Cuestión de buen gusto

This movie isn't a whodunit, since we know from the start pretty much what happens--it's just a question of WHY? And the movie answered that question to my satisfaction. Interesting and plausible psychologically, and the food presentations woven throughout are mouth-watering. Best of all to a non-native French speaker, I found it fairly easy to understand all the dialogue.

This movie completely fascinated me. Nicolas, is a young waiter at a first class restaurant where Monsieur Frederic Delamont, a multimillionaire businessman, spots him as the ideal candidate as his taster.

Nicolas' job is to taste all the dishes his boss is going to eat, since he can't eat fish nor cheese. However, the relation between both men starts to get deeper as the old man starts to get obsessed with Nicolas and controls his life. He then bestows on his taster all kinds of gifts. Nicola can't believe his luck, but he doesn't know the stakes he's risking for all this luxury. Frederic manipulates his employee into doing all sort of things and Nicolas doesn't even know why he agrees. At first, Nicolas acts for money, but after a while he falls prey to Frederic's obsessions even though this means destroying his relationship with his girlfriend, Beatrice. She sees how this man has changed his boyfriend and Nicolas doesn't even realize it.

I invite you to enjoy this movie, it'll make you think about how human beings are let into situations they can't control, and no matter how much harm they get out of them, they can't stop playing that auto-destructive game.

The meaning of "taste" is in question throughout. Previous comments center only on psychopathology or cinematography, with little mention of language. I think the variable meanings of words, whether the French dialogue or the English subtitles, is the key to understanding this rather transparent but mildly engaging film.

The most obvious example has to do with the title, of course. When "taste" of any sort runs headlong into a wall of insensate and objective laws or rules of behavior, it is reduced to meaningless metaphor. Individuality is thus ultimately rendered a nullity. That is the central meaning of the film.

Self-destruction brought about by some sense of one's inability to achieve a perfect harmony with another's unique personality has therefore nothing and yet everything to do with "taste." It is as well the essence of narcissism.

This film could have been conceived and produced only in France.

I actually enjoyed this smooth and somehow predictible thriller from former TV-show host bernard Rapp (ok, he is a film maker now, this movie prooves that). It reminded me that you eat very well in the good old city of Lyon. What else can I say ? A little Chabrol (Claude)-style maybe. The acting is okay, I specialy enjoyed Bernard Giraudeau. It was a pleasure to see again Jean-Pierre Leaud (the "antoine Doisnel" of François Truffaut's 400 blows).

This is a story of a beautiful innocent young man destroyed by a rich old geezer. What exactly leads to our little pal's doom? Maybe he's destroyed by his Dorian-Grayish self? I don't know, and I doubt anyone would sympathize with the characters and learn a lesson or two. This movie is too weak to be a thought-provoking fable. It's not even intense enough to pass as a second-rate crime thriller.

What distinguishes it from a Hollywood psycho flick is the French gourmandism. The food here could have been effectively symbolic. Unfortunately, the camera does not linger long enough to let it speak for itself.

It's not that the director favors his actors. Giraudeau has one facial expression throughout, and Lorit two---happy and unhappy. What a waste of such a fine actor, who has done much better in Kieslowski's Red? The rest of the characters function no more than a walking tree in your high school musical.

I adore French films, but this one is a downer. If you want to see a film about unspoken homosexual relationship, there's "Beau Travail." If you want to see a film about a lonely human being who does not get sexual fulfillment, there's Catherine Breillat's "Romance." If you want to see a film in which the main character's inner self comes alive on screen, there's Philippe Harel's "Whatever.' If you just want to get a kick out of knowing who kills the ol' villain, any Hollywood thriller will do. Do not waste your time on "Une affaire de gout."