Movie Review: The Taste of Things (La passion de Dodin Bouffant)

 

Michael's Movie Grade: A+

A truly fantastic art film from France.

Right from the start, you know that this is not going to be your typical movie. It begins with a near 40-minute scene of simply our main characters cooking. Though this may sound incredibly boring, it is actually completely engrossing. It is said that when we watch someone do what they are passionate about we get to see the real them. This is definitely true in these first near 40-minutes. Cooking means so much more to these characters then simply making something for someone to eat. They put their whole selves in this action. Cooking becomes both an emotional outlet and an intellectual exercise. As we watch them, we see how emotional and powerful experience this is for them. Because of this even those of us who may not be passionate about cooking, become completely engrossed. We learn more about these characters in this opening scene than we do about some characters in full movies. The scene also benefits from truly incredible performances (the actors do their own cooking) and great visual filmmaking. The camera is never standing still during these first 40 or so minutes. We move with the characters and get to see the complexity of the task at hand. Because of this, we feel like we are right there in the kitchen with them. There are even moments when you can swear that you smell the food.

The passion of cooking and how it encompasses the characters, carries on through the film. This film becomes a very beautiful and touching romance movie, and one of its most romantic scenes simply involves one character cooking for another. The romance in this film is incredibly well done. We can feel the love between these two characters in every scene they share (even the scenes which on paper don't sound romantic). Even the romantic dialogue (something I usually find corny and off-putting in romance movies) is beautifully written, almost like a love poem from a great poet. This is because the dialogue is very intelligent and clever as well as romantic. As this romance unfolds, it is hard not to feel a wide variety of emotions, some of which can at times even feel overwhelming. The film's ending is especially powerful, and we leave a major effect on you as you leave the theater. 

While this film's slow pace and long scenes of people cooking may not appeal to everyone, for the right audience this is an incredibly powerful movie.