tragicomedy
“The taste of small things”: Depardieu as a star chef
Gérard Depardieu as Gabriel Carvin in a scene from the film The Taste of Small Things. photo
© -/New Visions Film Distribution/dpa
Gérard Depardieu likes to be at the stove himself. In “The Taste of Small Things” he plays a celebrity chef who is looking for the fifth sense of taste – and for the meaning of life.
Sour and salty, bitter and sweet. In addition to these well-known flavors, there is a fifth flavor that many do not even know: umami. The term comes from the Japanese and describes a taste that is found in soy sauces, among other things. It is described as fleshy, spicy or savory.
“Umami” is also the original title of a new French film starring Gérard Depardieu. As “The Taste of Small Things” it is now coming to German cinemas.
In search of the “umami”
Actually, star chef Gabriel Carvin (Gérard Depardieu) has every reason to be happy: His noble restaurant receives the prestigious third star. But he doesn’t feel like celebrating. His wife Louise (Sandrine Bonnaire) is cheating on him with a restaurant critic. Shortly thereafter, he suffers a heart attack. After being discharged from the hospital, he decides to take his life back into his own hands: he flies to Japan to discover the secret of “umami”, the fifth sense of taste. A journey with many revelations – and too many ingredients.
“The Taste of Small Things” is the second feature film by director Slony Sow. With the tragic comedy, the Frenchman has made a story that is more than just a film about haute cuisine and its burdens. Behind the story lies the search for the meaning of life. Sow doesn’t start the film in the starred kitchen of the “Monsieur Quelqu’un” restaurant, but in a Japanese washroom. The corpulent, toque-awarded chef sits half-naked next to a Japanese “salaryman” who muses aloud about his private life, which he sacrificed for his job – like Gabriel.
Journey of self-discovery to Japan
Sow interweaves two storylines: everyday life in Gabriel’s posh restaurant “Monsieur Quelqu’un” in the Loire Valley, where his eldest son struggles in vain for his ambitious father’s recognition as chef. And the soup kitchen of Tetsuichi Morita (Kyozo Nagatsuka) in Japan, his former competitor. Morita’s daughter also works there as a waitress. In 1978, Morita delighted the jury with his umami skills at a cooking competition and relegated Gabriel to second place.
In addition to the two parallel narrative tracks, the film builds up side scenes that cause it to lose momentum. So Gabriel’s youngest son Nino follows him to Japan, where he falls in love with Morita’s suicidal daughter. The appearance of Rufus (Pierre Richard), an oyster farmer and close friend of Gabriel’s, who persuaded him to take the Japan trip after a hypnosis session, would have been optional. With this, Sow probably wanted to please the French audience. Because Depardieu and Richard are the legendary film duo from the three Francis Veber comedies “The Horny Ox and His Draft Horse” (1981), “Two Crazy Jokes” (1983) and “The Fugitives” (1986).
Above all, Sow seasoned Gabriel’s self-discovery trip to Japan with humor. For example, when he cycles with Morita to a pig farmer in the freezing winter, who raises her animals to Japanese rock music because it makes the meat particularly tender. Or when the completely exhausted Gabriel squeezes himself into a tiny sleeping box.
Depardieu is the role tailor-made. He enjoys cooking himself, is a winemaker, has published a cookbook and until a few years ago was the owner of a restaurant in Paris. For a long time, his character in the film seems rather unsympathetic. In the second half, however, “The Taste of Small Things” develops into a feel-good film, entertaining and entertaining.
The Taste of Small Things, France/Japan, 2022, 105 min., FSK 6+, by Slony Sow, with Gérard Depardieu, Kyozo Nagatsuka, Pierre Richard,