The Taste of Things Is a Cinematic Meal to Savor: Review
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The post The Taste of Things Is a Cinematic Meal to Savor: Review appeared first on Consequence.
The Pitch: In the picturesque French countryside of 1889, a superb chef named Dodin Bouffant (Benoît Magimel) and his long-time employee Eugénie (Juliette Binoche) toil for long hours in their simple kitchen, creating the finest dishes using locally grown ingredients and loving care for every step of the process. As we come to understand, the decades-long relationship between Dodin and Eugénie is far from conventional, especially for the time period. It’s all in service to the creation of beautiful food, and the freedom to devote one’s life to a passion so specific and pure.
That’s it. That’s the film. And if that sounds at all appealing, then know it’s one of the loveliest experiences you’ll ever have in a movie theater.
Show Up on a Full Stomach: What director Trần Anh Hùng creates with his newest film is almost pure poetry, a sumptuous exploration of food as an art form and a means of connection with those around us. The aesthetics speak to a perfect week away in one of the planet’s most picturesque locations, with golden light filtering in through the kitchen windows, and their rustic utensils, platters, and cooking equipment speaking to a less complicated time.
You could try looking for the cuts in cinematographer Jonathan Ricquebourg’s long, long takes of kitchen action, but that would almost ruin the poetry of those sequences; What’s most beautiful about the film’s hyperfocus on the cooking scenes is that as a viewer, you’re given pretty much no details on what’s actually being prepared — no Iron Chef-esque moments of the chef explaining to the camera what, exactly, he’s assembling. Instead, Eugénie, Dodin, and their assistants dart around the kitchen, all working harmoniously to chop, roast, strain, saute, and smother their farm-fresh ingredients, leaving us in suspense as to what, exactly, is being created.
That suspense gets paid off in loving shots of (let’s call it what it is) food porn, the final result presented to Dodin’s very appreciative collection of friends (the primary guests served throughout the film). Chef Pierre Gagnaire serves as the film’s “gastronomic director” (and also has a small cameo), and during the pre-production phase personally prepared all the dishes seen on screen, so that the crew could film his movements; he also worked with Binoche and Magimel to make sure their movements on screen felt as authentic as possible.
The Language of Love: The Taste of Things is also a love story, albeit one not pulsing with passion; instead, it’s a beautiful portrait of a years-old bond, one with a few issues — primarily that Eugénie has no interest in marrying Dodin, not wanting to change a relationship that works very well for her, especially given expectations around gender roles at that time.
The Taste of Things (IFC Films)
It’s Eugénie’s reluctance to wed that provides the most drama, as the movie otherwise highlights the idea of how change can be just as compelling a story engine as conflict, in the right hands. It certainly doesn’t work without the nuanced performances of both Binoche and Magimel, who bring all the necessary history between their characters to the forefront, communicating so much between them without the need for too much dialogue. (Their real love language is food, anyhow.)
The Verdict: The Taste of Things occupies a curious place in the world of cinema right now, as it may be more infamous for its role in the 2024 Oscar race. If you weren’t aware, the films considered in the International Feature Film category are first selected by their countries of origin for submission, and the politics involved there often lead to situations like 2022’s RRR not being submitted on behalf of India, and 2023’s Godzilla Minus One being passed over by Japan in favor of Wim Wenders’ Perfect Days. Those are just the most recent examples — Oscars history is peppered with additional ones.
As France’s submission, The Taste of Things was on the shortlist, but ultimately didn’t receive a nomination. Meanwhile, Anatomy of a Fall, another critically acclaimed French film, was not selected by France for the International Film category — though that didn’t stop it from earning a multitude of its own nominations, including Picture, Lead Actress, and Director.
I bring this up because it’s exactly why I wanted to review this movie — the two films are extraordinarily different, but Anatomy of a Fall is packed with brilliance, and it’s easy to imagine that had it been France’s submission, it would have had six nominations instead of five. The Taste of Things is a much less splashy film than Anatomy, which might have been a factor in it not making it to a nomination, and a factor in why it might go overlooked by audiences now. But much like the film’s hidden-away kitchen, creating extraordinary meals for those who seek it out, it’s a movie that deserves our attention, if only for the elegiac peace of its narrative, and its reminder to appreciate the small things in life. Because they sometimes matter most.
Where to Watch: The Taste of Things opens in limited release on Friday, February 9th. It expands wide on February 14th.
Trailer:
The Taste of Things Is a Cinematic Meal to Savor: Review
Liz Shannon Miller
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