Get ready to indulge in the warmest color in Tràn Anh Hùng’s delectable movie, The Pot Au Feu. This film is a highly watchable Aga saga that will transport you to a world of artful, charming, and non-boat-rockingly old-school storytelling. You might even wonder, in a non-ironic way, what Lasse Hallström has been up to lately.
Set in late-19th century France, The Pot Au Feu is loosely based on Marcel Rouffe’s 1924 novel The Passionate Epicure, depicting scenes from the life of the fictional bon viveur Dodin Bouffant. Bouffant, played by the excellent Benoît Magimel, is a gastronome without equal, living with his personal cook/lover Eugénie (Juliette Binoche). He seems to do little other than organize weekend feasts for his salivating circle of friends.
If you’re a foodie, this film will be right up your Michelin-starred boulevard, since almost everything here is conveyed through food-based allegories and metaphors. But don’t worry, there’s plenty of time to ponder the characters’ lives and motivations as Bouffant and Eugénie perform their chaste, middle-aged courtship.
Into the gap between them comes Pauline, the young niece of their housekeeper Violette, a precocious talent who not only picks up on their almost telepathic wavelength but impresses them with her palate. The plot, such as it is, clarifies rather than thickens. Bouffant’s reputation as “The Napoleon of culinary arts” attracts the interest of the prince of Eurasia, who invites him and his crew to a lavish meal.
Despite the obviousness of its storyline, and the admirably one-note nature of the telling of it, The Pot Au Feu somehow succeeds as a celebration of the senses. The beautifully handled treatment of cookery as both poetry and performance art is most affecting, and it easily overshadows the dangerously high-cholesterol love story that it seeks to portray.
Don’t miss out on this cinematic feast for the eyes and the taste buds. Catch The Pot Au Feu at Cannes (Competition) and experience the passion of Dodin Bouffant for yourself.
