Illustrations by Maddie Fischer.For more Cannes 2024 coverage, subscribe to the Weekly Edit newsletter.In a welcome twist, the most pressing questions I heard on my way to Cannes this year didn’t concern the festival lineups but events that seemed to transcend them. In the days leading up to the opening night, Sous les écrans la dèche, a collective of festival workers, announced it would be striking over salary increases and unemployment benefits; as I type, the strikes haven’t materialized, nor has the rumored list of new sexual abuse allegations about men in the French film industry. “Last year, as you know, we had some polemics,” artistic director Thierry Frémaux told the press on the eve of the fest, hinting at the decision to open the 2023 edition with Maïwenn’s Jeanne du Barry, a film that would have been forgotten a lot faster than it was had it...
- 5/21/2024
- MUBI
by Eric Blume
A young Magimel in Benoît Jacquot's A Single Girl (1995).
This weekend, we’re celebrating one of French cinema’s greatest actors, Benoît Magimel, who turns 50 today.
Magimel exploded upon the industry in the mid 1990s, making a string of pictures right after his 21st birthday that involved collaborations with several big names. Benoît Jacquot used his broad, handsome face and hooded eyes to great effect in 1995’s A Single Girl opposite Virginie Ledoyen. The two actors have a truthful, easy spark between them that’s quintessential French post-teen. The next year, he was featured in the excellent Thieves, by then-huge director André Téchiné, alongside two of the country’s finest, Daniel Auteuil and Catherine Deneuve...
A young Magimel in Benoît Jacquot's A Single Girl (1995).
This weekend, we’re celebrating one of French cinema’s greatest actors, Benoît Magimel, who turns 50 today.
Magimel exploded upon the industry in the mid 1990s, making a string of pictures right after his 21st birthday that involved collaborations with several big names. Benoît Jacquot used his broad, handsome face and hooded eyes to great effect in 1995’s A Single Girl opposite Virginie Ledoyen. The two actors have a truthful, easy spark between them that’s quintessential French post-teen. The next year, he was featured in the excellent Thieves, by then-huge director André Téchiné, alongside two of the country’s finest, Daniel Auteuil and Catherine Deneuve...
- 5/11/2024
- by EricB
- FilmExperience
To celebrate the release of The Taste of Things out now on DVD, Blu-Ray and Digital. We have a Blu-Rays to give away to two lucky winners!
The Taste of Things, a film by Tran Anh Hung Starring Juliette Binoche & Benoît Magimel and winner for Best Director at Cannes Film Festival 2023.
Peerless cook Eugenie (Juliette Binoche) has worked for the famous gourmet Dodin (Benoît Magimel) for the last 20 years.
Bonding over a passion for gastronomy and mutual admiration, their relationship develops into romance and gives rise to delicious dishes that impress even the world’s most illustrious chefs. But Eugenie is fond of her freedom and has never wanted to marry Dodin. So, he decides to do something he has never done before: cook for her.
A delectable feast for the senses, The Taste of Things is a stunningly beautiful romance that simmers with emotion.
Please note: This competition is open to UK residents only.
The Taste of Things, a film by Tran Anh Hung Starring Juliette Binoche & Benoît Magimel and winner for Best Director at Cannes Film Festival 2023.
Peerless cook Eugenie (Juliette Binoche) has worked for the famous gourmet Dodin (Benoît Magimel) for the last 20 years.
Bonding over a passion for gastronomy and mutual admiration, their relationship develops into romance and gives rise to delicious dishes that impress even the world’s most illustrious chefs. But Eugenie is fond of her freedom and has never wanted to marry Dodin. So, he decides to do something he has never done before: cook for her.
A delectable feast for the senses, The Taste of Things is a stunningly beautiful romance that simmers with emotion.
Please note: This competition is open to UK residents only.
- 4/19/2024
- by Competitions
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Acorn TV has announced the titles that will be available on the AMC-owned streaming service in May 2024. The lineup adds to the service’s wide variety of acclaimed English and foreign-language dramas, engaging comedies, documentaries, and more.
The highlights include the third season of Acorn TV original Harry Wild, new episodes of The Brokenwood Mysteries Season 10, and the Acorn TV exclusive The Truth.
May Highlights
Harry Wild Season 3 (Acorn TV Original Series) – New Season Premieres on Acorn TV and BBC America Monday, May 13
Harry and Fergus are hired to prove the lead singer of Ireland’s hottest boy band didn’t kill himself, find out who decapitated a woman in a busy restaurant, discover who murdered a despotic director on the set of Ireland’s leading daytime soap opera, work out how a mystery writer managed to shoot himself in a locked panic room without a gun, and more.
The highlights include the third season of Acorn TV original Harry Wild, new episodes of The Brokenwood Mysteries Season 10, and the Acorn TV exclusive The Truth.
May Highlights
Harry Wild Season 3 (Acorn TV Original Series) – New Season Premieres on Acorn TV and BBC America Monday, May 13
Harry and Fergus are hired to prove the lead singer of Ireland’s hottest boy band didn’t kill himself, find out who decapitated a woman in a busy restaurant, discover who murdered a despotic director on the set of Ireland’s leading daytime soap opera, work out how a mystery writer managed to shoot himself in a locked panic room without a gun, and more.
- 4/16/2024
- by Mirko Parlevliet
- Vital Thrills
Tran Anh Hung’s simmering gastro-romance is the latest dish in a cinematic feast ranging from The Godfather to The Lunchbox
The term “gastroporn” got thrown around a lot when The Taste of Things was in cinemas recently, but I’m not sure it’s quite right for Tran Anh Hung’s sumptuous culinary romance, seductive as all the cookery on display is. Though it has many a languid, exquisitely lit pan over the finished dishes created by Benoît Magimel’s 19th-century gourmet – including a giant, glistening vol-au-vent that I’ve been thinking about for months – it’s less about money shots than it is about foodie foreplay. The film’s greatest pleasures are in its extended sequences of preparation and process; the silently, adoringly intuitive collaboration between Magimel and Juliette Binoche’s fellow cook; the thrill of watching experts at work. Ok, and there’s a near-seamless match-cut from...
The term “gastroporn” got thrown around a lot when The Taste of Things was in cinemas recently, but I’m not sure it’s quite right for Tran Anh Hung’s sumptuous culinary romance, seductive as all the cookery on display is. Though it has many a languid, exquisitely lit pan over the finished dishes created by Benoît Magimel’s 19th-century gourmet – including a giant, glistening vol-au-vent that I’ve been thinking about for months – it’s less about money shots than it is about foodie foreplay. The film’s greatest pleasures are in its extended sequences of preparation and process; the silently, adoringly intuitive collaboration between Magimel and Juliette Binoche’s fellow cook; the thrill of watching experts at work. Ok, and there’s a near-seamless match-cut from...
- 4/13/2024
- by Guy Lodge
- The Guardian - Film News
"It's never simple to be a woman..." Picturehouse in the UK has revealed their official trailer for the indie film from France titled Rosalie, set for a UK debut in June this summer. This first premiered at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival last year, playing at a few other festivals in Europe, though there's no US release date confirmed yet. Have to be patient if you're curious Set in France in 1870, inspired by a true story. Rosalie is a young woman with a secret... She was born with a face and body covered in hair. A genuine bearded lady. She's kept her secret safe all her life, until Abel, an indebted bar owner, marries her for her dowry. Now, she no longer wishes to hide from him... or anyone else. Starring Nadia Tereszkiewicz as Rosalie and Benoît Magimel as Abel, plus Benjamin Biolay, Guillaume Gouix, and Gustave Kervern. A story of hope and radical self-acceptance,...
- 4/12/2024
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
The 77th edition of the Cannes Film Festival will kick off with Quentin Dupieux’s “The Second Act,” a star-studded surreal French comedy headlined by Léa Seydoux, Vincent Lindon, Louis Garrel and Raphaël Quenard, Variety has learned.
The anticipated movie is produced by Hugo Selignac at Chi-Fou-Mi, a Mediawan company, and is represented in international markets by Kinology. The film will play out of competition on May 14 and will be released on the same day in French theaters.
Laced with absurdist humor, the meta movie follows actors starring in a doomed film production. Dupieux is one of France’s most popular and prolific filmmakers. He delivered two films in 2023: “Daaaaaalí,” which played out-of-competition at Venice, and “Yannick,” a French box office hit that sold around the world.
In confirming the film’s selection at Cannes, the festival described Quentin as a “filmmaker who embraces freedom – in tone, form and...
The anticipated movie is produced by Hugo Selignac at Chi-Fou-Mi, a Mediawan company, and is represented in international markets by Kinology. The film will play out of competition on May 14 and will be released on the same day in French theaters.
Laced with absurdist humor, the meta movie follows actors starring in a doomed film production. Dupieux is one of France’s most popular and prolific filmmakers. He delivered two films in 2023: “Daaaaaalí,” which played out-of-competition at Venice, and “Yannick,” a French box office hit that sold around the world.
In confirming the film’s selection at Cannes, the festival described Quentin as a “filmmaker who embraces freedom – in tone, form and...
- 4/3/2024
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Prepare to feast. Or dance. This week’s streaming debuts include two visually sumptuous films that will whet your Easter-weekend appetite.
The contender to watch this week: “The Taste of Things“
France lost out on an Oscar nomination when the country’s selection committee chose Trần Anh Hùng‘s savory romance about a venerable chef (Benoît Magimel) and a gifted cook (Juliette Binoche) instead of eventual Best Picture nominee “Anatomy of a Fall.” But even if the movie didn’t make the Best International Feature Film category, it earned an immediate spot in the culinary canon. Like the documentary “Menus-Plaisirs — Les Troisgros,” last year’s other great food movie, “The Taste of Things” is kitchen porn. In the warmly lit countryside, the gourmands prepare veal loins, roasted vegetables, baked Alaska, and the creamiest omelet you’ve ever seen. Select theaters are still showing the film, but it’s newly available on VOD.
The contender to watch this week: “The Taste of Things“
France lost out on an Oscar nomination when the country’s selection committee chose Trần Anh Hùng‘s savory romance about a venerable chef (Benoît Magimel) and a gifted cook (Juliette Binoche) instead of eventual Best Picture nominee “Anatomy of a Fall.” But even if the movie didn’t make the Best International Feature Film category, it earned an immediate spot in the culinary canon. Like the documentary “Menus-Plaisirs — Les Troisgros,” last year’s other great food movie, “The Taste of Things” is kitchen porn. In the warmly lit countryside, the gourmands prepare veal loins, roasted vegetables, baked Alaska, and the creamiest omelet you’ve ever seen. Select theaters are still showing the film, but it’s newly available on VOD.
- 3/30/2024
- by Matthew Jacobs
- Gold Derby
Chicago – The great food movies of cinema history … think “Babette’s Feast” or “Big Night” … use food prep cinematically as a palette for the senses. A French/Belgium film from last year continues that tradition. “The Taste of Things,” featuring Oscar winner Juliette Binoche and written/directed by Ahn Hung Tran, is set in late 19th Century France within a romance between a chef and his muse.
Rating: 4.5/5.0
Adapted from a popular French novel featuring Chef Dodin Bouffant (Benoit Magimel), and set in 1889, the story involves the developing love affair between Bouffant and his vital taster and sous chef Eugenie (Juliette Binoche). As Bouffant’s reputation grows, to a point where ambassadors and kings desire his meals, Eugenie continues to be his muse. Right at the height of their love and food creative relationship, Eugenie’s health becomes an obstacle.
Ahn Hung Tran and Benoit Magimel on the set of ‘The...
Rating: 4.5/5.0
Adapted from a popular French novel featuring Chef Dodin Bouffant (Benoit Magimel), and set in 1889, the story involves the developing love affair between Bouffant and his vital taster and sous chef Eugenie (Juliette Binoche). As Bouffant’s reputation grows, to a point where ambassadors and kings desire his meals, Eugenie continues to be his muse. Right at the height of their love and food creative relationship, Eugenie’s health becomes an obstacle.
Ahn Hung Tran and Benoit Magimel on the set of ‘The...
- 3/26/2024
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Variety Awards Circuit section is the home for all awards news and related content throughout the year, featuring the following: the official predictions for the upcoming Oscars, Emmys, Grammys and Tony Awards ceremonies, curated by Variety senior awards editor Clayton Davis. The prediction pages reflect the current standings in the race and do not reflect personal preferences for any individual contender. As other formal (and informal) polls suggest, competitions are fluid and subject to change based on buzz and events. Predictions are updated every Thursday.
Visit the prediction pages for the respective ceremonies via the links below:
Oscars | Emmys | Grammys | Tonys
2024 Oscars Predictions:
Best Actor The Holdovers, Paul Giamatti, 2023. ph: Seacia Pavao / © Focus Features / Courtesy Everett Collection
Weekly Commentary: The realm of lead actor has been ruled by Cillian Murphy’s captivating portrayal in Nolan’s cinematic opus “Oppenheimer.” However, the final stretch of voting has seen two seasoned industry...
Visit the prediction pages for the respective ceremonies via the links below:
Oscars | Emmys | Grammys | Tonys
2024 Oscars Predictions:
Best Actor The Holdovers, Paul Giamatti, 2023. ph: Seacia Pavao / © Focus Features / Courtesy Everett Collection
Weekly Commentary: The realm of lead actor has been ruled by Cillian Murphy’s captivating portrayal in Nolan’s cinematic opus “Oppenheimer.” However, the final stretch of voting has seen two seasoned industry...
- 3/7/2024
- by Clayton Davis
- Variety Film + TV
The Avenue release Land of Bad, powered by Variance, grossed $1.8 million on 1,120 screens, landing in the top ten for the weekend as Variance noted strong word of mouth with Saturday grosses jumping 37% from Friday’ (not including Thursday sneaks). The estimate for the four days is $2.07 million.
The William Eubank film starring Russell Crowe and Liam and Luke Hemsworth is performing best on the West Coast and the heartland/Midwest, with suburban theaters delivering the biggest Fri-to-Sat growth. Thi s is the tale of a covert Special Forces operation in the South Philippines that spirals into a brutal 48-hour battle for survival.
Also strong, Oscar Nominated Short Films opened Friday for their traditional a four-week run, a 19-year ritual that packages animated, live action and documentary shorts into three feature length films. They grossed an estimated $765k on 375 screens for the three-day weekend and $915k for the four days. Packaged and...
The William Eubank film starring Russell Crowe and Liam and Luke Hemsworth is performing best on the West Coast and the heartland/Midwest, with suburban theaters delivering the biggest Fri-to-Sat growth. Thi s is the tale of a covert Special Forces operation in the South Philippines that spirals into a brutal 48-hour battle for survival.
Also strong, Oscar Nominated Short Films opened Friday for their traditional a four-week run, a 19-year ritual that packages animated, live action and documentary shorts into three feature length films. They grossed an estimated $765k on 375 screens for the three-day weekend and $915k for the four days. Packaged and...
- 2/18/2024
- by Jill Goldsmith
- Deadline Film + TV
The Taste of Things review –Juliette Binoche stars in deliciously subversive tale of later life love
Binoche and Benoît Magimel play a 19th-century French cook and her gourmand employer in Tran Anh Hung’s gorgeous, simmering drama
Sumptuous, sensual and impossibly handsome, at first glance French-Vietnamese director Tran Anh Hung’s lavish foodie romance The Taste of Things looks like just another decorous prestige period drama. But in its elegantly restrained way, Tran’s film, which is set almost entirely in the kitchen, grounds and dining room of the country chateau of famed gourmet Dodin (Benoît Magimel) in 1880s France, is every bit as radical and risk-taking as some of the showier, quirkier awards contenders this year.
Take its exquisite opening sequence. Starting with a wordless nod of approval from Dodin’s celebrated cook, Eugénie (Juliette Binoche), as the gardener hands her a gnarled, freshly exhumed celeriac root, the film then gets down to the serious business of cooking. Around 35 minutes, much of it dialogue-free, is...
Sumptuous, sensual and impossibly handsome, at first glance French-Vietnamese director Tran Anh Hung’s lavish foodie romance The Taste of Things looks like just another decorous prestige period drama. But in its elegantly restrained way, Tran’s film, which is set almost entirely in the kitchen, grounds and dining room of the country chateau of famed gourmet Dodin (Benoît Magimel) in 1880s France, is every bit as radical and risk-taking as some of the showier, quirkier awards contenders this year.
Take its exquisite opening sequence. Starting with a wordless nod of approval from Dodin’s celebrated cook, Eugénie (Juliette Binoche), as the gardener hands her a gnarled, freshly exhumed celeriac root, the film then gets down to the serious business of cooking. Around 35 minutes, much of it dialogue-free, is...
- 2/18/2024
- by Wendy Ide
- The Guardian - Film News
Like taxis on a rainy night, you wait for ages for a great, bittersweet film about love in late middle age with a side helping of gastronomic lusciousness — and then two come along at once. Tehran-set but internationally-produced comedy-drama My Favourite Cake premiered at the Berlin Film Festival a day after Valentine’s Day. That day just so happened to overlap with the release of French drama The Taste of Things in several key territories. (Taste opened in the U.S. on Feb. 9.)
Of course, writer-directors Maryam Moghaddam and Behtash Sanaeeha‘s Berlinale competitor is very different from Tran Anh Hung’s period study starring Juliette Binoche and Benoit Magimel, but the two films overlap in fascinating ways. Both remind viewers of the ephemeral nature of all things. Both are sublime portraits of complicated, older souls, one of whom is an excellent cook who expresses love through food. And in both,...
Of course, writer-directors Maryam Moghaddam and Behtash Sanaeeha‘s Berlinale competitor is very different from Tran Anh Hung’s period study starring Juliette Binoche and Benoit Magimel, but the two films overlap in fascinating ways. Both remind viewers of the ephemeral nature of all things. Both are sublime portraits of complicated, older souls, one of whom is an excellent cook who expresses love through food. And in both,...
- 2/17/2024
- by Leslie Felperin
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Paramount’s Bob Marley: One Love leads the UK and Ireland box office releases this weekend with 687 locations while Sony’s Madame Web has 572.
The Jamaican musician’s biopic is among 2024’s biggest releases in the UK and Ireland so far, eclipsing the distributor’s January release of Mean Girls which opened in 647 venues. Event cinema release Dear England still holds the overall record after releasing in 716 UK venues through National Theatre Live.
Bob Marley: One Life is directed by Reinaldo Marcus Green and stars Kingsley Ben-Adir as the Reggae icon, exploring his rise to fame and eventual death in...
The Jamaican musician’s biopic is among 2024’s biggest releases in the UK and Ireland so far, eclipsing the distributor’s January release of Mean Girls which opened in 647 venues. Event cinema release Dear England still holds the overall record after releasing in 716 UK venues through National Theatre Live.
Bob Marley: One Life is directed by Reinaldo Marcus Green and stars Kingsley Ben-Adir as the Reggae icon, exploring his rise to fame and eventual death in...
- 2/16/2024
- ScreenDaily
The Taste of Things is a beautifully rendered period romance, that thrives, primarily, off a love and affection for food. To mark it’s very timely Valentine’s Day release, we were fortunate enough to travel to Paris to speak to both the leading star Juliette Binoche, alongside Vietnamese filmmaker Tran Anh Hung.
We discuss food, and the logistical challenges – and joys – in shooting such meticulous, and considered cooking sequences. While Binoche speaks in honest and great detail about her experience collaborating with Benoit Magimel for the first time since their seperation many years ago. Be sure to watch both interviews in their entirety below.
Juliette Binoche
Tran Anh Hung
Synopsis
Cook Eugenie and her boss Dodin grow fond of one another over 20 years, and their romance gives rise to dishes that impress even the world’s most illustrious chefs. When Dodin is faced with Eugenie’s reluctance to commit,...
We discuss food, and the logistical challenges – and joys – in shooting such meticulous, and considered cooking sequences. While Binoche speaks in honest and great detail about her experience collaborating with Benoit Magimel for the first time since their seperation many years ago. Be sure to watch both interviews in their entirety below.
Juliette Binoche
Tran Anh Hung
Synopsis
Cook Eugenie and her boss Dodin grow fond of one another over 20 years, and their romance gives rise to dishes that impress even the world’s most illustrious chefs. When Dodin is faced with Eugenie’s reluctance to commit,...
- 2/15/2024
- by Stefan Pape
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Simon Moutaïrou, the critically acclaimed screenwriter behind the spy thriller hit “Black Box,” has partnered with some of France’s biggest players — leading producer Chi-Fou-Mi and Studiocanal — on his ambitious directorial debut, “No Chains, No Masters.”
Now in post, “No Chains, No Masters,” is an epic movie inspired by historical accounts of former slaves in West Africa, nicknamed Maroons, who emancipated themselves from French settlements.
Set in 1759, in the French colony of Mauritius Island, “No Chains, No Masters” is an epic historical drama following a father, Massamba (Ibrahima Mbaye Thié), and his fierce teenage daughter Mati (Anna Thiandoum) who defy all odds to survive a manhunt across the jungle and emancipate themselves from the hell of a colonial plantation.
The story revolves around Mati, who refuses to accept her fate and flees from the plantation, hoping to seek freedom in a remote part of the island, where a community of fugitives is said to live.
Now in post, “No Chains, No Masters,” is an epic movie inspired by historical accounts of former slaves in West Africa, nicknamed Maroons, who emancipated themselves from French settlements.
Set in 1759, in the French colony of Mauritius Island, “No Chains, No Masters” is an epic historical drama following a father, Massamba (Ibrahima Mbaye Thié), and his fierce teenage daughter Mati (Anna Thiandoum) who defy all odds to survive a manhunt across the jungle and emancipate themselves from the hell of a colonial plantation.
The story revolves around Mati, who refuses to accept her fate and flees from the plantation, hoping to seek freedom in a remote part of the island, where a community of fugitives is said to live.
- 2/15/2024
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
In the months since it has premiered at Cannes, “The Taste of Things,” a lushly romantic love letter to French cooking, has quickly been anointed one of the best food-focused movies ever made. The film, now playing in selected theaters, revolves around the romance between Juliette Binoche’s Eugénie and wealthy gourmet Dodin Bouffant, played by Binoche’s former real-life partner Benoît Magimel. The story of the accomplished cook and her boss and lover simmers along leisurely until it comes to a full boil, all the while showcasing a cornucopia of lovingly-photographed products of the French countryside, from pears and cheeses to veal roast and truffled chicken.
Director Trân Anh Hùng, whose debut film “The Scent of Green Papaya” was described as “a poem for the eyes,” brings a similar sumptuous approach to his latest, layering in flavors of wit, sensuality and despair. Hùng, who has lived in France since...
Director Trân Anh Hùng, whose debut film “The Scent of Green Papaya” was described as “a poem for the eyes,” brings a similar sumptuous approach to his latest, layering in flavors of wit, sensuality and despair. Hùng, who has lived in France since...
- 2/15/2024
- by Pat Saperstein
- Variety Film + TV
Universal’s “Migration” stayed atop the U.K. and Ireland box office for the second consecutive week with £2.4 million ($3.1 million), according to numbers from Comscore. The global hit animation now has a total of £6.6 million in the territory.
Another Universal title, “Argylle,” stayed in second place for the second weekend in a row with £994,542 for a total of £3.7 million. Lionsgate’s “The Iron Claw” made a strong debut in third position with £754,152.
In its third weekend, in fourth place, Disney’s “All of Us Strangers” collected £510,035 for a total of £3.7 million. Rounding off the top five was Trafalgar Releasing’s “Peppa’s Cinema Party” that debuted with £490,779. The re-release of Warner Bros.’ “Dune,” ahead of the release of “Dune 2” on March 1, earned £335,657 in 10th position.
Coming up, there are several releases midweek on Feb. 14, Valentine’s Day. Picturehouse Entertainment is opening Trần Anh Hùng’s French culinary romance “The Taste of Things,...
Another Universal title, “Argylle,” stayed in second place for the second weekend in a row with £994,542 for a total of £3.7 million. Lionsgate’s “The Iron Claw” made a strong debut in third position with £754,152.
In its third weekend, in fourth place, Disney’s “All of Us Strangers” collected £510,035 for a total of £3.7 million. Rounding off the top five was Trafalgar Releasing’s “Peppa’s Cinema Party” that debuted with £490,779. The re-release of Warner Bros.’ “Dune,” ahead of the release of “Dune 2” on March 1, earned £335,657 in 10th position.
Coming up, there are several releases midweek on Feb. 14, Valentine’s Day. Picturehouse Entertainment is opening Trần Anh Hùng’s French culinary romance “The Taste of Things,...
- 2/13/2024
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
French drama The Taste of Things has been hailed as one of the most effective films ever about the art and sensory nature of cooking, a subgenre that carries great pleasures
An old Hollywood adage warns novice directors away from working with children, animals or water; a worthy addition to this list would be food, an equally uncooperative quantity in the film-making process.
It’s easy enough to gussy up a roast chicken with hairspray for that perfectly basted sheen, or to blow cigarette smoke over it as a dupe for steam straight from the oven. But to portray the action of cooking, as the Cannes prize-winner Trần Anh Hùng does in the bravura opening scene of his new film The Taste of Things, requires far more in the way of forethought, patience and improvisation. As the private chef Eugénie (Juliette Binoche) bustles about preparing a multi-course feast for her employer,...
An old Hollywood adage warns novice directors away from working with children, animals or water; a worthy addition to this list would be food, an equally uncooperative quantity in the film-making process.
It’s easy enough to gussy up a roast chicken with hairspray for that perfectly basted sheen, or to blow cigarette smoke over it as a dupe for steam straight from the oven. But to portray the action of cooking, as the Cannes prize-winner Trần Anh Hùng does in the bravura opening scene of his new film The Taste of Things, requires far more in the way of forethought, patience and improvisation. As the private chef Eugénie (Juliette Binoche) bustles about preparing a multi-course feast for her employer,...
- 2/12/2024
- by Charles Bramesco
- The Guardian - Film News
The Taste Of Things, a meditation on turn-of-the-century French cooking — no chicken wings or nachos in sight — is stirring up a nice weekend for IFC Films with $126k and the best per-theater opening of the year so far on Super Bowl weekend.
Wim Wenders’ Perfect Days from Neon is looking at $100k on five screens. In wider release, Bleecker Street’s Out Of Darkness is at a solid $1 million on circa 900 screens. American Fiction and Poor Things are holding in the top ten.
The Taste Of Things, which premiered at Cannes, winning Best Director for Vietnamese-born French filmmaker Tràn Anh Hùng, is seeing a $42k PTA from three screens. Originally The Pot-au-Feu, it stars Juliette Binoche and Benoît Magimel as cook Eugenie and her boss Dodin, longtime partners in love and in the kitchen of Dodin’s country villa.
Wim Wenders’ Perfect Days from Neon is looking at $100k on five screens. In wider release, Bleecker Street’s Out Of Darkness is at a solid $1 million on circa 900 screens. American Fiction and Poor Things are holding in the top ten.
The Taste Of Things, which premiered at Cannes, winning Best Director for Vietnamese-born French filmmaker Tràn Anh Hùng, is seeing a $42k PTA from three screens. Originally The Pot-au-Feu, it stars Juliette Binoche and Benoît Magimel as cook Eugenie and her boss Dodin, longtime partners in love and in the kitchen of Dodin’s country villa.
- 2/11/2024
- by Jill Goldsmith
- Deadline Film + TV
Juliette Binoche and Benoît Magimel in The Taste Of Things. Binoche on working with her former real-life partner: 'There were shared emotions, and we found again the happiness of just being together' Photo: Stephanie Branchu It wasn’t an obvious dream ticket to pair Juliette Binoche and Benoît Magimel together for costume film The Taste Of Things, which is set in the world of gastronomy. Although they share a daughter they hadn’t had much contact since they split up some two decades previously. The last time they had worked together was on the romantic drama Children Of The Century in 1999.
The French-Vietnamese director Trần Anh Hùng who won the Cannes Film Festival’s Camera d’Or for his first feature The Scent of the Green Papya in 1993, decided to risk it for his adaptation of Marcel Rouff’s novel La Vie et la Passion de Dodin Bouffant.
Binoche was...
The French-Vietnamese director Trần Anh Hùng who won the Cannes Film Festival’s Camera d’Or for his first feature The Scent of the Green Papya in 1993, decided to risk it for his adaptation of Marcel Rouff’s novel La Vie et la Passion de Dodin Bouffant.
Binoche was...
- 2/11/2024
- by Richard Mowe
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
It’s a weekend of well-reviewed indie openings with Bleecker Street’s Out Of Darkness, The Monk And The Gun (from the directors of Lunana: A Yak In The Classroom) and limited openings for The Taste Of Things, Perfect Days (Best International Feature nominated), Anthony Chen’s Drift, Bas Devos’ Here and Ennio by Giuseppe Tornatore, which premiered in Venice in 2021 and is finally getting a U.S. release.
Wim Wenders’ Perfect Days, Japan’s official Oscar submission that nabbed a nom, opened at six locations in New York and LA Wednesday, adding additional cities next week. The film written by Wenders and Takuma Takasaki stars Hirayama, a public toilet cleaner in Tokyo who seems utterly content with his simple life until a series of unexpected encounters reveal more of his unearthed past. See Deadline review.
Neon had a qualifying run in November.
Wim Wenders’ Perfect Days, Japan’s official Oscar submission that nabbed a nom, opened at six locations in New York and LA Wednesday, adding additional cities next week. The film written by Wenders and Takuma Takasaki stars Hirayama, a public toilet cleaner in Tokyo who seems utterly content with his simple life until a series of unexpected encounters reveal more of his unearthed past. See Deadline review.
Neon had a qualifying run in November.
- 2/9/2024
- by Jill Goldsmith
- Deadline Film + TV
Movies are designed to dazzle through sound and vision. That leaves three out of five senses untapped, at least until cinema reaches its inevitable maximum-immersive “feelie” stage. The Taste of Things, the latest from the French-Vietnamese filmmaker Tran Anh Hung, is one of those rare works that gives you the illusion of engaging much more than just your eyes and ears. “Sensuous” is too mild an adjective to describe the way that this drama films, focuses on, and fetishizes the food that the occupants of a 19th century kitchen in...
- 2/9/2024
- by David Fear
- Rollingstone.com
Juliette Binoche and Benoit Magimel in The Taste Of Things. Courtesy of IFC
Warning: Don’t see this film hungry! Delicious shots of delicious food in a luscious landscape fill the French romantic drama The Taste Of Things but it is the perfect Valentine’s Day movie, particularly if you are a foodie, or a romantic. A visually luscious film starring Juliette Binoche, the story centers on two people who express their love for each other and for fine food, by cooking together. Set in 1889 in an old rural manor house, The Taste Of Things creates a beautiful dreamworld in the French countryside where the abundance of the land provides all they need. The Taste Of Things is a feast for both the eyes and the hungry heart, with the bonus of the Oscar-winning Juliette Binoche. It was the official Oscar entry for France.
It all begins in the garden,...
Warning: Don’t see this film hungry! Delicious shots of delicious food in a luscious landscape fill the French romantic drama The Taste Of Things but it is the perfect Valentine’s Day movie, particularly if you are a foodie, or a romantic. A visually luscious film starring Juliette Binoche, the story centers on two people who express their love for each other and for fine food, by cooking together. Set in 1889 in an old rural manor house, The Taste Of Things creates a beautiful dreamworld in the French countryside where the abundance of the land provides all they need. The Taste Of Things is a feast for both the eyes and the hungry heart, with the bonus of the Oscar-winning Juliette Binoche. It was the official Oscar entry for France.
It all begins in the garden,...
- 2/9/2024
- by Cate Marquis
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Juliette Binoche has impeccable taste. The French actress, who has been gracing the screen for over four decades, continues to work with directors that push the envelope regardless of budget, recognition, or box office. From Claire Denis to Olivier Assayas, Abbas Kiarostami to Leos Carax, the list goes on and on. Her eye for world cinema rarely falters, and her filmography ranges across a wide swath of genres. The most common aspect of all of these films: critical praise for Binoche’s performance, whatever it may be.
In her newest, Trần Anh Hùng’s The Taste of Things, Binoche’s first collaboration with the Vietnamese-born director, she plays Eugénie, a chef for a famous restaurant owner, Dodin. A sensual film, featuring lengthy cooking sequences that grasp one’s attention far more than many action set pieces in today’s age, the story follows Eugénie and Dodin’s relationship through food,...
In her newest, Trần Anh Hùng’s The Taste of Things, Binoche’s first collaboration with the Vietnamese-born director, she plays Eugénie, a chef for a famous restaurant owner, Dodin. A sensual film, featuring lengthy cooking sequences that grasp one’s attention far more than many action set pieces in today’s age, the story follows Eugénie and Dodin’s relationship through food,...
- 2/6/2024
- by Michael Frank
- The Film Stage
Where’s the Beef?: Tran Anh Hung Activates the Salivary Glands
Gastronomy has never seemed so forlornly romantic as it is in Tran Anh Hung’s sumptuous foodie procedural, The Taste of Things (aka The Pot au Feu). The film’s French language title, La Passion de Dodin Bouffant, is a modified version of the 1924 Marcel Rouff novel from which the film is adapted, and ultimately a bit more fitting than the titular dish which plays a minor role amongst a variety of other lavish epicurean delights. Notably, the film unites Benoit Magimel and Juliette Binoche, who originally met on the set of 1999’s Children of the Century, which inspired a high profile romance, making their fateful relationship here all the more potently melancholic.…...
Gastronomy has never seemed so forlornly romantic as it is in Tran Anh Hung’s sumptuous foodie procedural, The Taste of Things (aka The Pot au Feu). The film’s French language title, La Passion de Dodin Bouffant, is a modified version of the 1924 Marcel Rouff novel from which the film is adapted, and ultimately a bit more fitting than the titular dish which plays a minor role amongst a variety of other lavish epicurean delights. Notably, the film unites Benoit Magimel and Juliette Binoche, who originally met on the set of 1999’s Children of the Century, which inspired a high profile romance, making their fateful relationship here all the more potently melancholic.…...
- 2/5/2024
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
The Vietnamese-born director’s new film is a sumptuous love letter to French food culture starring former real-life couple Juliette Binoche and Benoît Magimel. He talks about the formal appeal of haute cuisine and the poetry of an omelette
The current menu for film and TV stories about cuisine is all conflict and crisis – kitchens as battlefields, dishes forged in the white-hot skillet of raging tempers. But new French film The Taste of Things couldn’t be further from The Bear or Boiling Point. A controlled simmer is more the temperature of this piece by Vietnamese-born director Tran Anh Hung – the most rapturous hymn to culinary art since such beloved gourmet outings as Babette’s Feast or Eat Drink Man Woman.
Set in the 1880s, the film – which won Tran the best director award at Cannes last year – is about the relationship between cook Eugénie (Juliette Binoche) and her gourmet employer...
The current menu for film and TV stories about cuisine is all conflict and crisis – kitchens as battlefields, dishes forged in the white-hot skillet of raging tempers. But new French film The Taste of Things couldn’t be further from The Bear or Boiling Point. A controlled simmer is more the temperature of this piece by Vietnamese-born director Tran Anh Hung – the most rapturous hymn to culinary art since such beloved gourmet outings as Babette’s Feast or Eat Drink Man Woman.
Set in the 1880s, the film – which won Tran the best director award at Cannes last year – is about the relationship between cook Eugénie (Juliette Binoche) and her gourmet employer...
- 2/4/2024
- by Jonathan Romney
- The Guardian - Film News
Clockwise from bottom left: Cole Sprouse and Kathryn Newton in Lisa Frankenstein, Jennifer Lopez in This Is Me ... Now, Orion And The Dark, Margaret Qualley in Drive-Away Dolls, and Chip in ArgyllePhoto: Prime, Focus Features, Universal Pictures, Netflix
January may be in the rearview, but movie theaters are still...
January may be in the rearview, but movie theaters are still...
- 1/31/2024
- by Matt Schimkowitz
- avclub.com
By now, even the most hardcore fans of French cuisine and “Chocolat” star Juliette Binoche can agree that Justine Triet’s “Anatomy of a Fall” — rather than Tran Anh Hung’s “The Taste of Things” — was the one movie that could have given France its first Oscar win for best international feature in over 30 years, since Régis Wargnier’s “Indochine.”
Over the last three decades, a number of French movies have earned Oscar recognition, but none have been the official French Oscar submission. Michael Haneke’s “Amour” earned five Oscar noms in 2013 and even won the best foreign-language Oscar but it represented Austria. A year before, “The Artist,” a French-directed and produced silent movie, won five Oscars out of 10 nominations, including best picture. But the movie had come out in theaters in October, past the former Sept. 30 deadline (which has since then been extended in France) to submit films for...
Over the last three decades, a number of French movies have earned Oscar recognition, but none have been the official French Oscar submission. Michael Haneke’s “Amour” earned five Oscar noms in 2013 and even won the best foreign-language Oscar but it represented Austria. A year before, “The Artist,” a French-directed and produced silent movie, won five Oscars out of 10 nominations, including best picture. But the movie had come out in theaters in October, past the former Sept. 30 deadline (which has since then been extended in France) to submit films for...
- 1/24/2024
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
The rise of Christian Dior and fall of Coco Chanel is captured in Apple TV+’s new series “The New Look.”
The World War II-set 10-episode show stars Emmy winner Ben Mendelsohn as Christian Dior and Oscar winner Juliette Binoche as Coco Chanel and was filmed exclusively in Paris.
The official synopsis reads: “Set against the World War II Nazi occupation of Paris, ‘The New Look’ focuses on the pivotal moment in the 20th century when the French city led the world back to life through its fashion icon Christian Dior. As Dior rises to prominence with his groundbreaking, iconic imprint of beauty and influence, Chanel’s reign as the world’s most famous fashion designer is put into jeopardy.”
The ensemble cast also includes Maisie Williams as Catherine Dior, John Malkovich as Lucien Lelong, Emily Mortimer as Elsa Lombardi, Claes Bang as Spatz, and Glenn Close as Carmel Snow.
The World War II-set 10-episode show stars Emmy winner Ben Mendelsohn as Christian Dior and Oscar winner Juliette Binoche as Coco Chanel and was filmed exclusively in Paris.
The official synopsis reads: “Set against the World War II Nazi occupation of Paris, ‘The New Look’ focuses on the pivotal moment in the 20th century when the French city led the world back to life through its fashion icon Christian Dior. As Dior rises to prominence with his groundbreaking, iconic imprint of beauty and influence, Chanel’s reign as the world’s most famous fashion designer is put into jeopardy.”
The ensemble cast also includes Maisie Williams as Catherine Dior, John Malkovich as Lucien Lelong, Emily Mortimer as Elsa Lombardi, Claes Bang as Spatz, and Glenn Close as Carmel Snow.
- 1/17/2024
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
If you are a filmgoer of a certain age, you will recall a heady time at the cinema when miraculous dishes were conjured up by beautiful people, rich aromas positively wafting out of the screen and onto the rapt audience, whose juices overflowed at the sight and imagined taste of the delectable dishes on show.
We’re not talking any old dinner here; we’re talking the likes of Babette’s Feast or Big Night. Tran Anh Hung’s The Taste of Things is part of that delicious lineage: the period costumes, the painstakingly prepared food, the romance and the beauty are all present and correct. His film – and I mean no disrespect by this – sticks to a tried and tested formula, and whilst watching it, it makes us realise that we had been nostalgic for exactly this type of cinema for quite some time.
The Taste of Things is set...
We’re not talking any old dinner here; we’re talking the likes of Babette’s Feast or Big Night. Tran Anh Hung’s The Taste of Things is part of that delicious lineage: the period costumes, the painstakingly prepared food, the romance and the beauty are all present and correct. His film – and I mean no disrespect by this – sticks to a tried and tested formula, and whilst watching it, it makes us realise that we had been nostalgic for exactly this type of cinema for quite some time.
The Taste of Things is set...
- 1/15/2024
- by Jo-Ann Titmarsh
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Following The Film Stage’s collective top 50 films of 2023, as part of our year-end coverage, our contributors are sharing their personal top 10 lists.
The world came back in 2023. The box office, the labor strikes, the raging wars, the Who-declared end of official global emergency, the AI explosion. People were stir-crazy, anxious to act, be it in the name of violence or peace or productivity. It’s been a sobering reminder that life fully lived is defined by bedrock tragedy as much as triumph––that to enter back into open community with the rest of the world is to feel the effervescence of life flowing naturally again while simultaneously laying oneself bare to fresh devastation. It’s been a reminder of the duality of being: that real life is much wilder than the movies and yet the day-to-day is still defined by mundanity and monotony––the amassed in-between moments.
In those in-betweens,...
The world came back in 2023. The box office, the labor strikes, the raging wars, the Who-declared end of official global emergency, the AI explosion. People were stir-crazy, anxious to act, be it in the name of violence or peace or productivity. It’s been a sobering reminder that life fully lived is defined by bedrock tragedy as much as triumph––that to enter back into open community with the rest of the world is to feel the effervescence of life flowing naturally again while simultaneously laying oneself bare to fresh devastation. It’s been a reminder of the duality of being: that real life is much wilder than the movies and yet the day-to-day is still defined by mundanity and monotony––the amassed in-between moments.
In those in-betweens,...
- 1/8/2024
- by Luke Hicks
- The Film Stage
A special screening for “The Taste of Things,” France’s entry for Best International Feature at the 96th Academy Awards, was held Friday, January 5 at The Crescent in Beverly Hills. Afterwards, director Tran Anh Hung and Oscar winner Juliette Binoche joined moderator David Canfield (“Variety”) for a Q&a to discuss the film in front of the packed theater. Watch the full discussion above.
Set in France in the late 19th century, the film follows the life of Dodin Bouffant (Benoît Magimel) as the preeminent chef living with his personal cook and lover Eugénie (Binoche). Eugénie and Dodin share a long history of gastronomy and love. While emotions remain contained, the culinary discoveries are, on the other hand, breathtakingly exquisite. The only hitch is that Eugénie refuses to marry Dodin. So, the food lover decides to do something he has never done before: cook for her.
“The Taste of Things...
Set in France in the late 19th century, the film follows the life of Dodin Bouffant (Benoît Magimel) as the preeminent chef living with his personal cook and lover Eugénie (Binoche). Eugénie and Dodin share a long history of gastronomy and love. While emotions remain contained, the culinary discoveries are, on the other hand, breathtakingly exquisite. The only hitch is that Eugénie refuses to marry Dodin. So, the food lover decides to do something he has never done before: cook for her.
“The Taste of Things...
- 1/7/2024
- by Denton Davidson
- Gold Derby
Want to know which international features vying for Oscar gold are worth watching?
Variety‘s team of critics has been on the ground at Cannes, Berlin, Venice, Toronto and other major film festivals, on the hunt for the best of the best. In December, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences unveiled its shortlist of 15 films eligible for the second round of voting in the best international feature film category. Those Oscar contenders include “The Zone of Interest,” a United Kingdom-backed look at the Holocaust that’s received rave reviews, as well as searing dramas such as “Io Capitano,” Italy’s entry about two Senegalese migrants, and “Four Daughters,” a mixture of narrative and documentary from Tunisia.
Here are reviews of all of the movies eligible for the Oscar for Best International Feature.
20 Days in Mariupol (Ukraine) — Director Mstyslav Chernov and other AP journos document Russian Federation forces...
Variety‘s team of critics has been on the ground at Cannes, Berlin, Venice, Toronto and other major film festivals, on the hunt for the best of the best. In December, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences unveiled its shortlist of 15 films eligible for the second round of voting in the best international feature film category. Those Oscar contenders include “The Zone of Interest,” a United Kingdom-backed look at the Holocaust that’s received rave reviews, as well as searing dramas such as “Io Capitano,” Italy’s entry about two Senegalese migrants, and “Four Daughters,” a mixture of narrative and documentary from Tunisia.
Here are reviews of all of the movies eligible for the Oscar for Best International Feature.
20 Days in Mariupol (Ukraine) — Director Mstyslav Chernov and other AP journos document Russian Federation forces...
- 1/5/2024
- by Variety Staff
- Variety Film + TV
The Taste of Things.How do you solve a riddle like Trần Anh Hùng’s The Taste of Things? Revolving around the professional and romantic companionship between a master chef and his faithful cook, the feature, which won the Vietnamese-French filmmaker the Best Director award at Cannes, enjoys largely rapturous reviews in international press, yet its critical reception in France is much more divisive. Dismissed by publications such as Le Monde, Libération, and Cahiers du cinéma as a “bourgeois” and “old-fashioned” effort, Taste was simultaneously embraced by the right-wing outlet Causeur, which exalts the meat-centric feature as a return to tradition, and a slap in the face to the quinoa-eating, so-called “woke” crowd. To be selected over Justine Triet’s Anatomy of a Fall and other shortlisted nominees as France’s official submission to the Oscars was yet another sin. Months before its cinema release, Taste received an extraordinary amount...
- 1/3/2024
- MUBI
As 2023 draws to a close, Deadline’s film critics have each chosen their top three movies of the year to hail from abroad. Some were festival world premieres, some have made the International Feature Oscar shortlist — and some have not.
Overall, it has been another banner year for international cinema – right from 2023’s earliest festivals, through to the spring and fall circuits, and including some local productions that also hit outside their home markets.
Here are the top international films of 2023, according to Pete Hammond, Damon Wise, Valerie Complex and Stephanie Bunbury, based on their respected individual opinions and listed in alphabetical order under their names.
Pete Hammond’S Picks:
Godzilla Minus One,, Minami Hamabe, 2023. © Toho International / Courtesy Everett Collection
Godzilla Minus One
This one snuck up on me right at the...
Overall, it has been another banner year for international cinema – right from 2023’s earliest festivals, through to the spring and fall circuits, and including some local productions that also hit outside their home markets.
Here are the top international films of 2023, according to Pete Hammond, Damon Wise, Valerie Complex and Stephanie Bunbury, based on their respected individual opinions and listed in alphabetical order under their names.
Pete Hammond’S Picks:
Godzilla Minus One,, Minami Hamabe, 2023. © Toho International / Courtesy Everett Collection
Godzilla Minus One
This one snuck up on me right at the...
- 12/28/2023
- by Pete Hammond, Damon Wise, Valerie Complex and Stephanie Bunbury
- Deadline Film + TV
Leonie Benesch
Germany • The Teachers’ Lounge
The German actress, who has appeared in The Crown and Around the World in 80 Days, stars as an idealistic teacher trying to solve a series of thefts at her school in the film that was selected as Germany’s entry for the 2024 Academy Awards. Her performance has been lauded by critics; The Hollywood Reporter’s Sheri Linden described Benesch’s portrayal as “veering masterfully between openhearted hope and tense physicality.” The film itself holds a score of 98 percent on Rotten Tomatoes and even beat out four-time Oscar-winning All Quiet on the Western Front at this year’s German film awards, known as the Lolas.
Juliette Binoche
France • The Taste of Things
The French actress delivers yet another exceptional performance in The Taste of Things, with Vanity Fair writing that Binoche “does some of the best onscreen cooking you’ll ever see.” The film beat...
Germany • The Teachers’ Lounge
The German actress, who has appeared in The Crown and Around the World in 80 Days, stars as an idealistic teacher trying to solve a series of thefts at her school in the film that was selected as Germany’s entry for the 2024 Academy Awards. Her performance has been lauded by critics; The Hollywood Reporter’s Sheri Linden described Benesch’s portrayal as “veering masterfully between openhearted hope and tense physicality.” The film itself holds a score of 98 percent on Rotten Tomatoes and even beat out four-time Oscar-winning All Quiet on the Western Front at this year’s German film awards, known as the Lolas.
Juliette Binoche
France • The Taste of Things
The French actress delivers yet another exceptional performance in The Taste of Things, with Vanity Fair writing that Binoche “does some of the best onscreen cooking you’ll ever see.” The film beat...
- 12/27/2023
- by Beatrice Verhoeven
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Rotten Tomatoes and the Academy Awards don’t often go hand in hand. In fact, the Rt scores of Best Picture nominees/winners are a mixed bag. “Parasite” won Best Picture with a Rt score of 99% while “Green Book” emerged victorious with a score of just 77%. The site dishes out percentage scores to movie’s based on the film’s collection of critical reviews. The higher the score, the better the movie. Supposedly.
But, that’s not how it always work in tandem with the Oscars. For instance, “Black Panther,” “BlacKkKlansman,” and “Roma” all scored 96% but lost Best Picture to “Green Book.” Perhaps, if the Oscars listened to Rotten Tomatoes more, things would go a little more smoothly? Probably not but, just for fun, let’s pretend that Rotten Tomatoes are in charge of this year’s Academy Awards.
With that in mind, here are the 10 Best Picture nominees the...
But, that’s not how it always work in tandem with the Oscars. For instance, “Black Panther,” “BlacKkKlansman,” and “Roma” all scored 96% but lost Best Picture to “Green Book.” Perhaps, if the Oscars listened to Rotten Tomatoes more, things would go a little more smoothly? Probably not but, just for fun, let’s pretend that Rotten Tomatoes are in charge of this year’s Academy Awards.
With that in mind, here are the 10 Best Picture nominees the...
- 12/27/2023
- by Jacob Sarkisian
- Gold Derby
Seeing is not the same thing as knowing. And certainly not the same thing as understanding.
Never before in the history of our species have humans been asked to process so much visual information all the time, often at the same time. Yet whether the endlessly multiplying screens we direct our eyeballs to are actually causing us to be smarter or wiser or more empathetic is still unclear. That’s not news to anyone familiar with terms like “cut through the noise,” or aware of the impulse toward “curation” to find what’s actually good or what anything actually means. Movies and TV, though, have always suggested “seeing” is the highest value: the cameo of a beloved star, the Easter egg, the desire to visualize anything and everything in pixel-perfect VFX, “you’ll believe a man can fly.”
Some of the most compelling visual media of 2023 went in a different direction.
Never before in the history of our species have humans been asked to process so much visual information all the time, often at the same time. Yet whether the endlessly multiplying screens we direct our eyeballs to are actually causing us to be smarter or wiser or more empathetic is still unclear. That’s not news to anyone familiar with terms like “cut through the noise,” or aware of the impulse toward “curation” to find what’s actually good or what anything actually means. Movies and TV, though, have always suggested “seeing” is the highest value: the cameo of a beloved star, the Easter egg, the desire to visualize anything and everything in pixel-perfect VFX, “you’ll believe a man can fly.”
Some of the most compelling visual media of 2023 went in a different direction.
- 12/26/2023
- by Christian Blauvelt
- Indiewire
In the Cannes Best Director-winning, The Taste of Things (aka The Pot-au-Feu) the passage of time is measured in teaspoons, tablespoons and table manners. Three decades after his playful exploration of the senses in The Scent of Green Papaya, Tran Anh Hung works from a text is about the basics: connection, simple ingredients and the passage of knowledge. Selected as France’s entry for Best International Feature Film at the 96th Academy Awards, I had the pleasure of speaking with the filmmaker and got to ask about how was it to work with performers (Benoît Magimel and Juliette Binoche) when they were former life partners, the methodology employed in filming kitchen tools and how he related to the original source materials.…...
- 12/22/2023
- by Eric Lavallée
- IONCINEMA.com
At the intersection of interests for cinephiles and foodies lie great movies about food. Films like "Big Night," "Ratatouille," "Babette's Feast," "Tampopo," and "The Trip" movies occupy a special place in the stomachs -- er, minds -- of viewers, and I'm pleased to report that another movie has instantly catapulted into that hallowed pantheon.
"The Taste of Things," from director Trần Anh Hùng, received a limited theatrical release earlier this year for awards consideration (it's the French contender for Best International Feature at the 2024 Oscars), but it won't actually receive a bigger release in the United States until February of 2024. Still, for those who vibe with the types of movies I listed above, this will be a major event at the movies. And aside from being only a great movie about food, it's also a great movie, period -- it's technically one of the best of 2023, but even if you...
"The Taste of Things," from director Trần Anh Hùng, received a limited theatrical release earlier this year for awards consideration (it's the French contender for Best International Feature at the 2024 Oscars), but it won't actually receive a bigger release in the United States until February of 2024. Still, for those who vibe with the types of movies I listed above, this will be a major event at the movies. And aside from being only a great movie about food, it's also a great movie, period -- it's technically one of the best of 2023, but even if you...
- 12/20/2023
- by Ben Pearson
- Slash Film
For many of the 158 critics and journalists who voted in IndieWire’s 2023 critics survey to determine the best movies and performances of the year, the wait was worth it. Six years since Martin Scorsese was first attached to “Killers of the Flower Moon,” and four years after it went into active development, the film topped our poll — in fact, even more decisively than Todd Field’s “TÁR” did in last year’s survey.
“Killers of the Flower Moon” appeared on 94 of the 158 ballots, a little over 59 percent. The critics who voted last year only mentioned “TÁR” on 45 percent of their ballots, and we declared that a landslide at the time. Scorsese’s film also received 25 first-place votes naming it the best film of the year, the most first-place votes in addition to the most overall mentions. Scorsese himself also topped Best Director voting. “Killers of the Flower Moon” previously had...
“Killers of the Flower Moon” appeared on 94 of the 158 ballots, a little over 59 percent. The critics who voted last year only mentioned “TÁR” on 45 percent of their ballots, and we declared that a landslide at the time. Scorsese’s film also received 25 first-place votes naming it the best film of the year, the most first-place votes in addition to the most overall mentions. Scorsese himself also topped Best Director voting. “Killers of the Flower Moon” previously had...
- 12/11/2023
- by Christian Blauvelt
- Indiewire
The smell of the chocolate chip cookies is intoxicating. Juliette Binoche eats several as we talk at the London Hotel about the experience of shooting Anh Hung Tran’s celebration of sumptuous cooking, “The Taste of Things”, which won the Best Director award at Cannes and beat out “Anatomy of a Fall” to become France’s official Oscar submission. Binoche scoffs at the suggestion that the 19th-century romance about Eugénie (Binoche), who cooks for gourmet Dodin (Benoît Magimel), is in any way stuffy or conventional.
“It is showing this lifestyle that is different from nowadays,” she said. “It has to do with another rhythm, a slow motion in the way of living, taking in the environment, taking in feelings, taking in what you do. I don’t live this kind of life, and a lot of people don’t. And this film is very provocative. It looks like she is submissive to him,...
“It is showing this lifestyle that is different from nowadays,” she said. “It has to do with another rhythm, a slow motion in the way of living, taking in the environment, taking in feelings, taking in what you do. I don’t live this kind of life, and a lot of people don’t. And this film is very provocative. It looks like she is submissive to him,...
- 12/9/2023
- by Anne Thompson
- Indiewire
At first sight, the film the French chose to represent them at the Oscars next year couldn’t be any more French. A chaste romantic drama starring Juliette Binoche as Eugénie, an unsung, genius-level private chef, The Taste of Things takes place in the kitchen at the sprawling rustic home of the famous restauranteur Dodin Bouffant (Benoît Magimel), and features every culinary delight known to mankind. Food is braised, broiled, blanched, poached and sautéed, in carefully curated banquets that can take anything up to a waistline-busting 24 hours. Needless to say, audiences at the Cannes film festival savored every bite.
Binoche says she got the script simply because she knew the producer. But the reason she decided to make it was the director, Trần Anh Hùng, the Vietnamese-born auteur who first made his name with The Scent of Green Papaya in 1993.
“I knew Hùng a little bit because he came on...
Binoche says she got the script simply because she knew the producer. But the reason she decided to make it was the director, Trần Anh Hùng, the Vietnamese-born auteur who first made his name with The Scent of Green Papaya in 1993.
“I knew Hùng a little bit because he came on...
- 12/7/2023
- by Damon Wise
- Deadline Film + TV
Tran Anh Hung’s The Taste of Things is almost halfway done before it even hints that there’s something going on within its fin-de-siècle setting besides the creation and consumption of beautiful meals. The film’s first half hour is in fact just that, with Eugénie (Juliette Binoche), a veteran cook in the manor home of Dodin (Benoît Magimel), the epicure for whom she’s been working for over 20 years, making an extravagant, multi-course meal for him and his friends. The men eat the food, then compliment Eugénie on her cooking.
Given the close yet unfussy attention paid to the choreography of cooking, with Jonathan Ricquebourg’s camera flowing sinuously through the kitchen and peeking into pots as ingredients are added and steam billows out, it would have been satisfying if Hung had just concluded the film with well-fed Frenchmen chatting over a digestif. Fortunately, he’s interested not...
Given the close yet unfussy attention paid to the choreography of cooking, with Jonathan Ricquebourg’s camera flowing sinuously through the kitchen and peeking into pots as ingredients are added and steam billows out, it would have been satisfying if Hung had just concluded the film with well-fed Frenchmen chatting over a digestif. Fortunately, he’s interested not...
- 11/29/2023
- by Chris Barsanti
- Slant Magazine
"We worked together for over 20 years. I read a recipe and she worked magic on the stove." Picturehouse has unveiled an official UK trailer for the acclimated French film The Taste of Things, originally titled La Passion de Dodin Bouffant ("The Passion of Dodin Bouffant") in French or The Pot au Feu, which is one of the key dishes in the film. It premiered at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival to rave reviews, including my own, proclaiming it as one of the finest food films ever made. Juliette Binoche stars as Eugénie, an outstanding cook, who has worked for the famous Dodin Bouffant (as played by Benoît Magimel) for 20 years. However, Eugénie, eager for her own freedom, has never wanted to marry Dodin. So Dodin decides to do something he's never done before: cook for her. Oh it's so incredible. All of it – the food, the romance. The cast includes Bonnie Chagneau Ravoire,...
- 11/24/2023
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
Please Note: This forecast, assembled by Scott Feinberg, The Hollywood Reporter’s executive editor of awards coverage, reflects Scott’s best attempt to predict the behavior of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, not his personal preferences. He arrives at these projections by drawing upon conversations with voters and other industry insiders, analysis of marketing and awards campaigns, results of awards ceremonies that precede the Oscars and the history of the Oscars itself. There will be regular updates to reflect new developments.
* * *
Best Picture
Frontrunners
1. American Fiction (Amazon/MGM)
2. Oppenheimer (Universal)
3. Barbie (Warner Bros.)
4. Poor Things (Searchlight)
5. Killers of the Flower Moon (Apple)
6. Past Lives (A24)
7. Maestro (Netflix)
8. The Holdovers (Focus)
9. The Zone of Interest (A24)
10. May December (Netflix)
Major Threats
11. Rustin (Netflix)
12. All of Us Strangers (Searchlight)
13. Anatomy of a Fall (Neon)
14. Nyad (Netflix)
15. Origin (Neon)
16. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (Sony)
Possibilities
17. Ferrari (Neon)
18. Air (Amazon/MGM...
* * *
Best Picture
Frontrunners
1. American Fiction (Amazon/MGM)
2. Oppenheimer (Universal)
3. Barbie (Warner Bros.)
4. Poor Things (Searchlight)
5. Killers of the Flower Moon (Apple)
6. Past Lives (A24)
7. Maestro (Netflix)
8. The Holdovers (Focus)
9. The Zone of Interest (A24)
10. May December (Netflix)
Major Threats
11. Rustin (Netflix)
12. All of Us Strangers (Searchlight)
13. Anatomy of a Fall (Neon)
14. Nyad (Netflix)
15. Origin (Neon)
16. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (Sony)
Possibilities
17. Ferrari (Neon)
18. Air (Amazon/MGM...
- 11/14/2023
- by Scott Feinberg
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
A few days after AFM wrapped in Santa Monica, the dearth of substantial deals trickling in is pointing to a weakened film sales market which is grappling with structural changes and the reverberations of the SAG-AFTRA strike.
Global industry players came into the AFM with reasonable hopes of dealmaking after a quiet Toronto festival, even if many packages were held back due to the strike. Yet, the main talking point of this AFM came down to the dysfunctional logistics of the event which was held for the first time at the Meridien Delfina hotel instead of the beachfront Loews.
“The logistics of AFM were more noisy than the actual market of AFM,” admits Scott Shooman, who was named head of film earlier this year at AMC Networks, a portfolio that encompasses IFC Films, Rlje Films and the streaming service Shudder.
Dylan Leiner, the senior EVP of acquisitions and production at Sony Pictures Classics,...
Global industry players came into the AFM with reasonable hopes of dealmaking after a quiet Toronto festival, even if many packages were held back due to the strike. Yet, the main talking point of this AFM came down to the dysfunctional logistics of the event which was held for the first time at the Meridien Delfina hotel instead of the beachfront Loews.
“The logistics of AFM were more noisy than the actual market of AFM,” admits Scott Shooman, who was named head of film earlier this year at AMC Networks, a portfolio that encompasses IFC Films, Rlje Films and the streaming service Shudder.
Dylan Leiner, the senior EVP of acquisitions and production at Sony Pictures Classics,...
- 11/8/2023
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
When the Thessaloniki Intl. Film Festival kicks off its 64th edition on Nov. 2, the organizers will unveil a host of changes while renewing their commitment to serving audiences at one of Europe’s longest-running film events — all at a time of almost unprecedented uncertainty over the future of cinema and even the very purpose of festivals themselves.
With a sister documentary festival held each March and a year-round program of workshops, screenings, special events and other education and outreach initiatives, Thessaloniki has established itself as a hub to “exchange ideas, train, reflect and celebrate cinema with the public,” says festival general director Elise Jalladeau.
It’s also uniquely positioned to adapt to a rapidly changing industry.
“We operate in an ecosystem that has changed radically over the past five years and the pace is accelerating,” says Jalladeau, calling the challenges ahead “immense, but also very motivating.” Still, Thessaloniki remains committed...
With a sister documentary festival held each March and a year-round program of workshops, screenings, special events and other education and outreach initiatives, Thessaloniki has established itself as a hub to “exchange ideas, train, reflect and celebrate cinema with the public,” says festival general director Elise Jalladeau.
It’s also uniquely positioned to adapt to a rapidly changing industry.
“We operate in an ecosystem that has changed radically over the past five years and the pace is accelerating,” says Jalladeau, calling the challenges ahead “immense, but also very motivating.” Still, Thessaloniki remains committed...
- 11/2/2023
- by Christopher Vourlias
- Variety Film + TV
French-Vietnamese director Tran Anh Hung spoke about the making of “The Taste of Things” (previously titled “The Pot-au-Feu”) the food-themed romantic drama that won him best director award at Cannes this year, at the master class held Tuesday at the Tokyo International Film Festival.
Screening in TIFF’s Gala section, the film stars Juliette Binoche and Benoît Magimel as respectively a chef and gourmet. Set in 1885, the film depicts their relationship, which mixes romance with food, based on a 1924 novel by Marcel Rouff. It has been selected by France as its international Oscar contender.
“I had always wanted to make a film about food,” Hung told the audience. “Cooking is an art form. I also wanted to make a film about the love between a couple in the autumn of their lives.”
He said that the project had a gestation going back two decades when Binoche and Magimel were romantically linked in real life.
Screening in TIFF’s Gala section, the film stars Juliette Binoche and Benoît Magimel as respectively a chef and gourmet. Set in 1885, the film depicts their relationship, which mixes romance with food, based on a 1924 novel by Marcel Rouff. It has been selected by France as its international Oscar contender.
“I had always wanted to make a film about food,” Hung told the audience. “Cooking is an art form. I also wanted to make a film about the love between a couple in the autumn of their lives.”
He said that the project had a gestation going back two decades when Binoche and Magimel were romantically linked in real life.
- 10/24/2023
- by Mark Schilling
- Variety Film + TV
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