(A subplot, from which the The Pot-au-Feu takes its English-language title, involves a meal the couple is meant to prepare for the crown prince of Estonia.) With all the pleasures he’s tasted in his life, whether at the stove or behind closed doors, the epicurean Dodin may wind up being tragically denied the one thing he truly desires. The film’s plot, which is rather minimal, hinges on whether Eugénie will eventually say yes to Dodin, and the suspense gradually builds when we learn that she may also be seriously ill. ![]() He wants desperately to marry her, but she’s less sure about that, happy to maintain her independence in a relationship of equal standing. But Dodin, who loves Eugénie as much as he loves the veal loins and freshly caught fish he transforms into legendary plats, knows that she’s as much behind his fame and fortune as he is. In the chateau’s elite private dining room, Dodin serves up a coterie of his benefactors (Emmanuel Salinger, Patrick D’Assumçao, Frédéric Fisbach and Jan Hammenecker), all of them male, while Eugénie and her trusty helper, Violette (Galatea Bellugi), remain confined to the kitchen. (Though vegetarians be forewarned: This film may not be for you.) The food stylings are courtesy of the movie’s “gastronomic manager,” Pierre Gagnaire, and “culinary adviser” Michel Nave, a pair of Michelin three-star chefs who worked together for decades and add plenty of verisimilitude to the dishes. The opening sequence, which lasts for a full reel and has almost no dialogue, features Eugénie (Binoche), the right-hand woman of top chef Dodin (Magimel), cooking a jaw-dropping multicourse meal that will definitely get your mouth watering. Viewers are advised not to walk in on an empty stomach. This is a movie where style counts as much as substance, where style is substance, and while Anh Hùng and cinematographer Jonathan Ricquebourg indulge us with lots of pretty pictures, they’re doing it for a reason. Set almost entirely in the picturesque rustic kitchen of a chateau circa 1885, with a few excursions to the dining room, bedroom and neighboring vegetable patch, The Pot-au-Feu was adapted from Marcel Rouff’s 1924 novel by Anh Hùng, a Vietnamese-born director who’s lived in France for most of his life - his 1993 breakout feature, The Scent of Green Papaya, was shot on a Paris soundstage - and whose strong sense of craft seems perfectly suited to the material. ![]() Slowly but skillfully paced, it’s filled with highbrow talk of wine pairings, the perfect sauce bourguignonne and the gastronomic legacy of Auguste Escoffier, and yet remains highly watchable - thanks in part to the food itself. Starring former real-life couple Benoît Magimel and Juliette Binoche, who ease into their roles in the kitchen like knives through melted farm-fresh butter, the nearly two-and-a-half-hour drama is certainly skewed toward older audiences, with a dual focus on ambitious haute cuisine creations and the story of two soulmates maturing together both professionally and privately. Venue: Cannes Film Festival (Competition)
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