The Taste of Things

An extraordinary movie of love and life. Set in a manor house with fine dining restaurant in France the movie combines the relationship of exquisite food and wine with cooking perfection to weld a deep personal relationship. Acting from both main characters is magnificent as is that of those supporting. Breathtaking cinematography and scenery captivates the beauty of provincial France. Deserves a rating to be included in the best of films this century.

Bit slow moving but still thoroughly enjoyed it.

Absolutely glorious, an epicurean love story, meandering, slow but purposeful - definitely a critics film - won't be for everyone.

It was a immensely beautiful film. I was entranced the entire time. I loved it!!

Long and slow moving, with a very thin and stretched out story interspersed between large sections of cooking, eating and discussions about food. The film begins with a 20 minute sequence where the characters calmly and quietly cook an entire meal with minimal dialogue. It is very artistic and sensual, with focus on the visuals and sounds. The film makers turn up the volume on the sound of food being chopped, chewed in the mouth, and the chef’s disturbingly heavy breathing which sounds as though he would suffocate in his sleep. In short, it was completely boring.

Based on Dodin-Bouffant, created by Swiss author Marcel Rouff in his 1924 novel La Vie et la passion de Dodin-Bouffant, gourmet (The Passionate Epicure), Trần Anh Hùng's French submission for the Academy Award for Best International Feature simmers with epicurean delights as a love story of the gourmand and his culinarian with the French haute cuisine they prepare as their language of love.

Simply put, a beautiful movie.

La réalisation et le jeu des acteurs est impeccable. Le film est une ode à la tradition culinaire française, durant lequel sont concoctés une liste fournie de plat emblématiques. En toile de fond la relation entre Dodin et sa cuisinière est plutôt classique. Au final, on passe un moment qui n'est pas désagréable avec une belle esthétique, mais c'est un peu tout.

The lightning, the cinematography, the sounds & images of the food and the cooking. All great. Good film with not much of a story, but focused on the kitchen totally, with some kind of a love story around it

Beautiful cinematography, but weird sound effects (the sound of strong wind, and not a leaf moving in the garden). The most boring movie I have seen living memory, and just so looooong.