Food for thought

The big screen, apart from having the ability to make everything look larger than life, always manages to romanticise, eroticise and elevate even the most insipid object to a completely new level. Food and movies go together like, well, popcorn and movies.  Since food is one of the central themes of life, it stands to reason that it would make a good theme for the cinema, and there have been some great movies based on life’s gastronomic pleasures.

To me, to be a true food movie, the film should embody the same trait that makes for a great chef; passion for the food.  You should leave the theater so inspired that you want to sprint either straight to a great restaurant or to the kitchen. It’s time for dinner and a movie.  Pour a glass of wine, and enjoy the show.  These movies may make you laugh, make you cry or may inspire you, but they are all sure to make you hungry.

1.       Soul Food (1997) Another movie based on the Chinese film Eat Drink Man Woman (I really need to see that movie) this time from the African-American point of view.   Without the family dinners of Mama Joe once she is hospitalised, her daughters begin to splinter apart, only to find their way inspired by Mama’s soul food.  A fine cast led by Vanessa Williams and Vivica A. Fox, this later became a TV series.

2.       Woman on Top (2000) A movie where a woman uses her cooking skills to escape a bad marriage, this time the stunning Penelope Cruz as a Brazilian chef turned cooking show goddess.  The movie is quirky and goofy, yet Cruz is adorable in the lead, and with food as a metaphor for life she learns that she does not need a man in her life, she needs to cook and be her own woman.

3.       Chocolat (2000) Juliette Binoche is wonderful as a drifter who along with her young daughter opens a chocolate shop in a conservative 1960 French town.  The town is mostly won over by her exquisite chocolate with the exception of the evil town mayor who organises a boycott of her decadent immoral treats.  Johnny Depp is along for the ride as an Irish gypsy.  A fun, sexy and entertaining film filled with great performances.

4.       Ratatouille (2007) You didn’t think a blog wouldn’t  have this utterly charming animated gem on my list, did you?  The Oscar winner for best animated film, it follows the adventures of an aspiring chef, and the gastronomic genius rat that helps him cook.  It is remarkable how many true food principles are on display in this film, but the true message is that anybody can cook!

5.       Julie & Julia (2009) The movie that drew droves of foodies to theaters follows the true story of blogger Julie Powell, played with abandon by Amy Adams who attempts cook her way through legendary chef Julia Child’s seminal cookbook “Mastering the Art of French Cooking.”  The movie is really parallel stories of two women chasing their dream.  In the role of Child, Meryl Streep is astounding (isn’t she always?) embodying the iconic chef.  The inspiring message of the movie is basically how Child lived her life; follow your dream, it doesn’t always have to be perfect, and don’t apologise for the first two.