Every time I make a film, I believe it will be a hit!

Having received the Best Director award at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival, French-Vietnamese director Tran Anh Hung said he was always confident his film would be a box office success.

Three decades after winning the Caméra d'Or (Golden Camera) at Cannes with The Scent of Green Papaya (1993), director Tran Anh Hung continued to make history at the world's most prestigious film event.

The Pot au Feu (also known as La Passion de Dodin Bouffant ) is set in the world of French cuisine in 1885. The film is based on Marcel Rouffe's 1924 novel, The Passionate Epicure , about a fictional character inspired by the famous French gastronomist Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin.

French director of Vietnamese origin, Tran Anh Hung, receives the Cannes 2023 award.

The film revolves around the love story between chef Eugenie (Juliette Binoche) and discerning diner Dodin Bouffant (Benoît Magimel). Their growing affection for each other leads to the creation of delicious dishes that impress even the world's most renowned chefs.

In an interview with Variety , director Tran Anh Hung discussed the challenges of making a film about food, along with his dream of making a film about Buddha.

Do you expect "Pot au Feu" to receive much praise at Cannes?

Please forgive my bluntness, but every time I make a film, I believe it will be a hit. I always think people will love it.

Why do you want to make a film about food?

My first challenge was to make a film unlike any other. The idea was to combine food into a love story, and to see how a man and a woman who have shared a passion for culinary arts for over 25 years have forged this sacred bond.

Why did you want to adapt Marcel Rouffe's novel?

When I read this novel, there were a few pages where he talked about food that moved and inspired me. The film starts where the book began; it's like a prequel.

The Pot au Feu stands out with its 40-minute series depicting the meticulous meal preparation process. I've truly never seen anything like it, not even on a cooking show.

My clear objective was to show something we've never seen before, something utterly ordinary, without any added spectacular elements.

I think that if we filmed this choreography in a cinematic way, it would be magnificent, like a ballet.

Pierre Gagnaire and Michel Naves—our advisors on set—were very worried when they saw us start by filming cooked meals and then move on to filming raw ingredients.

We used a lot of food. For example, for the pot au feu (French stew), we used 40 kg of meat.

What did you do with all that food?

We ate everything. So we had the best meals on set.

How can actors Juliette Binoche and Benoît Magimel be reunited after so many years?

They were all excellent and completely professional actors. They quickly embodied their characters.

During filming, there were some incredible moments, such as when Juliette kisses Dodin even though it wasn't in the script.

Benoît was taken aback and came to me to ask, "It wasn't in the script, was it?"

Or sometimes, Benoît would forget his lines and say to me, "Oh, sorry, I got lost in her eyes."

A scene from the film "The Pot au Feu" by French-Vietnamese director Tran Anh Hung. (Source: Écran total)

Following the success of this film, do you have any other dream projects?

I dream of making a film about Buddha. He is relatively unknown, and I think it would be very interesting given his spiritual legacy spanning 25 centuries.

That is extraordinary. The Buddha healed so many people on this earth, and his teachings deserve to be known.

Additionally, I would also like to make a film in Vietnam with an all-female cast!

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/dao-dien-tran-anh-hung-moi-lan-lam-mot-bo-phim-toi-deu-tin-rang-no-se-an-khach-228884.html