The 7 Best Foodie Films (IMHO)

August 22, 2016

Last week the #fav7films hashtag trended. Interestingly enough, when I was done ranking my favorite movies ever, I found that there was not a single food-centric film in the bunch, realizing that my fave foodie flicks warranted their own list. So, presenting… my #fav7films (the food version). And I tried really, really hard not to include any spoilers.

 

1. Babette’s Feast (1987)

 

 

Our heroine Babette flees violence in France and seeks refuge in a remote Scandinavian village, where she subsists in indentured servitude for a pair of puritanical spinsters. Along with the community, they live a simple, god-worshipping existence where daily meals are as bland as the bleak, desolate setting.

Until Babette wins 10,000 francs in a lottery and splurges it all on a decadent supper (with wine pairings!) The seven-course meal flaunts a sophisticated parade of exotic fare including turtle soup, caviar, foie gras, truffle, quail and – gasp! – champagne.

I have wanted to sit at this kind of luscious dinner ever since I saw this movie. I still dream of putting one together someday… Once I get over the idea of having to cook turtle meat, if it’s even obtainable. The diners’ reactions are deliciously priceless and a testament to the transformative power of food. You can’t call yourself a foodie until you’ve seen this film.

 

2. Ratatouille (2007)

 

 

I’m going to presume, dear reader, that you have watched this movie at least (AT LEAST!) twice in your lifetime so that I don’t have to explain why it’s so goshdarned great. It should be a given that you love it too, unless you’re a robot. And even then I’m pretty sure robots would rank it among their favorites too. What’s not to love? Only the collective genius, creative power and bankroll of the Disney-Pixar machine could execute this clever story of a (talking) country rat with a gourmet palate who befriends and trains a lonely, awkward dishwasher to become a culinary force in Paris.

There’s action, intrigue, deception, romance, whimsy! And a wildly satisfying climax that gives gravitas to what might have otherwise been just another fun-for-the-whole-family flick: that scene with Ego is one of the most philosophical and humane scenes in animated movie history (IMHO) and still tickles my soul to this day.

 

 

 

3. Like Water for Chocolate (1992)

 

 

Como Agua para Chocolate (its original Spanish title) tells the fantastical story of Tita, the youngest of three daughters, forced to serve her suppressive mother on a ranch in 19th-century Mexico while her oldest sister marries the love of her life. It’s a story of all kinds of love: unrequited, persistent, forgiving, explosive, and even dysfunctional. Oh, but can Tita cook! And when she cooks, her emotions transfer to the food and then to those who consume it (a conceit that the Sarah Michelle Gellar flop Simply Irresistible failed miserably to replicate.) This is the kind of film that asks the viewer to suspend disbelief – I mean, reallllly suspend it – and just come along for the ride.

 

4. Eat Drink Man Woman (1994)

 

 

Ang Lee deftly tells this twisty story of a semi-retired Master Chef (Chu) and his three daughters as they navigate life in modern, evolving Taiwan. (Don’t be fooled by Fox and Gordon Ramsey’s joke of a reality show; in real culinary circles, “Master Chef” is a title that isn’t easily acquired.) Family tradition calls for a gloriously elaborate Sunday supper, prepared by Chu in a scrumptious, captivating opening sequence that is a master class in knife cuts and technique. If you are serious about food, this is mandatory viewing.

 

5. Chef (2014)

This is easily Jon Favreau’s most enjoyable movie since Swingers. But let me tell you a story so you’ll understand why this movie is on this list and Burnt isn’t.

If you’ve read some of my Culinary Tales posts, you’d know that I kept my full-time job while I attended culinary school in the evenings. One of my classmates was similarly employed, in a full-time tech job no less, and we had agonized about how the hell we were going to satisfy the internship requirement: minimum 30 hours per week for three months (essentially a full-time culinary gig.) Jonathan had proposed that our best bet was to set up a food truck; mind you, this was in early 2008 just before the Great Gourmet Food Truck Explosion, before the economy crashed, before I found myself unemployed… Not that it mattered because Jonathan dropped out.

A year later, food trucks were a thing; how I wished that Jonathan and I had embarked on that endeavor! But I kept the dream alive, hoping that someday – someday! – I could quit the corporate life for good and start that damned food truck business.

In 2013, after losing tens of thousands of my own money in a failed (non-food-truck) culinary venture, I went back to my old advertising career, finding work as a social media producer. By this time, Facebook and Twitter had blown up and social media was a burgeoning industry (Vine, Instagram and Snapchat were about to have their turn.) This brave new world of open-sharing thoughts, life and silly duckfaces gave me a renewed sense of purpose and I actually found my job fun again. Sure, I was making less than I used to but at least I didn’t have to go home smelling of grease and burnt meat.

This movie is pretty much my professional life and my fantasy life having a love child and I ate up every charming second of it.

 

6. The Hundred-Foot Journey (2014)

 

 

I try to stay away from anything that has Oprah’s name on it, not because I dislike Oprah (she’s an inspiration) but because I prefer not to be like everyone else. (I’m an insufferable elitist sometimes.) But the draw of Helen Mirren in a foodie film was just too great to resist.

The Hundred-Foot Journey doesn’t tell a new story – it even has a girl chef helping out a talented boy chef à la Ratatouille – but it doesn’t need to. I laughed, I cried, then laughed again. And then cried a little more. In one of my favorite scenes, it addresses racism in an exquisite way that allows Mirren’s character to remain authentic. Just like classic French cuisine, this movie takes what’s been done before and simply does it well.

 

7. Big Night (1996)

 

A lot of film fans put this as their #1 food movie. I also happen to think that a lot of those fans are male and, I suspect, rank this highly because Isabella Rossellini is in it. Big Night is about two Italian brothers, Primo and Secondo (cute, riiiight?), whose last-ditch effort to save their failing restaurant is hosting a grandiose dinner party for a famous musician. Cue the accordions, wild hand gestures, (intentionally comedic) over-dramatic flourishes and-a very thick-a accents to de point-e of-a caricature-ay, subplots of adultery and subterfuge, with a generous sprinkling of sumptuous Italian food… and you’ve got the recipe for a food movie with mass appeal. I enjoyed it immensely anyway.

Side note: this might be the year I finally get around to making that timpano.

 

Honorable Mentions: Julie & Julia (2009), Jiro Dreams of Sushi (2011)

 

 

Julie & Julia might actually have made the top seven if it was solely about Julia Child. Meryl Streep was her usual flawless self in a spot-on portrayal of one of the world’s most beloved cooking icons and pioneers. But I could have done without the cloying Julie narrative.

 

 

After I posted this list on Facebook, my friend Wendy asked why it didn’t include Jiro Dreams of Sushi. I ranked it lower on account of it being a documentary (because if we’re considering non-fiction work, then every single one of Anthony Bourdain’s shows would have to be listed too. Plus City of Gold for that matter.) But Jiro has its merits, giving us a refined look at the art of sushi-making that’s as much about sushi as it is about a passion for food.

 

So there you go. Time to update that Netflix queue.

 

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