Saturday, May 22, 2010

Five Food Movies...

Food movies are a recurring theme with food-loving people--which do we like, dislike, what affected us the most? So here, in no particular order, are five food movies I think food lovers will....LOVE.


1. Babette's Feast. I loved the movie enough to twist it slightly for the name of my blog. Babette cooks a bang up meal for a few of the townspeople who she's lived near/with for years. This she does after inheriting money--all of which gets spent on said feast. In the course of the meal more than one puritan realizes that good food can be a revelation all on its own and lead to other epiphanies.

2. Food, Inc. This isn't so much a lovely movie at all as a movie about why we need to understand where our food comes from. I hope everyone sees this and just pays more attention to it all...buys from local farmers...learns what it means to eat in season...appreciate the real flavors of real food.

3. Chocolat...a little bit of magic, a lot of chocolate. This is a sweet (ha) movie that stayed with me.

4. Big Night. Of all movies where food is an integral part of the plot, this one is my all time favorite. Food brings people together, it tears them apart...the final scene of Big Night--wordless--is a masterpiece that wraps up food, love, family.

5. Tampopo: The noodle movie...in Japan, a woman seeks to make the perfect noodle. This is another movie that stayed with me over the years, one I re-watch on a semi-regular basis. Funny and touching...worth the watch.

Bonus movie (because I can't not list this one)--Julie and Julia. Of course we've all heard about it. This blog and movie introduced a new generation to Julia Child. While I've always thought her fabulous, I NEVER owned Mastering the Art of French Cooking...until I was following the blog. Streep is incredible here. I watched this movie twice last summer, both times alone, because I just wanted to SEE it....

Okay. Your turn. Tell me what food movies you love..

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

I loved the pies in "Waitress"...and technically I dont know if we can count "Sideways" but wine IS the food of life..and you have to count Willy Wonka..we all wanted that golden ticket!

Babette said...

Ooh, I loved that movie, too...Oh, I'll count Sideways..and I loved Bottle Shock, too...and YES! Willy Wonka!

Marye said...

Mostly Martha.. the original No Reservations in German. It is so much better than the American version, IMHO. :)

Babette said...

I kept seeing Mostly Martha on lists when I was making links (I'd pull up IMDB ..or was it netflix? And it shows "if you liked that, you might like this..." I'll look that one up, Marye. Thanks.

b

LisaSam said...

Some good recs here for movies I have not seen. Thanks. I liked No Reservations, Waitress, and The Julia part of Julie and Julie. I recently watched Food Inc and while it was hard for me to watch, it has stayed with me. I am shopping more carefully and selecting better quality food and less junk for the kids and myself. It is a challenge on a small budget but we are seeing good results here healthy wise.
Lisa
www.singleparentsavings.wordpress.com

Unknown said...

My short list

Chocolat
Like Water for Chocolate (loved the book better)
Mystic Pizza

I would have never thought to include Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory. Is that the original, or the one with Johnny Depp.

Lynne Daley said...

I loved "Tortilla Soup". It's well worth seeing, especially if you love Mexican food and I do!

Babette said...

Ooh, I'll check out Tortilla Soup. Jackie, Like Water for Chocolate--didn't you want to smack that woman for going after the wrong guy? That said, LOVE the food scenes...the scene that has stayed with me forever is of them having a picnic and just smacking a ripe water melon down on one end and having the rind break off...

LisaSam--I did hesitate to include Food, Inc. but just had too...too important.

Unknown said...

Barb,

You're making me think I need to see the movie again. Another good question to ask: do you have a food scene in your LIFE that would have been good in a movie? Just one scene.

Babette said...

EXECLLENT question, Jackie...I'll have to give that some thought...maybe it's my next post...after the haiku, that is...

blue door garden said...

"Mostly Martha" is wonderful! And "Bottle Shock" was fun as well. My fave is still "Babette's Feast". I love the unfolding of those characters over that amazing dinner.

Anonymous said...

Oh I loved Chocolat! Thanks for making me think of it again!

Michelle Rafter said...

A lot of my favorites have been mentioned, so I'll just add Pieces of April, the indie movie with Katie Holmes playing the young woman who desperately wants to make a good impression on her estranged family by cooking Thanksgiving dinner in her tiny New York apartment.

Unknown said...

Please dont leave out Like Water for Chocolate, the movie that makes the best connection between cooking and emotional catharsis.

Babette said...

Michele, I don't know that one--but I will check it out..

Maribel, that's a favorite of at least one other commenter. I watched it and one scene in particular stayed with me, but the woman drove me nuts! I wanted her to get over that guy already..The friend I saw it with felt the same way!

Thanks for the comments!