Mark Kermode reviews The Taste of Things – Kermode and Mayo’s Take

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The story of Eugenie, an esteemed cook, and Dodin, the fine gourmet who she has been working for over the last 20 years.

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Tell us about something else that you might want to go and see in your local ockland three chair hair salon the taste of things AKA The Passion of doin Buon aka the poter fur historical culinary romance drama from Vietnamese born French film writer and director Tran anung set in 1885 taking inspiration

From the novel Lai alion D doin bang gouret brackets the passionate Epicure by Swiss author Marcel rof I just gone through every literally just wanted to make sure I got everything there and have offended many of Europe many languages so uh Ben maim is D the gong

Who has dedicated his life to Dreaming up culinary magic Juliet BOS is Eugene who’s the cook who works with the Gourmet making his delicious dreamings come true so she actually you know she does the the actual work of it he he he he thinks the stuff up the the two have

Been together in the kitchen for years they are also together in the bedroom although she resists his many proposals of marriage so they spend their days making mouthwatering dishes and also teaching the young the wonders of the pallet as in this scene in which because you won’t hear this and also it’s it’s

It’s in forign it’s on France essentially what he’s doing is giving a young person a a spoonful of a sauce and saying tell me what you taste no you goodat and as those ingredients are being named we see flashback so it’s um mushrooms ribs mushrooms ribs smoked

Bacon uh red bell peppers so as they’re being named we see that’s to to to a kid she has amazing eyes yeah I know I know and um and an amazing palette if that’s if that part of the story is is true because what’s happening is she’s and

That scene then goes on there are many many more ingredients that are being identified almost the entire movie plays out in the the the so confines of of a cooking area so we begin with a meal being made that is almost almost in real time now I am as you know a pescatarian

Or is um Richard Hy calls it a fish and hypocrite but I’m sitting there watching this these meaty dishes being made and I it’s just your every part of you is just salivating because the fact is there is something about cooking being captured on film that has some kind of pavlovian

Response I mean there are many films that have done this but this does it rather well did make you think I could do some gringham duck no okay you only get paid once for that song you know how that how that works anyway meanwhile Juliet BOS has the kind of movie illness

That allows you to occasionally faint but look fabulous although we know you know and the kind of movie you can say it’s nothing and we all know it’s not nothing it’s consumption almost right exactly so what’s up no no I’ve just got a bit of no you haven’t you’re not going

To make it past the third act um so the drama is on the one hand sort of you know pushing all those buttons about look at this food look at these ingredients look at the stuff that’s going in look at the care look at the look at the presentation look at look at

The people enjoying the at one point actually what happens is so all the way through their relationship you know she has cooked for him and as her situation starts to change he cooks for her and he says at one point may I watch you eat which in any other movie would seem

Profoundly weird but actually in this seems deeply romantic and of course their romance is expressed through their relationship of cooking at one point she actually says to him you know am I because they’re not married says am I your have I been your cook or your wife

And the answer is embedded in the in in the thing of the film um there’s a lot of philosophy of food the fact that the the food has to have a narrative you know that the the way in which the the flavors come together there has to be a

Narrative to it and I’m watching it thinking yeah this is all that’s all great although you know I don’t you know I will literally do like you know bit of fish bit of vegetable bit of thing bit of sauce bang because I but it’s it’s

Like wine taste ing when I you know I like a glass of wine but I’m never going to be somebody who can you know have a something say oh yes I’m getting top notes of of Albany and I’m getting wheelbarrows of elephant dung or whatever else it is that’s always what I

Always what you a glass of Sav wheel bearers around but you know I thought it was fun it was France’s entry for the um for the Oscars it was shortlisted which is not a surprise um it is I I say this my dad would have loved

It my dad would have absolutely loved it because it’s you know it’s about romance expressed through food and it’s about the way in which people don’t say things the way which they do I mean I I don’t think it’s a film that’s going to live

With me much I mean like like the thing itself the meal was lovely and then it was gone out of my head but it you know it was done with a kind of with a relish and it is poignant and you do get to like and know the characters and I mean

I love J be in absolutely everything anyway were there any slimy C cucumbers in there there was no slimy incidentally I got a I got a um a text from Jay Raina after last last week’s show went out he went update it is worse than stroming oh

So he’s tried S stroming as well yeah he his wor so that’s the the absolute definitive thing that’s it slimy salt salt roasted no I didn’t roasted but it was salted something salt fermented Sal fermented SE cucumber is worse we’ve got we’ve got some in take two there’s some

Stuff which is taking it a little stage further which is might turn your stomach but anyway so yes as my punch line now that you salt fermented C cucumber is worse than stroming but the taste of things is better well thank heavens for that Thank Heavens For That