Food and Film

January 5, 2008 4:37 AM

Do you know any movies in which food is a major theme?

The ones I know of:

Tampopo
301 302
Jamón, jamón
The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover
Ratatouille
Eat Drink Man Woman
Mirch Masala

Any more?

posted by sushiwiththejury to media & arts (57 comments total)

Babette's Feast
The Freshman
posted by sueinnyc at 4:38 AM on January 5, 2008

Big Night jumps to mind.
posted by Zonker at 4:40 AM on January 5, 2008 [4 favorites]

No Reservations (I haven't seen it but it looked like it from the beginning)
Chocolat
posted by Nickel at 4:45 AM on January 5, 2008

*looked like it from the commercials

I have no clue where that came from
posted by Nickel at 4:46 AM on January 5, 2008

Like Water For Chocolate
Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory
posted by kimdog at 5:06 AM on January 5, 2008

La Grande Bouffe
Le Charme discret de la bourgeoisie
posted by Dr.Pill at 5:08 AM on January 5, 2008

Haven't seen this either, but... "Soul Food"?

Not sure what counts a "major" for you, but "Stranger than Fiction" used food... Maggie Gyllenhaal's character owned a bakery, and it was used as plot and character points.

Here's some threads that might be useful to you:

http://www.chowhound.com/topics/302328
http://www.chowhound.com/topics/335012
http://www.amazon.com/Movies-Cooking-Theme-DVD/lm/1AAHOK0OXM1B9
http://www.londonfoodfilmfiesta.co.uk/FILMMA~1/Foodfi~1.htm
http://www.gastronomica.org/foodfilms.html
posted by Gianna at 5:20 AM on January 5, 2008

Last Holiday, which, by the way, was much better than its preview and marketing. Queen Latifah is an amateur chef. The main theme of the movie is her vacation in the face of terminal illness, but an important part of her vacation is eating well and meeting with a chef. The Food Network did a special about the food photography (food cinematography, actually, I guess?).
posted by RobotHeart at 5:26 AM on January 5, 2008

Mostly Martha / Bella Martha.
posted by yoga at 5:44 AM on January 5, 2008 [1 favorite]

Mostly Martha.
posted by rascalface at 5:44 AM on January 5, 2008

It's long been my contention that food is a major theme in Pulp Fiction. Pretty much every major scene involves characters eating, or talking about eating, or talking about food in some way. It's possible that I'm crazy, but for some reason this sticks out to me. I'm also at a loss to explain the significance (if any).
posted by Shohn at 5:54 AM on January 5, 2008 [2 favorites]

Seems like "food as major theme" can be interpreted in a couple different ways.

Delicatessen
Waiting...
Fast Food Nation
Supersize Me
Simply Irrestible
Dinner Rush
Soylent Green
Attack of the Killer Tomatoes
Aqua Teen Hunger Force

There's movies about food processing/farming, restaurants, chefs, and anthropomorphic food.

These lists might be helpful as jumping points:
Food
Eating
Cooking
posted by dogwalker at 5:56 AM on January 5, 2008

Feed
posted by The Straightener at 6:01 AM on January 5, 2008

Tortilla Soup (remake of Eat Drink Man Woman)
posted by donajo at 6:16 AM on January 5, 2008

Eating Raoul
posted by beagle at 6:28 AM on January 5, 2008 [1 favorite]

Big Night
Otesanek
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Diner
Fried Green Tomatoes
posted by KirkJobSluder at 6:32 AM on January 5, 2008

I am not sure why, but a lot of food-centric movies come out of Asia..Hong Kong and Japan particularly, besides Eat Drink.., Tampopo, and The Wedding Feast. A * on my recommended ones:

Chinese (Hong Kong):

The Lady Chef - a pretty bad comedy about a highly talented lady chef
* Gaau Ji - brilliant, disgusting horror film with...dumpling. You'll never look at dim sum the same way again

Japanese

Pulkogi (aka The Yakiniku Movie) - about two brothers who make Korean-style BBQ.
* Suupaa no Onna (Supermarket Woman) - from Juuzo Itami, the director of Tampopo (also stars his wife Nobuko Miyamoto who was Tampopo). Not as brilliant as Tampopo but hilarious and with lots of insights into Japanese consumer culture
Udon. Not bad father-son/coming-of-age story, and udon (noodles)!
* Kamome Shokudo (Seagull Diner) - a Japanese woman opens a small Japanese cafe in, of all places, Helsinki. A quiet and really charming movie.

FWIW my favorite food movies are Tampopo, Babette's Feast, Big Night, Who Is Killing The Great Chefs of Europe?, Like Water For Chocolate, Supermarket Woman and Kamome Shokudo.

Also, No Reservations is a remake of Mostly Martha. I wasn't that impressed by either.

(the imdb 'food' tag doesn't list any of the great food movies...but it has Posh Nosh, a hilarious TV series. If you like snark with your food entertainment most of the episodes are on YouTube)
posted by derMax at 6:33 AM on January 5, 2008

Those IMDB lists are good.
I just remembered Švankmajer's shorter works (Meat Love, Food et al).
posted by sushiwiththejury at 6:34 AM on January 5, 2008

Not The Wedding Feast, I meant The Wedding Banquet.
posted by derMax at 6:36 AM on January 5, 2008

Flakes
posted by infinityjinx at 6:50 AM on January 5, 2008

Delicatessen.
posted by baphomet at 7:21 AM on January 5, 2008

Chocolat
Bend It Like Beckham (not really, but there are some aloo gobi making scenes in the movie and extras)
Also by Gurinder Chadha: What's Cooking and Bhaji on the Beach (not seen either but the food theme seems obvious)
The Godfather movies
Pulp Fiction
Sideways (well, drink)
Scenes from a Mall (this is a bit strange, but the one thing I remember from the film was the scene in the sushi bar with the revolving sushi. I had never had sushi at the time and I remember feeling that I HAD to eat some sushi asap.)
What's Eating Gilbert Grape?
When Harry Met Sally (esp. famous orgasm scene)
posted by peacheater at 7:25 AM on January 5, 2008

The Chinese Feast
posted by Abiezer at 7:27 AM on January 5, 2008

Waitress -- one of my favourite movies of 2007.
posted by devbrain at 7:46 AM on January 5, 2008

Waitress
posted by thisjax at 7:49 AM on January 5, 2008

The Last Supper.
posted by biscotti at 8:01 AM on January 5, 2008

Bend It Like Beckham. There's a great extra feature showing Gurinder Chadha and her mom making aloo gobi .
posted by lukemeister at 8:01 AM on January 5, 2008

Napoleon Dynamite. The start credits, and there is a throwing of a steak.
posted by ijoyner at 8:34 AM on January 5, 2008

Woman on Top
Volver
posted by HotPatatta at 8:38 AM on January 5, 2008

Vatel.
posted by kickingtheground at 8:50 AM on January 5, 2008

I really don't think movies like Napoleon Dynamite, Bend It Like Beckham, and the like are movies in which food is a major theme.

BUT -- he adds, wholly inconsistently -- if you're looking for movies in which food plays a major role in a pivotal scene, consider Cool Hand Luke. Mmmm, eggs.
posted by Clyde Mnestra at 9:06 AM on January 5, 2008

Scotland, PA! (And it's a Shakespearean adaptation to boot!)

Also, the French film Delicatessen.
posted by santojulieta at 9:08 AM on January 5, 2008

I Want Someone to Eat Cheese With.

I don't know the release date for it though.
posted by Becko at 9:11 AM on January 5, 2008

Sweeney Todd
posted by rhizome at 9:14 AM on January 5, 2008

Werner Herzog Eats His Shoe.
posted by now i'm piste at 9:33 AM on January 5, 2008

Second Otesánek. It gets my vote for "Movie about food that will make you lose your appetite". Seriously, you don't want to be eating during or immediately after this one.

Also, I know it was mentioned in the OP's post, Tampopo is great. The main plot line is kind of like Rocky but with a wannabe noodle chef instead of a wannabe boxer.

Also, one film that hasn't been mentioned is Marie Antoinette, which is about the french queen who is (incorrectly) famous for the "Let them eat cake" quote. Some critics accused director Sophia Coppola of spending too much time getting gorgeous shots of various desserts and not enough time focusing on the plot or dialog.
posted by burnmp3s at 10:12 AM on January 5, 2008

Well, coming from a different direction, food was a theme in Repo Man. Not because people were cooking and in love with any flavors, but because it was alway generic and came in plain cans that were just labeled "Food."
posted by miss lynnster at 10:29 AM on January 5, 2008

Super Size Me.
posted by iviken at 10:49 AM on January 5, 2008

There's "eating scene" in Tom Jones (1963) -- although it's not a major theme of the movie, it's the part most people seem to remember the best.
posted by beagle at 10:57 AM on January 5, 2008

Woman on Top?
posted by chunking express at 11:50 AM on January 5, 2008

Spanglish.

Main character is a rising star chef at a popular restaurant. Lots of cooking and eating featured throughout.
posted by The Gooch at 11:54 AM on January 5, 2008

James and the Giant Peach.
posted by chippie at 12:23 PM on January 5, 2008

My Dinner With Andre


2001: A Space Odyssey

"As he walks about the room, he repeatedly sees himself at later stages of aging, first in his spacesuit, then in an ornate dressing robe, sitting down to a well-appointed meal. The older Dave accidentally knocks his glass on the floor, smashing it and breaking the silence."


Jamón, jamón

Penelope Cruz' film debut:

"Characters have primal lusts which are described with meat and animal imagery. At the end of the movie, the two characters vying for her affection beat each other with enormous cuts of serrano ham."

posted by Exchequer at 12:35 PM on January 5, 2008

God of Cookery (aka Sik San - or "God of Eats")
posted by porpoise at 12:36 PM on January 5, 2008

Monty Python & the Meaning of Life - Mr. Creosote!

Wallace & Gromit in the Curse of the Were-Rabbit - an ode to veggies and cheese
posted by faunafrailty at 12:50 PM on January 5, 2008

Oliver!

Nobody said it had to be GOOD food.
posted by miss lynnster at 12:53 PM on January 5, 2008

Ravenous (Links to IMDB)
posted by sandra_s at 1:10 PM on January 5, 2008

Over the Hedge - about a junk food obsessed raccoon who waxes poetic about the ease with which suburban Americans can get any kind of food at any time in any shape.
posted by saffry at 1:49 PM on January 5, 2008

Bollywood flick Mistress of Spices, if spices count as food. It's a bit Chocolat-esque in themes and style.
posted by artifarce at 2:12 PM on January 5, 2008

Life is Sweet? It's not specifically about food, but it has several food-and-eating-related themes (one character is a chef, one character is trying to open a restaurant, one character is a bulimic with food fetishes).
posted by cadge at 2:57 PM on January 5, 2008

Sweet Hereafter? It's not precisely about food, but it has the word "sweet" in the title, and I think at least one scene takes place in a kitchen.

Okay, okay.

Consider: The Gold Rush (most famous scene -- eating a boot); Fast Food Nation; Soylent Green (spoiler omitted); Who is Killing the Great Chefs of Europe; Attack of the Killer Tomatoes . . . .
posted by Clyde Mnestra at 3:19 PM on January 5, 2008

The Road to Wellville
posted by bryon at 3:26 PM on January 5, 2008

Fatso with Dom DeLuise and Anne Bancroft which has some really funny moments!
posted by suzeQ at 7:01 PM on January 5, 2008

somewhat sappy and on the 'late-night cable' end of the movies listed, but Simply Irresistible is pretty heavy on the food as a major plot point...
posted by pupdog at 7:12 PM on January 5, 2008

See Les Blank for pro-food documentaries:

Yum, Yum, Yum! A Taste of Cajun and Creole Cooking (1990),
In Heaven There is No Beer? (1984, featuring polka music and polish food), and
Garlic is as Good as Ten Mothers (1980, Blank used to cook the stinking rose in the back of the theater during screenings. Aromarama!)
posted by doncoyote at 9:01 PM on January 5, 2008

If you include "movies which haven't yet started filming," there's one being planned based on Julie & Julia, which was a blog before it was a book.
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 6:36 AM on January 6, 2008 [1 favorite]

Food is used as a major device for the nurturing (and, at times, lack thereof) of young Ingemar in the lovely My Life As a Dog.
posted by after_hours at 6:24 PM on January 6, 2008