The trailer for "The Taste of Things," by director Tran Anh Hung, winner of the Cannes Film Festival 2023, features many scenes of the main actors cooking for diners.
This film is an adaptation of Marcel Rouff's novel The Life and Passion of Dodin-Bouffant, Gourmet (1924). The main character, Dodin (Benoit Magimel), is a gourmet who spends all his time thinking about the finest dishes. Dodin's talent is so renowned that he is considered the "Napoleon of the culinary world".
Dodin has a chef named Eugénie (Juliette Binoche) who possesses an exceptional sense of taste and ingredients. Eugénie is admired just as much as her master, but she doesn't seek the spotlight and instead devotes herself entirely to the kitchen. She teaches only the maid's 13-year-old niece (Bonnie Chagneau Ravoire) how to master the art of cooking.
Dodin confesses his love and asks Eugénie's permission to marry him to formalize their relationship, but Eugénie is hesitant. The trailer shows a scene where a foreign nobleman invites Dodin and his friends to a lavish but tasteless party. In response, Dodin suggests that Eugénie cook pot au feu (a traditional French beef stew).
Actors Juliette Binoche and Benoit Magimel play the couple in the film. Photo: Cannes Film Festival
In an interview with Variety in May, when asked if he expected The Taste of Things to receive critical acclaim, Tran Anh Hung said that every time a director makes a film, they always believe the work will be a success.
In the book, Marcel Rouff mentions dishes from the original novel. These details moved Tran Anh Hung and inspired the director to make the film. When working on the project, Tran Anh Hung wanted to challenge his directing skills with a culinary theme.
"My first challenge was making a film unlike any previous work. I wanted to turn food into a love story and follow the process of two lovers developing a connection," the director said.
Chef Pierre Gagnaire, who has won 14 Michelin stars, and Michel Naves, an expert from the French National Institute of Agriculture , Food and Environment (INRAE), served as culinary consultants for the film. The pot au feu dish in the film used 40 kg of meat. After filming was complete, the crew shared the food among themselves.
Tran Anh Hung, 61, studied at the prestigious École Louis-Lumière film school in France. His film, The Scent of Green Papaya, received an Oscar nomination for Best Foreign Language Film. To date, it remains the only Vietnamese-language film to reach the final round of the Academy Awards.
In 1995, the director won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival with Cyclo. To instill a love of cinema in young filmmakers in Vietnam, he taught courses as part of the Autumn Meeting program. In 1998, Tran Anh Hung became President of the Caméra d'Or (First Film) category at the 51st Cannes Film Festival.
Hoang Ha (According to vnexpress.net, September 18, 2023)
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