Thanksgiving should bring out a sense of communial sharing through dining. If you don't have to cook, sit back and celebrate the upcoming meal by watching these Indies that feature caregivers who prepare meals to show their love, without having to say a word by enticing the palate, as well as the heart. Bon Appetit.
"Babette's Feast"-A Danish Oscar winner that uses food as a metaphor on the meaning of life. Enter Babette, a former French Chef and refugee, who through the lavish preparation of a once-in-a-lifetime feast, teaches the devout villagers of her new home, about spirituality and living life for today.
"Eat Drink Man Woman"- Ang ("Taking Woodstock") Lee's first film to gain him notoriety on these shores as a world-class filmmaker. The story centers on an elderly widowed father who cooks for his grown-up daughters a weekly meal, so that he can find out about their lives after losing touch due to his job as a chef. Comforting and as exotic as the Taiwanese specialties on display. Remade in the the U.S. as "Tortilla Soup".
"Mostly Martha"- This delicious German treat throws a sublime love story into the food mix. The title character, another uptight Chef, suddenly has to take care of her orphaned niece and a new cook at her upscale restaurant. Romance and delicacies ensue. Remade in the U.S. as "No Reservations".
"The Big Night"-Tony Shahloub and Co-Director Stanley Tucci play 2 brothers trying to resurrect their failing Italian eatery with a last-ditch celebration. Entire scenes are constructed like a Italian recipe started from scratch, in this Oscar nominated Comedy.
"The Bread, My Sweet"- A Pittsburgh flick with as much local flavor as Enrico's Biscotti Bakery, where it was filmed. Not as accomplished as the other movies on this list, but Director Melissa Martin still pulls off a credible tearjerker that shows our city and residents in a fine light. Unfortunately, the DVD distributor changed the name to "Wedding For Bella" for its release, taking away some of the good press it recieved while playing sold-out shows for months in town.
In case anyone is tired from all that eating or viewing, try Peter Greenaway's "The Cook, The Thief, His Wife and Her Lover" for after dinner. A NC-17 romance with a wicked, stylistic sense of set design as rotten as week-old fruit.
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