not already worth seeing for you (and i would argue that it should be).

I feel like somewhere in this short film is a comment on race. I do not know what that comment would be exactly, but it seems like it is hidden in there somewhere. Maybe something about our expectations, and how they may not always match with reality. Or maybe nothing was intended at all and I see a Rorschach test where there isn't one.

Review

[mao-yana32 · 8/10 · 17 July 2013]

A woman who seems to be wealthy has a lunch with a man who seems to be homeless. I think that this short film describes racial issues and the social with a large gap between rich and poor. Black people in this film seem to be homeless and do something sneaky to get money. On the contrary, the woman is white, wears luxury items and has some shopping bags. Furthermore, the woman is suspicious of black men all the time. This film is a comedy, but describes the fact well. It is interesting for me that the woman's mind does not change even though her good experience, for I feel that this woman's mind is the very mind that white people thought once. This is mainly a heart-warming comedy and it may be suitable to learn about the history of racial problems in America. Therefore, I recommend everyone to watch the film.

A trick in The Lunch Date

[minamiakiiku · 7/10 · 24 December 2021]

This short movie 'The Lunch Date' is an American comedy drama directed by Adam Davidson in 1980. An old white lady misses her train, so she decides to have lunch at a cafeteria. Then her misunderstanding causes a silent fight at the lunch table. There are two fascinating elements that make the film great. First, what my interest quite piqued is what the 1980's large station really looks like because it is my first time to see it. Especially, split-flap display was totally new to me, and its flap was amusing. Next, I was taken in by the lady's great performance that made the viewers stand on her side. She is so expressive that it makes her look charming and makes her behavior look plausible. So, I completely believed that at the restraint the black man is eating her salad greedily and he even takes her bags. Therefore, when it was shown it's actually not, I was astonished and I felt sorry about my discourteous misinterpretation. Then I got embarrassed when I realized that I also had a prejudice in my mind.

Happiness, Which Is Usually Invisible

[AdamHawkes · 10/10 · 29 June 2013]

This film consists of racial discrimination, difference between richness and poverty and genuine happiness. A woman, who is white, misses a train because it takes time after she bumps into a man and gathers all of her scattered possessions. She is depressed and goes to a lunchroom in the station. She gets salad and tries to eat it, but she realizes that she forgets to bring a fork. Therefore she leaves her seat to get a fork and returns there to find a man, who is black, eating the salad. She is angry with him and tries to get it back, but he won't stop eating it. She gives up and eats the salad with him. When they finish it, things will start.

At first, I thought this film was a ind of tragedy because the woman is so unfortunate that a lot of troubles happens around her. However, in the middle of this film, it made a different impression on me. It is a rather heart-warming film. When you watch the ending, you might realize that my words make sense.

In addition to this, this film shows several problems, such as racial discrimination and poverty. In the station, there are a lot of people including both whites and blacks. Most whites are well-off compared with blacks. In the situation, the white woman and the black man eat one salad together. It is profound and had me think about the problems.

Today when a lot of things are very confusing, happiness is invisible. Therefore most of us hardly ever notice it. We should have breaks and watch around. This film taught me such a thing.

The lunch Date

[curryandrice · 7/10 · 31 July 2014]

First, I think this movie is spooky stories. The women drops her bag, the black man pretends to help her. After all, her train ticket is stolen. Although an old woman takes a seat with a salad, she forgets to take a fork. If she returns to a seat, an unfamiliar black man sits on the seat, and he is eating her salad. When the fat man eats her salad (actually, the salad is his.), I think this station is the worst. I worried how the woman goes to her goal at the end. The fat man is actually kind man. The woman eats his salad, but he buys two coffees, hers and his. It is important that questioning everyone, but it is not right to jump to the conclusion that this parson is a bad parson.

White movie

[kazu-gaku · 4/10 · 22 July 2016]

I think that this film expresses the situation and relationship between Whites and Blacks. Frankly speaking, Blacks are described as shabby or ill-natured in this film. On the other hand, White lady is described as the elegant. White lady seems to look down upon blacks, so she doesn't thanks for his kindness. And this movie have a scene that make audiences misunderstand that blacks is bad. However the impression is overturned in the end, so audience ma be turned the table at the last moment. If anything, first impression is changed. On the whole, we can understand the contents of story but I think we overlook the close point because of camera work. It lead us to misunderstand, too. For myself, I don't like this contents because it's like the just ification of the white but I like the tempo of this story.