From robot friendship to kitchen romance
These two films are worth seeking out, as they’re hidden gems in their ways. One is an excellent animated feature, and the second is a sublime exploration of culinary passion.
Robot Dreams (Amazon Prime on Demand) - Here’s one of the unsung officially nominated films for Oscar’s’ Best Animated Feature Film. And now that I’ve watched it, I’d like to say that it’s a truly wonderful film that deserves much more recognition and honors. It has soft emotional depth, hilarious visual creativity, and a storyline that can stay uplifting while still being a heartbreaker. Directed by Spaniard Pablo Berger, it’s a Spanish-french Co-production that may not be ground-breaking in terms of animation technique but remembers how creativity and imagination speak volumes in making animated films resonate. In a New York set in the 1980s, anthropomorphic animals populate the city, and Dog lives in the East Village and is lonely. He watches TV, sees an ad for a robot companion you can assemble, and decides that’s the solution.
The robot arrives and is everything Dog needs. They even dance to Earth Wind and Fire’s September in Central Park. But when Dog brings the robot to the beach, the robot heads to the water and later rusts so that he can’t be moved. Reluctantly, Dog leaves him and returns the next day to find the beach is closed until the following season. It’s a tragedy for the two; a series of vignettes demonstrate how they cope. Essentially, this becomes a poetic film about friendship and companionship, first experiences and how they last, and ultimately, about letting go and moving on. That these lessons in Life, offered with surprising depth, texture, and wisdom, can come in an unassuming animated film is the big surprise of this film and why it’s such a winner. Look for this film and be rewarded.
The Taste of Things (Amazon Prime on Demand) - This was France’s surprise official entry to the Oscars for Best International Feature. I would venture to guess that the selection was made in the light of how it stars Juliette Binoche, is about a gourmand, a chef, and cooking, plus directed by a Vietnamese, Tran Anh Hung - giving it high marks in terms of being a global product. Unfortunately, it didn’t even make the final list of nominees. But that’s not to say it isn’t an excellent film. The original title is La Passion de Dodin Bouffant, and Dodin is the famed gourmand who resides in a chateau, legendary for the meals that would be prepared for friends. Benoit Magimel portrays Dodin, while Binoche is Eugenie, his celebrated cook. This is all happening in late 19th century France, so it is a period drama that resonates with so much of today.
I mention the period, but one quickly discovers that this isn’t the traditional domestic hierarchy we expect in 19th-century France. While Dodin is the manor's master and Eugenie is the cook, he’s been asking her to marry him for years, but she wants to reserve the right to ‘Lock her door.’ Yes, she allows him to sneak into her room occasionally, and they enjoy intimacy, but she likes the independence and final decision to rest with her. It’s beautiful to hear legendary names of French cuisines, such as Auguste Escoffier, mentioned in the context of a young chef about to open his own ‘restaurant palace’ and not referenced as some dusty textbook or a long-expired legend. As can be imagined, the sequences of food cooking are done with such love and longing that one can’t help but be transported and share in the joy.