Food in Film
Food has often been essential to cinema. A catalyst which brings people together, it can be used for dramatic confrontation, as a comic device or even a metaphor for the meaning of life. Preparing, presenting and consuming food can evoke a mood that is sumptuous, homely, seductive, disgusting or just plain funny. Eloquent in conveying complex messages, food is a perfect vehicle for expressing the subtext in drama and comedy and for revealing intricate aspects about class, emotional states or gender. Sometimes, as in the movies "Babette's Feast" and "Tampopo", it is the real star. In this compilation below, we take the high ground and take a wide view of the social and symbolic meaning of food in film..
Right: Scene from Gabriel Axel's triumphant "Babette's Feast".
A Year in Champagne (2014)
6.5/10
Director: David Kennard
With renowned wine importer Martine Saunier as our guide, we get a rare glimpse behind the scenes into the real Champagne through six houses, from sma... Read more
Alive (1993)
7.1/10
Director: Frank Marshall
Starring: Ethan Hawke, Vincent Spano, Josh Hamilton
Stirring true-life adventure saga about the horrific 1972 plane crash in the Andes Mountains where, after struggling against the elements and on the v... Read more
Apron Strings (2008)
6.6/10
Director: Sima Urale
Starring: Laila Rouass, Scott Wills, Jennifer Ludlam, Nathan Whitaker, Leela Patel, Peter...
Samoan-born Aucklander Sima Urale makes her feature debut with this light-hearted, multi-cultural family drama exploring the fine line between motheri... Read more
Au Petit Marguery (1997)
7/10
Director: Laurent Benegui
Starring: Stephane Audran, Michel Aumont, Alain Beigel
The restaurant Au Petit Marguery is a haven of friendship, a small paradise in Paris. Tonight a certain nostalgia fills the air. Tonight is closing ni... Read more
Babette's Feast (1987)
7.8/10
Director: Gabriel Axel
Starring: Stephane Audran, Jean-Philippe Lafont, Jarl Kulle
Awarded the Best Foreign Language film of 1987 by the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences. Stephane Audran is Babette, an exiled French cook-... Read more
Big Night (1996)
7.3/10
Director: Campbell Scott, Stanley Tucci
Starring: Ian Holm, Isabella Rossellini, Minnie Driver, Stanley Tucci, Tony Shalhoub
An impeccably crafted, endearing story of Italian immigrant brothers trying to survive as restauranteurs in 1950's America. Isabella Rossellini, Ian H... Read more
Big Night (Blu-ray) (1996)
7.3/10
Director: Campbell Scott, Stanley Tucci
Starring: Ian Holm, Isabella Rossellini, Minnie Driver, Stanley Tucci, Tony Shalhoub
An impeccably crafted, endearing story of Italian immigrant brothers trying to survive as restauranteurs in 1950's America. Isabella Rossellini, Ian H... Read more
Blind Ambition (2021)
7.9/10
Director: Warwick Ross
Four Zimbabwean men form their country's first Wine Tasting Olympics team. Read more
Breaking Bread (2020)
7.8/10
Dr. Nof Atamna-Ismaeel - the first Muslim Arab to win Israel's MasterChef - is on a quest to make social change through food. And so, she founded the... Read more
Burnt (2015)
6.6/10
Director: John Wells
Starring: Bradley Cooper, Sienna Miller, Omar Sy, Daniel Bruhl, Matthew Rhys, Uma Thurman,...
Chef Adam Jones (Bradley Cooper) had it all and lost it. A two-star Michelin rockstar with the bad habits to match, the former enfant terrible of th... Read more