The French countryside, circa 1885. Not only is the provincial gentleman Dodin Bouffant a renowned gourmet, but he can also boast of having one of the best – if not the best – restaurants in the country. If Dodin has a remarkable mastery of the culinary arts, it is nothing compared to the prodigious gifts that Eugénie, his cook and above all the love of his life, has developed. Also in love with Dodin, Eugénie is no less independent of mind, so she has always refused the first’s marriage proposals. Winner of the Best Director Award at Cannes, The passion of Dodin Bouffantby Trân Anh Hùng, proves to be as rich on a gourmet level as on that of feelings.
Adapting a novel by Marcel Rouff, the director of The smell of papaya green (Caméra d’Or in Cannes) and Cyclo (Golden Lion in Venice) thus merges gastronomic and romantic appetites. Of course, the idea is not in itself new, the stomach and the heart having long been associated with cinema, often in the register of romantic comedy.
Without adopting a serious tone, well not in the first part, The passion of Dodin Bouffant is more of a drama, but a solar drama. Moreover, light plays a crucial role in the film. Very careful, the photo direction of Jonathan Ricquebourg (The death of Louis XIV) bathes the many scenes in the mansion’s kitchen in a golden, slightly vaporous light.
The effect produced is similar to a master oil painting painting that has come to life. For the record, beautiful chiaroscuros readily evoke Auguste Renoir, contemporary painter of action.
As for the award-winning production by Trân Anh Hùng, it summons, here and there, the memory of the other’s son, namely the filmmaker Jean Renoir, whose masterpiece Country party takes place in 1860.
The difference is that Trân Anh Hùng’s film has a movement of its own. The opening sequence in the kitchen announces in this regard the approach that will subsequently be favored. Using a very flexible camera, as if in weightlessness, the filmmaker glides through space, capturing each of the expert gestures of Eugénie and company, gracefully establishing the choreographic nature of the culinary activity.
In the main roles, Benoît Magimel and Juliette Binoche share a moving complicity, they who once formed a couple in the city.
One dish too many
Of course, not everything works in the scenario. The romantic part, looking like a hesitation waltz against a greedy background, is very on point, or rather, very on point. On the other hand, the subplot concerning the preparations of a future meal for some passing foreign prince remains unfinished and is similar to that extra dish which sometimes spoils a fine meal.
A note, in closing: chosen to represent France in the race for the Oscar for best international film, while everyone expected that this honor would go to the winner of the Palme d’or, Anatomy of a fallby Justine Triet, The passion of Dodin Bouffant was skinned in the process. Some denounce political revenge, Justine Triet having given a very critical speech in Cannes to the Minister of Culture, Rima Abdul-Malak.
Maybe it is, maybe not, no matter how superior Anatomy of a fall (read our five-star review). In any case, if there was injustice, it is neither the fault of Trân Anh Hùng nor that of his lovely film. As is, The passion of Dodin Bouffant provides a pleasant feeling of emotional and visual satiation.