It’s a tradition that I watch Juliette Binoche at most film festivals I attend. Thankfully the prolific thespian often chooses her projects wisely and this one is scrumptious. Even as someone who’s not really into Haute French cuisine, the splendid way the food and cooking are shot in this film definitely whet my appetite.

It’s a good thing I didn’t go into this film with an empty stomach. It would be pure torture to watch the long takes of Binoche’s Eugénie gathering ingredients from the garden, prepping and cooking a delectable gourmet dish in the sprawling rustic 19th-century kitchen. Written and directed by French Vietnamese filmmaker Trần Anh Hùng, this is easily the most sensuous film of the year, tantalizing your sense of taste and smell as delectably, if not more so, than most food documentaries. Yet The Taste of Things (The Pot-au-Feu), isn’t so much about food as it is about Eugenie and her relationship with an esteemed chef Dodin Bouffant (Benoît Magimel) whom she’s been working for the last 20 years.

Set in 1885 France, there is a synergy to how Eugénie and Dodin craft each meal, it’s a delicate ‘dance’ if you will, done gracefully with hardly any word spoken. There aren’t many hands in the kitchen, mostly Eugenie and the housemaid Violette (Galatea Bellugi) and Eugénie’s niece, Pauline (Bonnie Chagneau-Ravoire). The film deliberately forgoes any music scores playing, we’re instead treated to the natural sounds of the stove, the clanging of pots and pans, kettle boiling, etc. So while there’s no composer credited, the film sure has an excellent sound department and foley artists.

Binoche is a charismatic actress with a formidable screen presence, even when she barely said much in this movie. Yet there’s an understated but sweet chemistry between Eugénie and her boss/lover Dodin who trusts her unconditionally. There’s a mutual respect between the two, even Dodin’s privileged friends admire Eugénie and her cooking, judging from their ‘umms, ooh-aahs’ expressions after they consume her fine food.

While Dodin is the boss, Eugénie practically runs the kitchen and she’s in control of what goes on there. Fiercely independent, she’s not rushing to marry Dodin who clearly longs to make their relationship official. I love the scene where the role is reversed for once, as Dodin makes a romantic gesture by cooking for Eugénie.

Based on Marcel Rouff’s 1924 novel The Passion of Dodin Bouffant, Hùng made some adjustments in his script by boosting the female character Eugénie. In fact, I feel that this story is as much about her as it is about Dodin. I realized after seeing the film that Binoche and Magimel were romantic partners for five years and had a child together, it must’ve been interesting on set but they managed to make the relationship believable on screen.

Fans of French cinema and/or foodie movies should definitely seek this one out. I have to say that the slow pacing and the nearly 2.5-hour running time might dissuade some from experiencing this. It’s a shame though because there are plenty to savor here and the vivid culinary scenes are quite hypnotic. There’s something so beguiling about the deliberate pacing that makes you really pay attention and simply delight in what’s being presented before you instead of rushing from one to the next. Quel film délicieux!

Have you seen The Taste of Things? I’d love to hear what you think!