DVD: Divine Viewing Diversions - Food Movies

Food and movies: Love ’em both.

We certainly have an appetite for both, especially when they show up together.

And what do we do with a great meal? Why, we eat it right up, right? Just as we do with a terrific movie. And sometimes, if and when we’re confronted with an appetite-whetting film about food and our love of it, we can appreciate and luxuriate in both movies and meals at the same time.

Which brings us to the foodie flick – a movie for and about foodies that casts its unique spell, sending us away not necessarily satisfied but certainly stimulated.

And hungry.

But enough already. Take a bite out of this six-pack of delicious gastronomic features and see if they don’t make the scrumptious case for the foodie flick.

TAMPOPO (1985)

Prepare to be delighted by this offbeat satirical romp from Japan, set in the mid-1980s. And prepare to have a desperate desire for a noodle dish while you’re watching and shortly thereafter. Starring Ken Watanabe and directed by Juzo Itami, it’s a deft, episodic comedy about a widowed noodle shop owner who gets coaching on how to cook the perfect noodle. And it’s as sexy as it is funny, which is to say plenty on both fronts. Still, the major romance under the microscope here is our – and Japanese culture’s – love affair with food. By turns absurdist, outlandish, and irreverent, it pushes the envelope without ever going over the line separating serious-minded and silly. And it’ll make you hungrier and hungrier as it proceeds through the courses. It’s consistently life-affirming, love-embracing, movies-appreciating, and food-celebrating. But that’s not what you exit thinking about. Somebody pass the noodles. Quick.

BABETTE’S FEAST (G, 1987)

Yep, it’s another import. Danish, to be specific. And a dazzling and exquisite work of art it is. The focus of this eloquent fable is on a pair of handsome grown sisters, the pious daughters of a severe minister who have given up on the hope or promise of life and love by turning to religion and choosing to remain in their tiny village in Denmark as they grow old. Director Gabriel Axel adapted a short story by Isak Dinesen, and his consummate drama earned the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. Forgiveness is in the air during a lavish banquet prepared by one of their housemaids who, it turns out, is a world-class chef. This is a somber fable, to be sure, but the presentation of the climactic gathering is unforgettable. As for the prepared food on display: If this scrumptious meal doesn’t make you hungry, you might want to have your vital signs checked.

LIKE WATER FOR CHOCOLATE (R, 1992)

It’s still raining foreign food movies, this time a Mexican fable set in the 1980s, dealing with familial love and the powerful influence of food. Mama Elena is a resourceful widow with three daughters, the youngest of whom spends her life in the kitchen, soaking up all the magical properties of food that their housekeeper can expose her to. Mexican tradition dictates that she’ll spend the prime of her life as her mother’s caregiver. So, what provides her needed vicarious escape? Why, cooking, of course, into which she pours all those troubles and all that she longs to experience. And everyone eating her lovingly prepared and unmistakably magical meals are affected in the same way as the special chef, with a touch of the supernatural and a sly undercurrent of sensuality. This fanciful, food-filled fairytale is both funny and fine, and is anything but predictable as it conveys the uncanny power of cooking. There are lots of answers to the generic question of “What’s cookin’?” One of them is this delicious movie.

EAT DRINK MAN WOMAN (1994)

Director and co-writer Ang Lee’s follow-up to “The Wedding Banquet” is just as likable and watchable as its predecessor. This terrific exploration of family and food looks in on a widowed master chef with three daughters from whom he is somewhat estranged. He has – gulp – lost his taste buds. Lee’s ensemble cast is splendid, as is the absolutely delectable presentation of food throughout, especially at the family’s elaborate weekly feasts. The trio of sisters search for independence but without ignoring their family traditions – and they continue to live at home. Lee deftly juggles subplots and he makes the film’s major surprise pay off nicely. But nothing tops the food preparation scenes, as more than a hundred recipes are served up, which is guaranteed to whet your appetite. Movies rarely come as assuredly made and utterly digestible as this glorious romantic dramedy.

BIG NIGHT (R, 1996)

If someone were to stage a Best Food Movie Ever Made competition, this nifty, beloved work would have an excellent chance of taking home the trophy. That’s because it’s engrossing, affecting, amusing, and off-the-charts charming. It is directed by actors Stanley Tucci and Campbell Scott, both of whom are in the stellar cast along with Tony Shalhoub, Minnie Driver, Allison Janney, Ian Holm, and Isabella Rossellini. “Big Night” looks in on an Italian immigrant brothers (Tucci and Shalhoub) struggling as restaurateurs in New Jersey in the 1950s. The title refers to the desperately planned special evening in honor of jazz celebrity Louis Prima, intended to score valuable publicity for the failing eatery. But the intended feast of a lifetime does not go as smoothly as hoped, even though the courses that come out to the guests are fabulously mouth-watering, each more lavish and irresistible than the last one. So don’t show up hungry.

RATATOUILLE (G, 2007)

Who says that food flicks must be live-action? Certainly not Pixar, the animation studio that produced inspired writer-director Brad Bird’s comedy gem that won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature Film. The protagonist is a rat named Remy, who gets separated from his family in the French countryside and ends up working in a restaurant in Paris, where his gastronomic skills turn him into a local celebrity as a gourmet chef. What makes the film such a delight to watch are the vivid characters and the sly sense of sophisticated humor. But what makes it such a wondrous technical cinematic achievement is the amazing attention to detail, especially during the numerous scenes featuring food preparation, food consumption, and food celebration. So, yes, this is another film that, despite its calling card as a feature-length ’toon, will definitely make you hungry. Plus, you get to root for a rat, right? Enjoy.