@© Carole-Bethuel, CURIOSA FILMS – GAUMONT
The Taste of Things : Cook Eugenie and her boss Dodin grow fond of one another over 20 years, and their romance gives rise to dishes that impress even the world’s most illustrious chefs. When Dodin is faced with Eugenie’s reluctance to commit, he begins to cook for her.
Rating: PG-13 (Partial Nudity|Some Sensuality|Smoking)
Genre: Drama, Romance, History
Original Language: French (France)
Director: Tran Anh Hung
Producer: Oliver Delbosc, Nora Chabert, Cédric Iland, Bastien Sirodot
Writer: Tran Anh Hung
Release Date (Theaters): Limited
Runtime:
Distributor: IFC Films
Production Co: France 2 Cinéma, Curiosa Films, Umedia, Gaumont
© Carole-Bethuel, CURIOSA FILMS – GAUMONT
Press Conference with Actress Juliette Binoche
Q : How did you decide to tackle this film?
Juliette Binoche : The first time I read the script, Eugénie was not very present. I wanted to work with Tranh Anh Hung for a long time because I consider him a great director. I loved his previous movies Cyclo and The Taste of Green Papaya. So I asked him to rewrite the screenplay because there wasn’t a lot for me to work with, he did and I loved the second draft. He really focused on love, this relationship the main characters share through the art of cooking. In some ways it’s a fairy-tale, not a true story. It can also be seen as an analogy between director and actors: The director has the idea as the chef but the actor does it for real, incarnates that idea the same way the cook does.”
Q : What are your experiences working with Tranh Anh Hung that distinguishes him from the other directors you have collaborated with?
Juliette Binoche : He has a special attention to every single detail, for example he wanted me to smile all the time because Eugénie is such a positive character. I was impressed about his knowledge of the camera, he is a very technical director and at the same time he can take care of the actors. His support has been precious especially in the long scenes where Benoît and I are cooking: having him taking complete control allowed us to forget we were acting and focus on the cooking. The idea was to transform the art of cooking into poetry. He is an extremely kind person and is able to transmit this quality to all the members of the crew.
Q : Was it a difficult task to learn how to prepare all of those incredible recipes?
Juliette Binoche : Cooking at that level means that order is fundamental, it’s like architecture or painting. We had several chefs teaching us the discipline of preparing a dish, they’ve been very generous and patient. It was a great exercise in trust. Once we learned a little bit about the dishes we were preparing, we had to embrace the moment and be confident in what we were doing. You need to have faith in what your colleague is doing and in what the director is doing. He has ideas about how to shoot a particular scene, you just have to follow him using your knowledge and sensibility. I am not a chef but I cook a little bit, so I brought my knowledge and put it to the service of Tran Ahn Hung’s vision: art in the end is just stealing from your own reality, isn’t it? My task is to make his ideas truthful.
Q : What was the most unexpected thing you learned during the cooking lessons?
Juliette Binoche : How to use the butter. You need to clarify it from the milk, make it clear so that you can warm it to high temperatures and it won’t burn. It is the milk side of the butter that burns, I didn’t know it. I usually cook with olive oil, now I have to admit I appreciate the butter much more. I wouldn’t recommend too much of it if you want to stay healthy…
Q : How does one play such a complex character in a period movie like The Taste of Things?
Juliette Binoche : I’ve done quite a few period movies but this has been completely different. Eugénie knows she is sick, but she keeps exhausting herself because of her love for cooking and her love for Dodin Bouffant. It’s her will to give him happiness that drives her. She has a very specific body language, doesn’t speak a lot, lets her emotions show mostly through her eyes. I found it very interesting to portray a woman who expresses herself almost completely through her art.
© Carole-Bethuel, CURIOSA FILMS – GAUMONT
Q : What is the significance of food to you? Do memories from the past come back to you when you think of it?
Juliette Binoche : My mother was an incredible woman and taught me to be open to the influence of the world, as an artist I used it to improve myself as a person, as a woman. She taught me how to cook, the basics at least, in order to be independent. I tried to use her lessons when I started preparing for this role. If you put your heart in what you’re doing, you’ll experience the gift of knowledge. Acting gave me the chance to be in contact with many different cultures, forms of art, and traditions. I tried to welcome them and learn from them as much as I could.
Q : What was the most challenging aspect of filming The Taste of Things? What is the most gratifying?
Juliette Binoche : We shot with just one camera, it was challenging especially because we needed the food to be always warm and cooked precisely in order to shoot. It took time but it worked magnificently, because the mood on the set was always so pleasant and relaxed. Synchronizing the food being ready and the crew being ready to shoot has been sometimes challenging. About the rewarding part, surely working with Benoît. We have a daughter, Hana, and in some way this movie has been a way to reconcile with him. We didn’t speak that much all over the years since we separated, so the way our characters express their love through their working together, through the food they prepare, was very refreshing for us. I could use the dialogue, the unspoken feeling you can experience watching the film, to express my feelings for him. I think we gave our daughter a kind of present, seeing her parents getting along, working together, expressing feelings through a film.
Q : What is your signature dish?
Juliette Binoche : I don’t really have a specific one, but I love cooking vegetables. I love to cook family dishes, something we can eat all together. Sometimes I cook out of necessity, other times I like to show off a little bit. Most of the time I like to finish my meal with some cheese, usually Camembert. And apples at the very end. Cooking is about leaving the cold behind and getting warm. It is a kind of energy that you put into the world, this is why you should be grateful for the food you make.
Q : And what’s your favorite food?
Juliette Binoche : Everything that is ethnic. It can be Indian, Moroccan, Japanese, Chinese, Middle Eastern. I like to taste non only the food but the story and the humanity of a Country or a region when I eat.
Q : What do you hope the audience will come away from this film, ‘The Taste of Things’?
Juliette Binoche : This movie shows a lifestyle that is different from nowadays. It has to do with another rhythm, a slow motion in the way of living, taking in the environment, taking in feelings, taking in what you do. Unfortunately I don’t live this kind of life, a lot of people don’t. In many ways the Taste of Things is very provocative: It looks like Eugénie is submissive to Dodin, but actually she’s not. So don’t judge a book by its cover. And most important: eat better, live better, love better!
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Here’s the trailer of the film.