The Cinemaniac Corner
Food is not just food. We obviously eat and drink for survival because our body needs proteins, carbohydrates, vitamins, sugars, fats and so on. But we don´t really prepare meals only to feed ourselves. Actually, we cook dishes and we meet at restaurants for so many other social reasons.
Enjoying food is a pleasure we combine with celebrations, romantic encounters, business affairs, free time shared with friends, professional events and many other occasions.
Let me offer you my own menu, a gastro-cinemaniac one to have fun with food and the seventh art at the same time.
For a start (preparing our stomach):
MOSTLY MARTHA (2001)
Here we have a German woman (Martha) who deeply believes she is a master cook working at a famous French restaurant in the city. It happens that her sister dies in an accident, and she has to take charge of her young niece. The girl (Lina) is in a deep depression and, despite Martha’s job, she doesn´t want to eat.
Suddenly, an Italian colleague (Mario) appears at the restaurant. At first, Martha doesn´t like him at all. But, he manages to be Lina´s friend cooking for her.
I would emphasize that this movie goes down very easily, with several comical gags and romantic scenes. But, above all, you enjoy the cooking throughout the whole film, suggesting the great contrast between the boring super- modern German cooking style and Italy
Please appreciate the excellent work by the actor Sergio Castellito and continue sampling this promising menu.
Main dish (plenary salivation):
BABETTE'S FEAST (1987)
I will never forget the first time I tasted this movie by Gabriel Axel. It is such a great combination of beautiful flavours with lots of visual enjoyment of cooking, together with deep considerations and thoughts about cultural differences and religious nuances.
The story is set in the nineteenth century on the Danish coast of
She lives there for almost fourteen years and then suddenly discovers that she has won the lottery. Instead of trying to return to
It is simply a great movie, a masterpiece that also won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.
Dessert (sense satistaction):
LIKE WATER FOR CHOCOLATE (1992)
This love story from Mexico
In accordance with an old tradition, Tita -the third daughter of a well-off family- must remain single in order to take care of her old widowed mother. But she is deeply in love with her boyfriend Pedro.
She tries to solve this thorny conflict by showing her emotions through the language of cooking, and the kitchen becomes a place of freedom and creativity for her. The way she uses to express her feelings to Pedro is through the delicious and succulent dishes she prepares for him. At the same time, Pedro persists in his approaches and desires for Tita.
It is a luscious, sweet and sensuous movie that will please you as completely as a fulfilling desert.
A small after-drink (optional):
RATATOUILLE (2007)
A kind and restful smile is surely going to appear on your face with this intelligent Disney-Pixar creation. This full-length digital animated film offers three especially nice sips in my opinion.
Firstly, an incredible recreation of a French restaurant with its typical recipes –one of them is the one that gives name to the entire story and to the poor rat-, and the beautiful realistic views of
The second feature is the friendly relationship between the kitchen assistant Alfredo Linguini and our main character, Remy the rat. They both symbiotically help each other in their lofty aim of becoming top chefs. And both are also rejected at the beginning of the story -Linguini by the trainee cook Colette and Remy by the members of his mousy family, who can´t understand his dreams-.
Lastly, let’s not forget the story itself, of the struggle for survival of the restaurant of the late great chef Auguste Gusteau, and the sinister culinary critic Anton Ego, whose newspaper review can spoil everything.
Not only for childish tastes, that´s for sure.
Bon appétit!
The Thanksgiving Turkey
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