The Taste Of Things (NC16)

136 minutes, opens on March 21
4 stars

The story: On a country estate in late 19th-century France, cook Eugenie (Juliette Binoche) works with her employer, the famed gourmet Dodin (Benoit Magimel), to prepare menus that exemplify their philosophy of making the most of simple ingredients. Eugenie, realising that she is getting on in years, begins teaching Pauline (Bonnie Chagneau-Ravoire), a girl with a gifted palate.

The screenplay is inspired by characters in Swiss author Marcel Rouff’s 1924 novel, The Passionate Epicure, and competed for the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival and was France’s entry in the Best International Feature Film category at the 2024 Academy Awards.

Most times, movies set in the world of food and cooking use the culinary arts as set dressing – one might glimpse a roast turkey and perhaps an artful daub of flour on the heroine’s cheek, but otherwise, the human drama takes centre stage.

Not since the Danish celebration of sensuality Babette’s Feast (1987) or the Taiwanese dramedy Eat Drink Man Woman (1994) has so much real food been on display for so long – The Taste Of Things should carry a warning: Watching this could be hazardous to your diet.

In long, dialogue- and soundtrack-free scenes underpinned by the sizzle of butter in hot cast-iron pans, actors Binoche and Magimel can be seen butchering meats, cleaning fish and tipping over vats filled with boiling stock.

It is difficult to imagine Meryl Streep and Amy Adams, stars of culinary biopic Julie & Julia (2009), doing the same, even if they wanted to, for safety reasons. That caution explains why so many foodie films feel hollow.

In contrast, the visual authenticity on display here – viewers can almost smell the roast squab – is the highlight of The Taste Of Things, which belongs to the genre of films about competent people going about their daily tasks. Their actions, rather than dialogue, speak to their passions, whether it be killing targets with a sniper rifle or delighting guests with a new way of preparing vegetables.

Vietnam-born French writer-director Tran Anh Hung’s first feature, the Camera d’Or-winning drama The Scent Of Green Papaya (1993), did not use food as a theme despite its title. But the emphasis on lushness and sensuality, as well as the exploration of the complicated servant-employer dynamic within a genteel household, has been carried over from the previous film into the new one.

Dodin and Eugenie’s shared passion for food translates into other realms, but Hung’s screenplay explores the idea that, “in the autumn of life”, as the film puts it, companionship sustains the soul more than romance.

If there is a knock against the film, it is that idealised friendships are just as tricky to depict as idealised romantic love, and the story relies too much on flowery dialogue to convey the notion of the perfect late-life man-woman pairing.

Hot take: The Taste Of Things is that rare foodie film that shows food and food preparation in all its glory.