Well, we did it. We have reached the end of another year, and the holiday season is upon us. The onset of the holiday season signals many things, including delicious, seasonal food. Whether doing a Friendsgiving potluck, a good holiday dinner with your family, volunteering at a food bank, or trying to recreate a cool recipe you found online, the last two months of the year are all about good food and good company.
So, in the spirit of the season, I’ve compiled ten films (and a television show) about the beauty of food and its ability to connect people. Some of the food may be a bit unorthodox, and perhaps some of the connections aren’t the most family-friendly, but isn’t that really in line with the spirit of the season?
Fruit of Paradise (1970)
While Daisies and its cake-filled indulgence is the more well-known of Věra Chytilová’s films, Fruit of Paradise has some delectable sights of its own. Since the film is Chytilová avante-garde retelling of the Garden of Eden, there’s no shortage of stunning fruits and vegetation on screen.
The apples, as to be expected, look particularly scrumptious, but all the produce is so lush. In the third act, a bit of the bourgeois indulgence from Daisies slips in at a fancy dinner party. The hors d’œrves and little cakes look appropriately rich, but, as this is a Garden of Eden re-imagining, the sudden shift to luxury means something nefarious is afoot.
The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie (1972)
Perhaps it’s a bit ironic to put a film where only one character eats on this list, but it’s hard to deny that food is central to Luis Buñuel’s satire. As the title implies, the bourgeoisie and their excess are on full display from their various homes to their dreams made manifest. This group of six delusional “diplomats” spend the duration of the film trying to sit and eat a meal which, for various and increasingly absurd reasons, never materializes. With all the promise of tantalizing and expensive food, the only time we see someone eating is Acosta (Fernando Rey) shoveling leftovers into his mouth. As much as the titular bourgeois want to drown themselves in luxury, everyone is brought down to their baser instincts with the promise of leftovers in the fridge.
Tampopo (1980)
What is there to say about the food in Tampopo that hasn’t been said already? The ramen-eating tutorial alone is probably one of the best food moments in film, and that’s only eight-ish minutes of the two-hour runtime. In Tampopo, food is joy. Although the titular ramen cook (Nobuko Miyamoto) and her ramen shop are the heart and soul of the film, the pleasure of enjoying a good meal with others is all over Tampopo.
The little cutaways are woven throughout focus on food as well: the spaghetti etiquette, the French restaurant business meeting, and the wife rising from the dead to cook her family a final meal. Of course, all the food – especially Tampopo’s ramen – looks appropriately delicious, but that’s not the point. The joys of enjoying a good meal with others, and the new bonds that sharing a meal creates, give Tampopo its unique charm.
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 (1986)
Hear me out! The entirety of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre franchise is built around dinner scenes and seeing how the proverbial “meat” is made. However, the second entry in the franchise really leans into the beauty of a good barbecue, even when the meat isn’t the most ethically sourced. A good portion of the first act revolves around a two-state chili cook-off, won by Leatherface’s (Bill Johnson) big brother Drayton “The Cook” Sawyer (Jim Siedow). And, while there’s no secret that the meat in the chili isn’t bovine in origin, I must admit that award-winning chili looks pretty damn tasty. The family dinner scene, a staple of each Chainsaw film’s third act, may have more bones and less meat, but it’s perhaps as chaotic as most family holiday dinners.
Eat Drink Man Woman (1994)
Obviously THE “Cooking as a Love Language” film had to be here. Eat Drink Man Woman, the finale of Ang Lee’s “Father Knows Best” trilogy, is as much about the purpose of sharing food as it is about the central chef Chu (Lung Sihung) and his family. The opening ten minutes focusing on Chu’s preparation of a Sunday dinner feast sets this up from the get-go: shots and shots of meats, broths, veggies, and dumplings. This sets up the primary function of food in the film: food is love, it is emotion. Food mends the relationship between Chu and Jia-Chen (Wu Chien-len); food builds love between Chu and Jin-Rong (Sylvia Chang); and food — or, rather the expulsion of it — signifies the end of Jia-Chen and Raymond’s (Chan Chit-man) situationship. Food is a relationship in Eat Drink Man Woman, and that’s beautiful.
Ratatouille (2007)
No “food in film” list is complete without Ratatouille, right? Obviously, a film focused on the joys of making and sharing food makes its culinary creations look mouthwatering. The scene of Remy (Patton Oswalt) and Linguini (Lou Romano) cooking the titular dish introduced a new generation of people to French cuisine; six-year-old me and twenty-three-year-old me both crave ratatouille the same. But all the food in the film looks particularly yummy. The first omelet Remy and Linguini make as a duo, the visuals of Remy creating different food combinations in his head, and even the copious amounts of red wine are mouthwatering. And, like many of the other films on this list, part of what makes the food so tasty is the intent behind it; just as Chef Gusteau says: “Anyone can cook.” Remy wants to spread the joys of culinary creation to his family, and he forms a beautiful partnership with Linguini because of it.
Jiro Dreams of Sushi (2011)
No film quite epitomizes “food as art” (for better or worse) more than Jiro Dreams of Sushi. A documentary following master sushi chef Jiro Ono documents the meticulous process of creating his intricately-made dishes; director David Gelb, who has perfected shooting food, makes sure viewers understand why Sukibayashi Jiro earned its three Michelin stars. His two sons, one who seeks to follow his father and the other who entered the world of modern fine dining, are equally as dedicated to the craft. The varied approaches to creating sushi and the sons’ interpretations of their father’s legacy add a welcome underlayer to the documentary. The idea of food as a legacy follows Jiro and his sons throughout. This family is so dedicated to the craft of creating sushi, and it shines in every frame.
Monster Seafood Wars (2020)
While massive seafood-based kaiju is really stretching the parameters of this list, Monster Seafood Wars does have the distinction of making me, a long-time vegetarian, crave calamari. I don’t have a deep, philosophical musing on the power of food as a way to build or sustain bonds with this one; it just made me unreasonably hungry after I watched it. The film’s premise, that a former scientist and current sushi chef is recruited to defeat genetically enhanced giant sea creatures, sounds hilarious. The film has all the charm of the Heisei-era Godzilla canon, making the food-based action all the more entertaining. But the blending of science and sushi takes the film in a perfectly absurd if predictable direction: monster meat’s on the menu. And, for whatever reason, the monster meat looks more delicious than it has any right to.
The Menu (2022)
Again, it’s impossible to write a “food in film” list without mentioning The Menu. Director Mark Mylod and screenwriter Will Tracy put painstaking effort into replicating the absurdity of fine dining culture, including hiring Michelin-star chef Dominique Crenn to consult on the culinary creations. I may have zero knowledge of fine dining, but I will say I left the theater hungry for quesadillas. The stunning food is also shot beautifully since David Gelb of Jiro Dreams of Sushi, funnily enough, also served as the second-unit director. So, obviously, all the food in The Menu looks appropriately over-stylized and horrifically pricey (with the notable exception of “Tyler’s Bullshit,” the mess concocted by the worst man in the movie Tyler, played by Nicholas Hoult). Although Chef Slowik (Ralph Fiennes) creates highly conceptual, curated dining experiences, his love for the craft is gone. He hates the business but loves the craft enough to die for it. It’s not quite an “eat the rich” film, in a literal sense at least, but Slowik and his customers certainly get their just desserts.
Dungeon Meshi (2024)
How could I dare write a listicle about food-forward media without mentioning Dungeon Meshi? Ryoko Kui’s take on a Dungeons and Dragons-style adventure, adapted beautifully by Studio Trigger, loves food as much as its co-protagonist, Laios Touden, himself. Food as a means of survival is paramount to surviving the titular dungeon; starvation is just as fatal as the beasts. But, with a cook like the legend and icon Senshi in the party, food becomes more than just a practicality. Laios’ fixation on learning what all flora and fauna taste like helps in that regard as well; after all, the Living Armor or a succubus are a lot less scary when they’re seen as a full-course meal or potential Hot Succubus milk. While pretty much everything on this list is a film that I had to have at least one snack while watching, Dungeon Meshi was a mealtime staple for me and my friends earlier this year.
List Courtesy of Red Broadwell
Image from ‘The Menu’ (2022); Credit to Searchlight Pictures via Variety
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