FILM REVIEW: "The Taste of Things" is a wholly unique, slightly bloated dessert
The Taste of Things, directed by Trán Anh Húng, is an unprecedented sensory exploration of the symbiosis between love and food. The film follows a pair of famous, long-time co-chefs/lovers Éugenie (Juliette Binoche) and Dodin (Benoît Magimel) at the heights of their talent for both cuisine and romance. While the overall narrative does take a backseat to tasty spectacle, each course and platter takes audiences on a journey, from first ingredient to last bite. With exceptional single-take shots, The Taste of Things whisks viewers across every corner of the kitchen as the chefs dance about between pots, pans, mixing bowls, pausing at each just long enough to see what’s cooking and how it’s looking. Every minute detail (no matter how sweet or savoury) is given its time in the stovelight. Imagine the richness of food-prep scenes in Ghibli films but totally live-action. Glistening, pimpled duck-skin, the fresh crack of opened oysters, the lavish vibrance of the garden salads, sheets of billowing steam – this is cinematic cooking at its most elegant.
All of this happens against a beautifully sunlit kitchen and lush garden greenery; Everything is very pretty – it is one of the warmest films I’ve seen (a la Before Sunrise, Portrait of a Lady on Fire). Food is unquestionably the key focus, with each dish actually prepared on set by famous fusion cuisine specialist Pierre Gagnaire, but the film’s intimate lens is also applied to the characters themselves. With no wasted space and almost no music throughout, the audience is privy to every breath and grunt of the characters as they cook, offering up new ways for their personalities to come through.
But though Húng has fully committed to this unique (highly sensory) approach, there seems to be some emotion lost, as characters spend the majority of the time looking down at their chopping board, plate, or a glass of red. This style seemed to work for Binoche’s Éugenie, but it felt as though there was still some distance between the audience and the character of Dodin. As such, only a few of his intermittent bursts of affectionate monologuing landed. Pauline (Bonnie Chagneau-Ravoire) is a joy to watch, bringing tremendous heart (despite limited screen time) to a film that is at times overly involved in the cooking and less in the story. The story, as it happens between each meal, feels a little imbalanced. Act 1 is punchy and exciting; Act 2 drags a little with the knowledge that something is supposed to unfold but hasn’t quite yet, and the bloated middle means the third act feels almost too dense to digest.
Watch hungry to maximise the effect of this film’s tantalising main attraction – the food. This is France’s submission to the international feature race of the Oscars, so keep an eye on it! Ultimately, The Taste of Things is a pleasantly unique culinary experience, albeit one that simmers just a little too long, tending up a little lost in the sauce.
3 out of 5
The Taste of Things is screening as part of Perth Festival’s 2023 Lotterywest Films season from Mon 22 – Sun 28 January. Click here for details.
