La passion de Dodin Bouffant (The Pot au Feu)

Since his acclaimed debut The Scent of Green Papaya (1993), French-Vietnamese filmmaker Tran Anh Hung has served sophisticated and seductive cinema. In 1995 he won the Grand Prix at Film Fest Gent with Cyclo. Now, he once again titillates our senses with La passion de Dodin Bouffant, a film adapted from a 1924 novel. The story, spiced with some gastro-romance, is set in 1885 in and around the kitchen of restaurant owner Dodin and chef Eugénie. Although Eugénie enjoys her freedom in what is clearly more than a working relationship, Dodin seeks to find out if love goes through the stomach with her too. Their impeccable cooking skills are so deliciously portrayed that it's hard not to salivate upon watching the new film by Tran Anh Hung, who won the award for best director at the Cannes Film Festival. Juliette Binoche and Benoît Magimel shine as bright as the Michelin stars from top chefs Pierre Gagnaire and Michel Nave who assist the duo in front of and behind the camera.

“Binoche and Magimel, both on sparkling form, play late 19th century gourmands in Tran Anh Hung’s scintillating epic of proto-foodie passions. [...] A very welcome call-back to the ultra-sensual films upon which he made his name, such as 1993’s The Scent of Green Papaya.” - Little White Lies