Tran Anh Hung’s ‘THE TASTE OF THINGS’ serves a delectable cinematic concoction

Find a film with more tantalizing food scenes than Tran Anh Hung’s The Taste of Things. You likely won’t find it. Here, you can observe each ingredient in a mouthwatering recipe sizzle, boil, or marinate. It’s as if each dish has a story to share as we watch the cooks love and respect the culinary arts as much as they love and respect each other. I loved and adored this film, and I’m becoming hungry again for it just thinking about it.

Set in 1889 France, The Taste of Things centers on the lives of Chef Dodin Bouffant (a very good Benoît Magimel) and his live-in cook, Eugénie (an equally as fantastic Juliette Binoche). Together, their long history of gastronomy and love drives the film through a collection of cooking scenes and intimate conversations. Eugénie refuses to marry Dodin, but he never stops trying. This time, rather than simply asking, he throws down some spice and does something he’s never done before: cook for her.

Some of the best, most memorable films are stripped-down stories that don’t jump from one location to the next or feel a need to add dramatic padding to win your attention. The complexities in The Taste of Things lie within the characters, and they can be understood and felt. While there are plenty of scenes featuring the two main actors conversing with each other, what really turns up the heat in their romance is the care they put into their cooking while trading glances in the kitchen. It’s as if they show their love through the meals they make – and when it comes to the scene when Dodin cooks for Eugénie, it’s so sweet your heart may explode.

Next to the genuine chemistry between Binoche and Magimel (perhaps their own history together as a married couple from 1998 to 2003 has something to do with it), Hung’s presentation of the story is artfully rendered. From the romantic lens he puts on the camera, with the slow zooms from above the table, to allowing naturalism to be the primary fuel, using the kitchen’s sounds to score the film, Hung (The Scent of Green Papaya) has a very poetic view of the world. It’s intimate, delicate, and true to the human experience. You’ll feel yourself lean in.

The Taste of Things is Paul Sorvino’s garlic-slicing scene in Goodfellas but for 135 minutes. It’s beautiful.

Grade: A

Q&A

Ahead of the film’s regional release, Fresh Fiction virtually sat down with director and writer Tran Anh Hung to discuss his storytelling process. In the video interview below, we talk about the marriage between food and love, how dreamy the Baked Alaska dish is, and the tastes of home. Enjoy the conversation and catch the film in theaters today!

Nearest to the Dallas Fort-Worth area, The Taste of Things is playing AMC Grapevine Mills, AMC DINE-IN Stonebriar, Angelika Film Center in Plano and Dallas, Cinemark West Plano, AMC Northpark, and Alamo Drafthouse Cinema Lake Highlands.