The Taste of Things movie review

MOVIE TITLE: The Taste of Things

This delicious movie is now playing in theaters in the USA now.

RATING: PG-13

LENGTH: 2 hours 25 minutes

Movie Review Mom GRADE: A

IN A NUTSHELL:

The story is about Eugenie, an esteemed, French cook, and Dodin, the gourmet whom she has been working for and sleeping with for over the last 20 years. He proposes to her multiple times, but she protests, saying they’re happier together than most married couples.

Already, the film has been nominated for 26 various awards at film festivals and won 7 of them in quite a few categories!

The artsy film was directed by Anh Hung Tron who adapted it from the novel “The Passionate Epicure” by Marcel Rouff.

THINGS I LIKED:

You WILL get hungry while watching this movie. French chef Pierre Gagnaire worked as the culinary director on the film and also appeared as a chef in a few scenes.
The first 20 minutes of the movie show several cooks in the kitchen, preparing an elegant meal, almost entirely in silence. We learn of the rhythm between these people and how fully engaged they are in their art. We feel the love of their art that is mixed into all of the ingredients of their dishes.
French cooking is so amazing. I used to teach classes at Le Cordon Bleu Culinary College and I have the weight gain to prove it! I ate some incredibly delicious and beautiful food there. Here in the United States, we used to have 16 campus but, sadly, they closed 7 years ago. Our campus, alone, spent $50,000 every year on butter! Ah, French cooking!
I’ve been learning French on Duolingo for a year, so it was fun to see how much I could understand while reading the English subtitles to check my skill. I have a LONG way to go before I can watch a movie like this without captions!
It’s always nice to see the lovely Academy Award winner Juliette Binoche. She and the other lead actor, Benoit Magimel, were together from 1998 to 2003 and have a daughter together in real life.
The film was shot at the beautiful Chateau du Raguin in France.
We get to see a beautiful vegetable garden that I wish I had.
There is an interesting scene when some men put napkins over their heads while they ate a bird dish in France named Ortolan Bunting. Because it’s also known as the sin plate, diners cover their heads with napkins to hide their sin from God. It’s known as a sin because the small songbird is force fed to make it plump and then drowned in Armagnac. Because the birds are now facing extinction, eating them is now banned in the USA and Europe.
We hear of an 8-hour dining experience offered by a prince. Wow. I love to eat, but even I couldn’t eat that long!
The original title of the film was “La Passion de Dodin Bouffant”, which means “The Passion of Dodin Bouffant.” We see how passionate he is about food, friendship, and the love of his life.
The film truly is a sensory feast from the mouth-watering food, the sounds of cracking twigs in the garden and bubbling food in pots, gorgeous French settings, sunlight pouring through windows, and the talk of relationships. What a truly delicious “taste of things.”
As the story is set in the 1870s in France, it’s entertaining to watch the characters learn about new discoveries like Baked Alaska from America and the power of copper rods in the garden.
I loved the scenes when they dined outdoors. So lovely.
Stunning cinematography.

THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE:

Non-foodies will complain about the length of the movie and how bored they were while waiting for “something to happen.”
Some viewers will also be annoyed that there isn’t that much dialogue. Cooking food for others is a form of language, so I actually appreciated how the film portrayed that.

TIPS FOR PARENTS:

Kids will be extremely bored, especially because the movie is in French and they’d have to read subtitles.
We see the naked backside of a woman bathing.
Alcohol
Smoking
Talk of intimate relations outside marriage

THEMES:

The magic and power of food!
Love and loss
Grief and mourning
Artistry
Living each day as if it were your last
Commitment
Mentorship

INTERESTING LINES:

“Man is the only animal that drinks without thirst.” – Magot (Jan Hammenecker)
“Wine is the intellectual side of a meal. Meat and vegetables, the material side. ” – Dodin Bouffant (Benoit Magimel)
“We like a good story, even if it’s untrue.” – Rabaz (Emmanuel Salinger)
“Marriage is a dinner that begins with dessert.” – Dodin Bouffant (Benoit Magimel)
“It takes culture and a good memory to shape one’s taste.” – Dodin Bouffant