O Sabor da Vida

Juliette Binoche and Benoit Magimel shine in their respective roles as a beautiful cook and her long admiring gourmet lover. The film is a great celebration of food with the first 20 minutes or so being a real feast for the eyes as a sumptuous meal is prepared in intricate detail as we salivate in our seats. This is very skilfully done as with minimal dialogue and accomplished direction we get a deft introduction to the characters involved as they create the mouthwatering dishes. There's a lovely tone to this film which celebrates in equal measure the love between the two lead characters and their shared passion for wonderful food and the lighting and cinematography is exquisite. The sequence where Dodin cooks for Eugiene is a delight as his two great passions come together, not least in the dessert. It was a pleasure to watch this life affirming film though I'd recommend you either eat immediately before it or have food ready immediately after as it will engage your tastebuds. Finally there is a winning performance from Bonnie Chagneau Ravoire as Pauline that is impressive for such a young actress.

Cooking is a huge part of my life. I dream of a kitchen like the one in the movie where everyone could cook together. I also dream on having enough time to have cooking as a lifestyle! I'm the happiest when I'm trying nicely cooked meals. That movie spoke to me in so many levels. The love story, how romantic! The girls helping out, the girls eating the same food as the adults and learning to enjoy it. The style of the filming. Now I wish all cooking tv programs were like that, you watch the magic happening without the nonsense of the narrative from a presenter. I watched in French with Spanish subtitles so I missed some of the storyline and yet, it moved me to tears!

This is an exceptionally slow burn ( only in the allegorical sense , as they don't actually burn any of the food )

The aesthetics are mesmerizing and the presentation of the food was enough to make me hungry, even never having eaten French food in my life and being extremely picky . It was a love letter to food , to cooking , to art , to patience and to a lifestyle that no longer exists .

The natural feeling was amazing as well , these were good people , trustworthy people , people you want happiness for and want to win and that was all developed in the first scene , with no dialogue which is amazing filmmaking .

Another major shout out goes to the sound editing / track . The sound of the garden and the kitchen felt so real and added to your closeness so the characters , their lives and the food itself .

It's very very slow , it's very foreign , it's an art film and it's meant to develop at a snails pace . Appreciate that . Be ready for that and you'll love it. .

"Dodin" (Benoît Magimel) and "Eugénie" (Juliette Binoche) have a synergy in the kitchen that creates mouthwatering and innovative culinary treats for their friends. She does the cooking, he more the design; she shuns the limelight, he is more gregarious - but it's a professional relationship that has worked well for the last two decades. It's probably fair to say that they are both a bit slow off the mark, but gradually now their relationship begins to become one of a more personal, intimate, nature but she is still uncertain. How to win her round? Well he starts to prepare delicacies to tempt both her palate and her heart. The path of truth love never runs smooth, though, and soon their dynamic is facing a testing time that will likely see unwelcome change for all concerned. What I actually liked about this film is that there's not a great deal of dialogue. It looks great and the two actors genuinely convince as they prepare their gourmet dishes using ingredients and techniques that are way more fascinating than the unfolding drama between their characters. You can almost smell the food! It also doesn't shy away from some of the culinary curiosities of rustic French cuisine, so be prepared for a few dishes that might not do for your appetite what they do for those on screen, but by two hours in I found myself genuinely invested in what I was watching - and very glad I'd eaten first. Cooking is an art form; so is good cinema - we get both here in abundance.

During a time where food is rarely explored due to the demand for convenience and lack of energy that we're willing to provide, "The Taste of Things" invites audiences to transcend into a space that most of us have never known. Not only a space of pure romance in 1889, but one that is tied together with an equal adoration for the artistic and emotional nature of food, and the endless beauty that stems from the smallest details. Whether it's because Juliette Binoche and Benoît Magimel were married for 5 years in real life or simply because they're incredible actors, the chemistry and understanding for one another are potently sincere and encourage viewers to seek nothing less than what they're experiencing. Discover passion, meticulous care embedded under a foundation of years-long expertise, and a chase toward love that never ends even when most relationships do. The framework of a slow rotating camera, necessary silence, patient observation, and organic expression creates a tone that you can nearly taste. A delightful masterpiece by Anh Hung and one that I'm craving to see again.