Widesight presents the movie in it's original 1.85.1 aspect ratio. The picture is at times way too sharp (resulting in edge enhancement) and bright but overall looks ok. Print damage is not high but it's very noticeable when it does happen.

If you choose the Cantonese Dolby Digital 5.1 track you get a track with a mixture of Cantonese and English. The latter is the movie's predominant language and Cantonese is used only sparingly. I didn't detect any surround usage and the front stage didn't impress me with it's minimal separation. At the 55 minute mark the sound level changes and becomes a bit too loud and poorly mixed. I had to turn up the center channel a few notches to get the dialogue properly centered at this point. The mandarin 5.1 track is all dubbed into mandarin.

The subtitles are burned into the print and translates all dialogue including the English. In the beginning it's a distraction to listen to dialogue you do understand and having subtitles at the same time. However you tend not to notice it as much as the movie goes on. There's a few instances of white on white but only during the English dialogue so nothing is lost. When needed they are very readable though.

There are no extras on the disc besides a menu option with the plot synopsis in Chinese. Don't qualify as an extra though.

"Lunch With Charles" is a feature length romantic comedy on a fated journey from Hong Kong to Banff. It is a timely, sensitive look at two couples: a Canadian couple, in conflict with themselves and a Hong Kong couple, separated by immigration.

The central theme in "Lunch With Charles" is a common relationship problem: do you follow your loved one or follow your heart? Any couple whose relationship has been strained by the choices or demands of career will feel empathy for the characters in this film. In today's harried world, this may well represent any relationship, period. Each of the four central characters has either let their relationship jeopardize their aspirations, or let their aspirations jeopardize their relationship.

The notion of opposites attracting is a secondary theme. The two central couples in Lunch With Charles have several obvious differences: Asian / Caucasian, dreamer / pragmatist, romantic / idealist. Tong's insecurities are confronted by Natasha's confidence. April's drive is countered by Matthew's gay-abandon. As resistance transforms to attraction, the characters gain distance from themselves enabling them to view their lives from a new perspective.