A true feast
Perhaps the Frenchest film of the year, The Taste of Things is a sumptuous exploration of cooking, love, life, and dozens of sauces. Starring Juliette Binoche and Benoît Magimel, the film is deliberately paced and lovingly surveys the preparation of gorgeous, audacious meals for the entire runtime. Director Trần Anh Hùng frames each shot like a painting, with some of the most beautiful vegetables you’ve ever seen.
It must be said that the title The Taste of Things is generic, strangely picked for North American release over either French title – The Pot-au-Feu or La Passion de Dodin Bouffant. Not sure why that change was made, but we’ll roll with it. The film is set in 1885 France, where Eugénie (Juliette Binoche) has been the personal chef of restaurant owner Dodin Bouffant (Benoît Magimel) for twenty years. Though they spend all their days together, and plenty of nights, Dodin and Eugénie have never considered marriage. As the pair works on a menu to impress a prince, they grow even closer than they could have imagined. Dodin also begins to hope for the next generation of gourmets, as he takes a young girl named Pauline (Bonnie Chagneau-Ravoire) under his wing.
The opening meal preparation, just a dinner for Dodin and his advisors, lasts about 30 minutes. We watch Binoche pull fruits and vegetables from her garden, prepare multiple pots and pans, set up the ovens, and put together a beautiful spread that just looks delicious. The film is in love with food, not just the presentation but the beauty of cooking itself. La Binoche is one of our finest performers, and the film plays to her many strengths. It’s probably crazy to act against your ex-husband, but if anyone can do it, it’s the French. The chemistry is undeniable, but the kitchen comes first.
The Taste of Things proves that there’s nothing more romantic than preparing a meal. It’s the sort of film where you just become enraptured by the process, the precision of Eugénie’s knife, the gentle glazing of the roast. The film leaves you full but desperate for more.
The Taste of Things
Dir. Trần Anh Hùng
2023
134 min
Screened as part of IFFBoston’s Fall Focus Series
In theaters next February but there will be a qualifying run in NYC and LA this December
