In the United States, she is one of those rare larger-than-life people who can only be identified by their first name. Normal, Julia Child has, for more than five decades, nourished America with her books and her television shows.
In the early 2000s, New York writer Julie Powell wrote a blog that became so popular that screenwriter and filmmaker Nora Ephron made it into the movie. Julie and julia, starring Amy Adams, Meryl Streep and Stanley Tucci as her inseparable husband Paul.
If the film was entertaining and entertaining (we have fond memories of it), the documentary offered here is most informative. And this, despite its classic, formatted narrative structure.
We are indeed offered a linear and chronological documentary, from the character’s birth to death. The story is based on a succession of archive sequences added to comments, numerous, of relatives, friends and great leaders, captured today. Julia Child’s voiceover is sometimes heard in support of the images. The good old trick of overprinting written material (extracts from correspondence, recipes, etc.) completes the picture.
The two filmmakers, however, had the great idea of transforming some period sequences shot in black and white into the most appetizing color shots. This idea of staging is charming and perfectly matches the subject.
Furthermore, the selected archive footage is compelling, informative and often funny. Tall and with a voice recognizable among a thousand, Julia Child was very theatrical in her presentations. Cheerful, inhabited, able to profit from her mistakes made live, she had an infectious love of food. Late night talk show hosts loved him.
The film also touches on her private life, including the role she played during World War II and her political migration from a very Republican family to a Democratic couple formed with her husband Paul Cushing Child.
Finally, we strongly suggest that you stay until the end of the credits to… savor the moment!
Julia is presented in theaters in the original English version only.
Documentary
Julia
Julie Cohen and Betsy West
With Phila Cousins, Jacques Pépin and Ruth Reichl
1 h 35