A vivid French drama with the right ingredients.
Juliette Binochet and Benoit Magimel used to be romantic partners from 1998 to 2003, even having a daughter together, and co-starring in “The Children of the Century.” Their first movie together in less than 25 years, “The Taste of Things,” is a delicious and yet emotionally complex movie that knows good cooking when it sees it and vividly characters when it studies them. And cooking is an art that requires the most delicate of patience. The movie also possesses those kind of qualities, buts also for the character development.
Binochet plays Eugenie, a gifted chef, working for the famous restaurant owner Dodin Bouffant (Magimel) for years. In fact, they share the same chemistry in regards for their passion for culinary arts. One of the reasons the film runs for 2 hours and 15 minutes, is because we get to see how these people prepare these meals and some desserts, and we’re salivating over them. They’re never undercooked or raw, but rather crispy, fresh, and a perfect amount of spices on them.
There are two small hitches to their chemistry. She never really wanted to marry him, and her health is deteriorating based on a family curse of hers. So, things get salty.
On the side, they receive a little visit from Pauline (Bonnie Chagneau-Ravoire), the niece of one of her fellow chefs Violette (Galatéa Bellugi), who is immediately introduced to the magic that Dodin sees in his cooking. Even Eugenie asks her parents to let her train her in the kitchen. They just need time to decide.
“The Taste of Things” is a movie that shares its love for cooking and the chefs. Adapting Marcel Rouff’s novel for the big screen, writer/director Anh Hung Tran draws us to these people and their troubles without settling for easy story formulas. In fact, this movie isn’t as easy as I was describing to you readers; it’s a complex study on how these two people know good cooking, and whether or not they were made for each other. Binochet and Magimel are both universally delightful and emotional, and they refuse to succumb to any cliches whatsoever.
Other than some missing ingredients in the script, the movie is delicious and honest enough to reach new perspectives on things. It’s about what makes a dish look and taste like a work of art, and how special training and paying attention to the instructions must be required. And outside the kitchen, we acknowledge the characteristics and pathos, and what directions they can lead to. Even a scene when a distraught Dodin has to throw a fit in the kitchen is understandable, and we really sympathize with his anger.
We’re in a season of somber or thought-provoking international films. Examples include “The Zone of Interest” representing an SS officer having a family home next to the Auschwitz camps, and “Perfect Days” showing us the life of a hardworking and wise, old janitor. And now, we have a food for thought with “The Taste of Things.” Do we need to get to the point with these films? No, because we can sense the right amount of patience, and we also sense a wise character development.
I know this movie is in a different time period with different foods, but I still would like to offer it a hotdog with a line of mustard and a smiley face at the end of it. That’s how good this movie is.
In Select Theaters This Friday
Expanding Throughout the Month.
