The Taste of Things

CinemaSerf

2024-03-09

⭐ 7

"Dodin" (Benoît Magimel) and "Eugénie" (Juliette Binoche) have a synergy in the kitchen that creates mouthwatering and innovative culinary treats for their friends. She does the cooking, he more the design; she shuns the limelight, he is more gregarious - but it's a professional relationship that has worked well for the last two decades. It's probably fair to say that they are both a bit slow off the mark, but gradually now their relationship begins to become one of a more personal, intimate, nature but she is still uncertain. How to win her round? Well he starts to prepare delicacies to tempt…

“The Taste of Things” is a romantic drama that’s also a historically accurate period film about food. Set in 1885, this is a slow moving love letter to the art and style of French cuisine, and director Anh Hung Tran takes great pleasure in his celebration and joy of all things gastronomy. Famous restaurant owner Dodin Bouffant (Benoît Magimel) has relied on his esteemed personal cook Eugénie (Juliette Binoche) for over two decades, admiring her natural culinary talents and creating inspired dishes alongside her in his palatial home’s kitchen. Since the pair have spent so much time together …

There's a club of truly great food films, the ones that understand cuisine as metaphor, as love language, as cultural memory: Eat Drink Man Woman, Ratatouille, Tampopo, Big Night, Like Water for Chocolate, and Fried Green Tomatoes, just to name some tenured films. La Passion de Dodin Bouffant aspires to join their ranks, and while it certainly looks the part, it arrives with a script that has, ironically, no meat on its bones. This is a visually sumptuous film. The period piece tonal quality is exquisitely accomplished; the kitchen scenes glow with warm, amber light, each dish prepared with…