La Passion de Dodin Bouffant, the new film by director Trần Anh Hùng, has hardly been released before it's already causing quite a stir. After winning the Prix de la Mise en Scène at the Cannes Film Festival, the feature has been chosen to represent France at the Oscars, in the Best Foreign Film category. Starring Juliette Binoche and Benoît Magimel, the film celebrates love and gastronomy. The result hits cinemas on November 8.
Juliette Binoche in the spotlight: MUBI presents its cycle on "the woman of a thousand faces".
Juliette Binoche, dazzling in La Passion de Dodin-Bouffant, is the subject of a dedicated cycle on MUBI. [Read more]
The story follows Eugénie, played by Juliette Binoche, an exceptional cook who has worked for 20 years alongside the famous gastronome Dodin, played by Benoît Magimel. Over time, a love affair develops between them, closely linked to their shared love of gastronomy. Together, they create delicious, flavorful dishes that amaze the world's greatest gourmets. However, Eugénie, eager for freedom, never wanted to marry Dodin. Dodin decided to give her a unique gift: to cook for her.
It's always intriguing to discover a French film by a director with a foreign background (Trần Anh Hùng is Franco-Vietnamese). These are often unique works, as is La Passion de Dodin Bouffant. Right from the opening sequence, the film's poetic and generous staging captivates. For fifteen flawlessly choreographed minutes, Eugénie and Dodin prepare a feast of Homeric generosity. The sequence oozes passion and certainly... makes you hungry!
Food is at the heart of Vietnamese director Trần Anh Hùng's new film. You could even say it's the main character. Around them gravitate Eugénie and Dodin, living in a château where meals punctuate daily life, and where a lovely flirtation is instilled between the two.
The staging of the kitchen scenes is ecstatic, filmed like the work of a goldsmith. Fans of good food will be delighted! Each ingredient is filmed as a valuable artifact, and both Binoche's and Magimel's characters convey a great deal of love through food.
It's a simple mise-en-scène, but highly evocative and full of detail. It's a sensory cinema from which you can't remain indifferent. The textures, the sounds of food being cut by a thin-bladed knife. Great care is taken with the sound design. It's amusing to see that the staging is as meticulous as Dodin's cooking. The Prix de la Mise en Scène is richly deserved!
Nevertheless, one senses that Trần Anh Hùng sometimes has difficulty directing his actors, who are not always accurate, but the journey is almost mystical, for the characters as well as for the spectator. We'd almost like to ask for more!
Lovers of the 7th art have a lot to look forward to! And with good reason: the editors have unveiled the cinema releases for November 2023, and the program is as varied as ever. So much to discover for the whole family. Enjoy the show! [Read more]
Not sure which film to see today? Well, we've got plenty of films to show near you. [Read more]
Juliette Binoche in the spotlight: MUBI presents its cycle on "the woman of a thousand faces".
November 2023 cinema releases: list of films in theatres and opening times near you
Cinema: which film to see today, this Sunday April 28th, 2024?
