CHICAGO | Though Tran Anh Hung’s new masterpiece “The Taste of Things” (aka, “The Pot au Feu”) will not release officially in the United States until February, I can already tell that once it does, it will be even more beloved than it already has been in its initial releases. “The Taste of Things” recently continued its premiere at The Chicago International Film Festival in October, and it displayed a beautiful tale of cuisine’s power to bring lovers, friends, family and even mentors/apprentices together. Cooking and food were the primary topics of discussion and focus of the film, as well as the sparks of connection between people — especially for the characters of Eugénie (Juliette Binoche) and Dodin (Benoît Magimel); whose actors were real-life ex lovers challenged to bring such a breathtaking romance between their characters to life.
This was a fascinating picture not only for its themes, but also for its cinematography; as the first 20 minutes of this movie were spent showing, in-depth, how a meal was being prepared, with little to no dialogue. It truly piqued my own interest in technological advancements in the kitchen during the Belle Epoque era. I also found myself reflecting upon how lucky we are today to have gas stoves, ovens that automatically emit heat, etc; since I found myself trying to uncover how exactly ovens of that time worked and how long it might have taken to even just boil water. All of that aside, the soundtrack of this film was the simmering of the sauces and the clinks of pots and pans rather than a traditional musical score, making the sounds of the kitchen come to life as its own orchestra underscoring the tale of the two lovers, Eugénie and Dodin — though she refuses to formally marry him after they have been together for twenty years, and she is unknowingly dying. In an attempt to sway her to marry him (to which, he succeeds — and don’t worry, these are not spoilers), he cooks her personal and intricate meals every night, leading her to eventually say yes. All the while, Eugénie mourns the wasted potential of Pauline, a young girl who already seems to excel in a kitchen setting. Once Eugénie succumbs to her illness, Dodin once again recruits Pauline to work together to improve her skills in the kitchen in order to continue Eugénie’s legacy and to eventually make pot au feu; a simple-seeming stew that actually is breathtakingly delicious and beautiful. This dish becomes rather significant throughout the film, especially in justifying the film’s simple nature, yet complex themes, relationships and conversations.
“The Taste of Things” was poignant and innovative–it challenged the bounds of the sort of film structures we may be used to, which could make this story hard to digest at first — but I invite you to take a bite of it and see if you like the taste after all (here is a spoiler alert: I highly believe you will.)