"food movies" news and stories

"I Am Love" may be the best food movie in years. But it's not the food porn you might expect.

"I Am Love," Italian director Luca Guadagnino's strange, beautiful film is set in modern-day Milan but, from the first strains of composer John Adams' tense score and 1950s-style credits, it evokes the melodramas of an earlier era, nodding to masters like Hitchcock and Sirk. Tilda Swinton, who co-produced the film, also stars as Emma Recchi, the Russian wife of a wealthy Italian textile maker. She falls in love with a young chef, Antonio, who happens to be the friend and business partner of her son. This being melodrama, the romance comes at a heavy price.

So what does all of this have to do with food? Nothing – and everything. A crimson arabesque of prawns sets the affair in motion, and later a delicate fish broth will lead to the plot's unraveling. These dishes are exquisitely created by Milanese chef Carlo Cracco and photographed by Yorick Le Saux but they make only brief appearances. Their true force comes from the direction and virtuoso performances.

In honor of the upcoming Oscars, Cooksden has created its own Culinary Cinema awards. Categories include "Best On-Screen Feast," "Sexiest Food Movie," "Best Food Documentary," "Best Restaurant Industry Movie," "Funniest Food Movie," "Most Disturbing Food Movie," and "Best Leading Actor/Actress in a Food Movie." Nominees for the big award, "Best Food Movie," include Big Night, Chocolat, Eat Drink Man Woman, La Graine et le Mulet, Tampopo, Babette's Feast, Ratatouille, and The Scent of Green Papaya. Check out the site to see the results.

Personally, I think Like Water for Chocolate - the movie that had thousands of home cooks attempting to make quail in rose petal sauce - should have been in the running. What's your favorite food flick?

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Last week, someone brought up the movie Babette's Feast in conversation. I was immediately swept back to the first time I saw it. I was 12 or 13 and it was a Saturday night. My mom had heard good things about it and so checked it out from the local library. We settled down on the couch in the family room to watch it and were completely swept away. I remember that at one point we paused VCR (ah, the good old days) in order to run to the kitchen and make tea. We weren't regular tea drinkers, its just that the film, with it's chilly, windswept settings and visuals of tea poured from pots, made us long to be holding steaming mugs of our own.

Thinking about that movie got me thinking about other food movies and as luck would have it, Cinematical just recently put together a list of seven movies that appeal to the foodie in all of us. Oddly, Babette's Feast (or Tampopo for that matter) isn't on the list, but I heartily approve of all the other offerings (although I recommend that you make sure you get Mostly Martha and steer clear of the American version, No Reservations). If you're looking for film that will inspire you and make you just a little bit hungry, this list is an excellent starting place.

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The last thing on your mind once you slowly slip into a food coma after the Big Feast tomorrow is getting up and doing anything active. In my family, it invites all kinds of things like the same stories from relatives, arguments, and questions from Mom and Dad about each of our plans for our futures. The best thing for my sanity, then, is to pop in a DVD to keep everyone quiet and entertained. While there are plenty of movies out there, we at Slashfood are, naturally, particularly fond of movies that have to do with food. Blogger Sean Timberlake has compiled a list of his favorite food movies, some of which are pictured above (each box links to Sean's review).

There are a few more on his list, but what are your favorites? Or are we just overdoing it a little, since the last thing you want to do after stuffing yourself is watching someone else do it on the screen for another two hours?

If you've ever had the pleasure of renting Spanish director Luis Buñuel's The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie, you'll understand exactly why this is another Food Movie We Love.

What's so "charming" about this film is that it basically lacks a plot or a narrative structure. In fact, the whole 102 minutes of this film center around a single, simple conceit: the thwarted dinner party. With a cast of snooty French citizens and a surrealist ax to grind, Bruñuel takes the viewer on a wild, winding trip through the absurd distractions in the everyday life of the French bourgeosie.

Just don't try to watch it on an empty stomach...