French-Vietnamese director Tran Anh Hung's latest film, The Taste of Things, starring Juliette Binoche and Benoît Magimel, is a sumptuous drama set in the 1880s at a French country chateau. Binoche plays Eugénie, a celebrated cook, and Magimel plays Dodin, a gourmand who is both her employer and long-term lover. The film explores their tender relationship through the art of cooking.
The opening sequence is notable for its audacious length: 35 minutes dedicated to the meticulous preparation and consumption of a feast, much of it without dialogue. This slow, immersive approach allows viewers to understand the effortless intimacy between Eugénie and Dodin, as they move around the kitchen with a shared understanding.
Unlike many films that focus on new love or dramatic breakups, The Taste of Things depicts a well-worn, enduring love between an older couple. Dodin describes them as being in the autumn of their lives, while Eugénie prefers to think of herself in permanent summer. Their relationship is conducted on Eugénie's terms, as she gently declines his repeated marriage proposals over the years.
The film draws parallels between the sensual experiences of food and those of the flesh. Tran, known for his earlier film The Scent of Green Papaya, emphasises the coital grunts of gratification as Dodin and his friends savour a now-outlawed delicacy. Despite its seemingly conventional period setting, the film defies expectations with its radical pacing and unconventional love story, making it a standout contender that was France's Oscar submission for the international category.
