The best aspects of food are lost in film. A movie has no taste. There’s no smell-o-vision. As one of the cinematographers from Chef’s Table put it, “In a truly transcendent culinary experience, all senses — sight, smell, feel, sound and, of course, taste — are intertwined, and that’s true whether you’re eating at a three-star restaurant or at a taco truck at 2 a.m. So capturing that with the very limiting tool of sight (and a little sound) alone is tough.”
But the best food films manage to overcome. They make you hungry or thirsty. (Can you watch Mad Men without a whiskey in hand?) They make you feel the electricity of a good meal, when everyone’s drunk on food and wine and the chorus of conversation becomes a soundtrack.
It’s never just about food, after all. The dinner table transforms into a social gathering place, once a night, binding together friends and family. It’s why many of the films on this list are love stories at heart. It’s the home’s main junction, a transfer station of ideas and conflict. This is why others are crime dramas. (Imagine the Sopranos without Nuovo Vesuvio and Tony chewing in your ear.) And the politics and economics of how we eat are literally shaping the world we live in, giving reason for documentaries that touch all lives, no matter their class.
The following films represent a mix — documentary, comedy, love story — that’s as varied as the world’s cuisines. Dig in.
Babette’s Feast
A Real French Feast: Two sisters take in a French refugee, Babette Hersant, who works to help maintain their home in a small Danish village. After winning the lottery, Babette decides to show her gratitude with an epic, French-inspired feast. It was the first Danish film to win the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.
