Eat, Drink, Man, Woman
(Originally Screened January 10, 2019)
Set in Taiwan, Ang Lee’s film tells the story of Mr. Chu, a master chef whose Sunday meals with his three adult daughters are both a joy and a challenge as his traditional values conflict with their modern aspirations. In Mandarin with subtitles. Not Rated 124 minutes, 1994
This film is available on Hoopla.
Mostly Martha
(Originally Screened January 17, 2019)
Ever-precise Martha is the head chef at a French restaurant in Hamburg. All other concerns in her life are secondary, which proves a problem when she is forced to take in her young niece and also get along with a newly arrived and a very out-of-the-box Italian sous-chef. In German with subtitles. PG, 109 minutes, 2001
This film is available on Hoopla.
Jiro Dreams of Sushi
(Originally Screened January 29, 2019)
In this documentary by David Gelb, Jiro Ono is an 85-year-old sushi master whose modest ten-seat restaurant in a Tokyo subway station has been rated with three stars by Michelin. Considered by many to be Japan’s greatest sushi chef, Jiro spends each day finding new ways to perfect his twenty-course tasting menu, and in the process creates a methodical, nuanced universe of cuisine and patrons. In Japanese with subtitles. PG, 81 minutes, 2011
This film is available on Hoopla.
Today’s Special
(Originally Screened February 21, 2019)
Samir is a sous chef in an upscale Manhattan restaurant. Passed over for promotion, he decides to study haute cuisine in Paris, but his father takes sick, obliging him to take charge of his family’s struggling Indian restaurant in Queens. Samir grudgingly comes back to his culture––albeit in a very New York way––with family, food, and romance not far behind. Rated R (for inevitable kitchen profanity) 99 minutes, 2009
This film is available on Hoopla.
Big Night
(Originally Screened February 28, 2019)
In the film that launched their careers, Tony Shaloub and Stanley Tucci are Primo and Secondo, two brothers from Abruzzo who are determined to bring authentic Italian cuisine to the 1950s Jersey Shore. With two very different visions of the American Dream, the brothers struggle with each other as they try to keep their restaurant afloat in spite of the big, loud (and highly successful), red-sauce joint just across the street. Rated R (kitchen profanity and copious amounts of ‘50s smoking), 109 minutes, 1996
The film is available on Kanopy.
Three Stars (Originally Screened March 14, 2019)
For decades, the Michelin Bib Gourmand restaurant guide has been the Holy Bible of Haute Cuisine. Three Stars, a documentary by Lutz Hachmeister, examines ten restaurants that have received Michelin’s iconic top rating. Offering a behind-the-scenes look at celebrity chefs and their high-pressure kitchens in France, Spain, Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark, the USA and Japan, Three Stars ponders what it takes to earn a star, keep a star, and whether the acclaim is a blessing or a burden. Not Rated, 94 minutes, 2009
The film is available on Kanopy.