Eugenie (marvelously played by Juliette Binoche) is picking vegetables from her cook’s garden in the verdant Loire Region of France. It is 1889 and she is an extraordinary cook for a famous chef, Dodin Bouffant (the superb Benoît Magimel), who owns a modest chateau where they have both lived and loved for 20 years.
The only soundtrack is from nature and cooking: the song birds and woodpeckers, the breath of the cooks, the chops of the sharp knives, the squishing of fat, skin and broth, and the stark, purposeful footsteps on a hard floor. A Mona Lisa-like smiles graces Eugenie as she bustles in the kitchen using secrets of preparation only she has perfected.
“The Taste of Things” is based on the fictional novel of gastronomical delight, “The Life and Passion of Dodin-Bouffant, Gourmet” (1924) by Marcel Rouffm. His story, in turn, was inspired by the gastronomical writings and life of Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin (1755–1826), which reflected the French garden-to-kitchen haute cuisine, spare on sugar and starches and add sauces, that has been touted as the best in the world.
Tràn Anh Hùng, the meticulous filmmaker, hired renowned chef Pierre Gagnaire as the consultant for the cooking. All the food and preparation was authentic, though a backup gas fuel stove was available. Since Binoche and Magimel, partners in real life from 1998 to 2003, are both accomplished cooks themselves, not much culinary training was required.
The hypnotizing focus of this truly gastronomical extravaganza is on the food preparation, often without dialogue. But have no fear, whether you like to cook or not (I do not), Hùng has the viewer continually surprised at new ways to handle food and continually admiring the art of the preparation.
However, Hùng has inserted a parallel story that fits perfectly with the love of food. That is the love between Eugenie and Dodin, as they age into the fall of their years. Their relationship is obviously based on respect and admiration. But complications arise when Eugenie becomes afflicted with a mysterious malady and the tables turn – Dodin begins cooking for her.
I didn’t catch how Dodin can afford to have friends for so many meals, what he does besides cook at his chateau, or how he makes a living. Are we to infer that this is simply how a man who has inherited wealth spent his time in 1889? Is this the meaning of life, eating and loving well with integrity and loyalty?
“The Taste of Things” is France’s entry into the Academy Awards. It has already been nominated for a Golden Globe for Best International Film.
Credits
Director: Tràn Anh Hùng
Screenwriter: Tràn Anh Hùng, based on the book The Life and Passion of Dodin-Bouffant, Gourmet by Marcel Rouff
Cast: Juliette Binoche, Benoit Magimel, Emmanuel Salinger, Patrick D’Assumçao, Galatea Bellugi, Jan Hammenecker, and Frédéric Fisbachel
Producer: Olivier Delbosc
Executive producer: Christine De Jekel
Gastronomic Director: Pierre Gagnaire
Culinary Advisor: Michel Nave
Website and how to view: https://www.tasteofthings.com/
NY QUALIFYING RUN – Dec. 13, 2023
LIMITED RELEASE – Feb. 9, 2024
EXPANSION – Feb. 14, 2024
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