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".
The Dinner Game (1998)
Director: Francis Veber
Starring: Thierry Lhermitte, Jacques Villeret, Daniel Prevost, Alexandra Vandernoot
Laughter is the main course in this acclaimed Gallic farce. Snide publisher Thierry Lhermitte delights in attending dinner parties where he and his so... Read more
Dinner Rush (2001)
7.3/10
Director: Bob Giraldi
Starring: Eduardo Ballerini, Sandra Bernhard, Mark Margolis, Vivian Wu, Danny Aiello
For New York restauranteur Danny Aiello, a conflict with his son over turning the family bistro's menu from traditional Italian fare to nouvelle cuisi... Read more
The Last Supper (1995)
6.8/10
Director: Stacy Title
Starring: Cameron Diaz, Ron Eldard, Annabeth Gish, Courtney B Vance, Bill Paxton, Nora Dun...
Darkly comic satire in which five liberal graduate students share their weekly dinner together with a racist red neck who threatens them. After they k... Read more
Zombie Flesh Eaters (1979)
Director: Lucio Fulci
Starring: Tisa Farrow, Ian McCulloch, Richard Johnson
Aka "Zombie". A gory pulp zombie tale in true spaghetti style. A woman travels to a remote island from which her father's boat returned with only zomb... Read more
What's Cooking? (2000)
7.1/10
Director: Gurinder Chadha
Starring: Joan Chen, Julianna Margulies, Mercedes Ruehl, Kyra Sedgwick, Alfre Woodard
A Jewish, Vietnamese, Latino and African-American family each assemble for their own version of the Thanksgiving holiday where conflicts quickly arise... Read more
Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971)
4.4/10
Director: Mel Stuart
Starring: Jack Albertson, Peter Ostrum, Gene Wilder, Roy Kinnear, Julie Dawn Cole
One of the most memorably strange children's films ever made, equally influenced by the dark underpinnings of Roald Dahl's original book ("Charlie and... Read more
Tortilla Soup (2001)
6.6/10
Director: Maria Ripall
Starring: Hector Elizondo, Elizabeth Pena, Tamara Mello, Paul Rodriguez, Raquel Welch
Delicious retelling of Ang Lee's "Eat Drink Man Woman" focusing on the love and shared meals of an Hispanic-American family. Widowed master chef Hect... Read more
Like Water for Chocolate (1992)
7.2/10
Director: Alfonso Arau
Starring: Lumi Cavazos, Marco Leonardi, Regina Torne
A delicious love story with exquisite comedy adapted from Laura Esquivel's best selling novel. Young Tita is forced to nurse her sick mother and, unti... Read more
Soul Kitchen (2009)
7.3/10
Director: Fatih Akin
Starring: Moritz Bleibtreu, Adam Bousdoukos, Birol Unel
Hoping to revamp his shabby Hamburg diner, owner Zinos Kazantsakis (Adam Bousdoukos) hires a gourmet chef, only to drive away his regular patrons. To... Read more
Eat Drink Man Woman (1994)
7.8/10
Director: Ang Lee
Starring: Sihung Lung, Kuei-Mei Yang, Yu-Wen Wang
Acclaimed comedy-drama from Ang Lee ("The Wedding Banquet") about Chu, a widowed master chef facing such problems as losing his sense of taste, his th... Read more