Directed by: Trần Anh Hùng
Distributed by: IFC Films
Written by Michael Clawson
50/100
Food and human connection go hand in hand in “The Taste of Things,” a sensual period piece that I did not much care for. For all of its resplendent displays of a sunlit kitchen, of steaming, picture-perfect dishes and delighted epicureans, the movie’s wedding of culinary and romantic passion is dull. That’s not something I expected to say of a widely adored Cannes winner starring Juliette Binoche and Benoît Magimel, but here we are.
We meet Eugénie (Binoche) in the early morning hours. A cook in 19th century France, Eugénie is out picking vegetables from a garden, while Dodin (Magimel), the chef who Eugénie cooks for, prepares himself and the kitchen for another day of gastronomic creation. As the camera returns with Eugénie to their house, Hung quickly establishes that the process of preparing and enjoying a lavish meal will be as much the focal point of his film as the characters themselves. In a movement that will recur throughout “The Taste of Things,” the camera arcs around the kitchen as Eugenie, her assistant, and her assistant’s young niece manage ingredients with the close attention and care of only the finest artisans.
There is little doubt that everything they produce will be delicious, which speaks to one of the movie’s problems. Hung is so intent on capturing the transcendent pleasure in cooking and consuming a meal, that the joy his characters experience feels like a foregone conclusion. In other words, there’s no sense of chance in “The Taste of Things,” no sense of the possibility that what comes out of the oven might disappoint. The looks of deep satisfaction that follow every bite become annoying and predictable.
After we learn that Eugénie and Dodin are long-time lovers and that Eugénie is in poor health, the film’s course is all too clear. After tragedy does inevitably arrive, Dodin is forced to evaluate new cooks who might take his beloved’s place. When he sees an interviewee wearing Eugénie’s apron, he viciously shouts her out of it, sending her running out the door. It’s the only scene in the movie with what feels like genuinely spontaneous human emotion.
“The Taste of Things” Trailer
Michael Clawson is a member of the Seattle Film Critic Society you can follow his passion for film on Letterboxd.