Films about:
FOOD:
Estómago (by Marcos Jorge Brazil)
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eBLYkB5M8xU [/youtube]
It describes the rise of an idiot with a talent for haute cuisine cooking, and in a very original touch it tells the same story twice with the same protagonist: once in prison and once as a flashback in the free world. It is an odd hybrid which can best be described as “Ratatouille” (yes, the Pixar movie) meets “Carandiru” (yes, the Brazilian prison drama).
This film is one of those happy discoveries you can only have at a film festival. A sexy mix of comedy, good food and violence, Marcos Jorge’s film actually made me hungry while watching it.
More after the break…
The Story:
Raimundo Nonato (João Miguel) is a country simpleton who arrives penniless in a big Brazilian city. Doing odd-jobs at a snack bar for food and lodging only, his future seems dire until he is allowed to assist with the food. Suddenly it turns out Raimundo is surprisingly talented, being able to work miracles with the simplest of ingredients. His cooking also wins him the affection of prostitute Íria, who is happy to share his bed on occasion in return for good food. When he quickly gets snatched up by the owner of a fancy restaurant it suddenly seems like the only way for Raimundo is up…
But alas, this is all a flashback, because the present is quite different:
Raimundo Nonato (João Miguel) is a simpleton who arrives in jail, banished to a cell he has to share with seven others. Beaten into the filthiest corner for being the new guy, his future seems dire until he lets slip of the fact that he can actually cook. His cellmates discover that Raimundo is surprisingly talented, being able to work miracles with the simplest of ingredients. His cooking also wins him a little respect from top-dog Bujiú, which increases his status. When Bujiú plans a feast to win the favor of feared imprisoned crime boss Etcetera it suddenly seems like the only way for Raimundo is up…
But how will his prison adventure end? And why did he have to go to prison in the first place?
Babette´s Feast (Academy Award in 1986 for Best Foreign Film).
“Babette’s Feast,” is about edible art — Art with a capital A — a precise and elegant piece, is adapted from Isak Dinesen’s short story by director Gabriel Axel. Axel is uniquely suited to this story of a culinary genius who spends 14 years in Jutland smoking cod. And then one day she stuns the taciturn Jutlanders by preparing a mighty feast.
…from an interesting book by Jean Renoir where you can read ” Is the cinema an art?
I answer:”It doesn´t matter” one can make films or just work in gardening. Both jobs are art in the same way a Verlaine´s poem or a Delacroix´ picture are art. If the films are good, or the garden is being taken care of properly, one is practising the art of gardening or the art of film making. The authors of both activities are artists. The cook who makes a good meal is an artist…
We will mainly focus on the last part of the film (after doing a short introduction of the plot) to see the main character, the cook, doing her job and going over her background.
Background information about some themes which are important to understand the film:
<a href=”http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paris_Commune”>The COMMUNE</a>
The cook flew from Paris as she belonged to this French movement
<a href=”http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/longterm/movies/videos/babettesfeastnrkempley_a0ca1c.htm”>Review </a>of the film
<a href=”http://www.fuhem.es/cip-ecosocial/dossier-intercultural/contenido/Cine.pdf”>Didactic Unit </a>about Babette´s Feast and Bagdad´s Café
ADVENTURE
:<a href=”http://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks05/0500141h.html” title=”Lost Horizon” target=”_blank”> Lost Horizon </a>by Frank Capra,1937
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hne7jqIzvXM[/youtube]