Les saveurs du Palais

Les Saveurs du Palais is for those who like their dramas without the drama - it offers some insight to French internal politics, but much more, it is simply a charming way to celebrate la cuisine francaise.

A gentle, well-made drama-comedy based on the real-life experiences of Danièle Delpeuch who really was Mitterand's cook - this fictional account places heavy emphasis on the food and takes us on a journey to the heart of the French cuisine - perfection and simplicity. The film starts on Antartica's Crozen Island and through flashbacks we see how the president's personal cook, fictinally named, Hortense Laborie, ended up there.

Catherine Frot has become one of France's best actresses for dramas that require a still, calm, composed center, with the hint that passion is simmering under the surface - her slightly bemused but determined trademark style makes this film work - it is a wonderful solo performance - and she is in every scene - and she brings a delicacy to the role that makes the film a delight to watch.

Not surprisingly perhaps the film lacks a little when it comes to conflict and drama - there is good drama - but, it is rather a look into the Champs Elysée and its internal workings. A strong supporting cast, particularly her young sous-chef (Arthur Dupont), who is rapidly becoming a name in French cinema, and the President (Novelist Jean D'Ormesson - who is a superb and prolific biographer but is not a professional career actor). Director Christian Vincent makes great use of permission to film in and around the president's palace and like the food the two settings, the Champs Elysée and in Antartica's Crozen Island lift the film.

Overall, this is a charming, and interesting take on food and it's place throughout French society - it is well worth your time.

Part of the appeal that drew me into beginning to watch this movie was the thought that it may have a bit of a show detailing some of the more eclectic french cuisine. While there was a bit of that, the food was definitely not as big of a character in the picture as I had assumed.

We get to see the side of the main character, Hortense, that is a dedicated chef and detail oriented person. And the real treat of the movie is watching that personality deal with the challenge of being the executive private chef.

Overall, the characters in this movie really make it special. And while the pace of the movie is very even, and almost predictable, it is still a special slice of life type movie that I walked away from uplifted.

It is a strange thing that food and the movies go so well together. Strange because the show on a screen of food being prepared or being consumed should be anything but palatable insofar as it can be seen but not tasted or even smelled. And yet, the eating process, whether it is the main subject of a movie ('Babette's Feast', 'Eat Drink Man Woman', 'A Chef in Love', among others) or only an incidental feature (most strikingly so in nearly all of Hitchcock or Chabrol's thrillers), is not far from being a guarantee of quality. The reason may lie in the fact that directors who choose as their heroes characters cooking or eating refined food also vote for what is associated with it: the art of living ; as a matter of fact hedonism is a notion that passes directly from authors to viewers without the disadvantage of frustration. Whatever the explanation, the rule is verified once again with "Les Saveurs du Palais", eclectic French filmmaker Christian Vincent's last opus. The main theme is of course haute cuisine, which would have been enough to make a good film, but the good news is that there is even more to "Les saveurs du Palais" than that. Not only will this fine movie make your mouth water but it will also give you food... for thought!

The story, somewhat loosely adapted from Danièle Delpeuch's memoirs, concerns Hortense Laborie (as Delpeuch is renamed in the film), French President François Mitterand's personal chef from 1988 to 1990. The chronicle of the two and a half years she spent in the kitchens of the Elysée Palace allow Christian Vincent to tell a multi-layered tale : "Les Saveurs du Palais" does not simply bear witness to the mastery of its hero's art of cooking it also makes the viewer discover little- tread territory (the presidential cooks' machismo, the rivalry between the Elysée Palace's two restaurant services, the new supremacy of technocrats who favor budget cuts over creativity, the tastes changing with the passing of time, the rather pathetic portrait of a President at the end of his rope). Continued interest is therefore ensured. The construction in flashback form is interesting and the direction good without being ostentatious. But what really determines the success of the film is the choice of its star, Catherine Frot. The actress is indeed just perfect in her role: she is every inch Hortense Laborie and arouses immediate identification. Another added value is Arthur Dupont in the role of her assistant. The young performer displays a very likable charm, made of bashfulness mixed with irony. The "couple" he forms with Catherine Frot is simply irresistible. To make a long story short, "Les saveurs du palais" is both a sensual and intelligent movie that will delight wide audiences. And I presume that you will be in that number. And that is not all, you can even double your pleasure by... having your meal AFTER seeing Christian Vincent's little treat, instead of BEFORE. Such a move will doubtless give an Elysian taste to what otherwise would have been mere food!

I've only seen Catherine Frot in one other movie--Coline Serreau's stunningly complicated CHAOS and she was marvelous. So when HAUTE CUISINE showed up on Netflix, I jumped at it. I love movies about food--WHO IS KILLING THE GREAT CHEFS OF EUROPE?, BIG NIGHT, MOSTLY MARTHA, EAT DRINK MAN WOMAN, BABETTE'S FEAST. They almost always manage to find humanity, absurdity and gently funny moments associated with food. Based on the real story of the first female chef who comes to cook for President Mitterand at the Elysee Palace, HAUTE CUSINE is a sweetly earnest story of Hortense Laborie, a fine French cook who is pulled away from her truffle farm in France to become the personal chef of the French president. Along the way she will encounter the petty and mean-spirited competition from the all-male kitchen that serves the palace, as she works tirelessly to provide the President with the foods he remembers from his childhood. The story is told in flashbacks as Hortense s finishing up a year-long stint as a cook for a research group in Anartica.

What makes the film work is the casting of Catherine Frot as Hortense. This superb actress gives Hortense a tense, focused and convincing believability. Horrtense arouses total loyalty from her sous chef and maitre'd as the palace personalities around her make life often rather difficult. Losing her calm only once, Frot has a confrontation in the movie that is a very satisfying answer to the pettiness she is surrounded by at the Palace. It is in stark contrast to the grateful affection she is shown by the men she cooks for every day in coldly forbidding Anartica.

HAUTE CUISINE is a quiet film of disarming charm. It doesn't break new ground, but it is a very satisfying movie which Catherine Frot at its center. Some have complained here that is a trifle and I'm not entirely disagreeing, but it is a movie worth seeing. I know I'll be seeing it again.

Movies and food get on very well, and no doubt "Les saveurs dans le Palais" is no exception. There's a strange magic in movies dealing with cooking and when I come across a movie like this I always feel fascinated and relaxed. In this case the creation of good food is in the hands of Hortense Laborie, who works in the kitchen of the Elysee Palace, but she is able to put the same passion when she is cooking in a South Antartict base. In both settings she shows the same love for food, for looking for good food. Undoubtedly, the most charming part is the one set in the Palace, where we can see, almost smell the fragrance of her dishes, made of highly selected ingredients, although never lacking a home-made touch. And this is the most appealing part of the movie, which for the rest lacks something in terms of psychological insight of the characters. Hortense herself stands up for her passion for food, and indeed cooking is the only means other characters and we as viewers have to get in touch with her. From the beginning till the end she remains mysterious and a little detached from others, always ready to leave when she starts to put down roots. In general, the movie seems too focused on the preparation and the exaltation of wonderful dishes, that everything else seems not to deserve that same attention. But this is a typical feature of movies like this, and also its strong point, I was fascinated by Hortense preparing, and earlier by her describing the recipes, by her naming each ingredient accompanying it with its provenience, and then, of course, by her realizing the recipe as if it were a work of art. In the end, a pleasant picture to see ... and to taste.