X
- 2013
- PG-13
- The Weinstein Company
- 1 h 35 m
- 2013
- PG-13
- The Weinstein Company
- 1 h 35 m
Summary Hortense is a small town chef and restaurant-owner whose life changes when she becomes the personal chef to the President of France.
Directed By: Christian Vincent
Written By: Etienne Comar, Danièle Mazet-Delpeuch, Christian Vincent
- 2013
- PG-13
- The Weinstein Company
- 1 h 35 m
- 2013
- PG-13
- The Weinstein Company
- 1 h 35 m
Haute Cuisine
61
User Score
Available after 4 ratings
tbd
Where to Watch
Summary Hortense is a small town chef and restaurant-owner whose life changes when she becomes the personal chef to the President of France.
Directed By: Christian Vincent
Written By: Etienne Comar, Danièle Mazet-Delpeuch, Christian Vincent
Where to Watch
Top Cast
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 14 Critic Reviews
61
64% Positive
9 Reviews
9 Reviews
29% Mixed
4 Reviews
4 Reviews
7% Negative
1 Review
1 Review
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 14 Critic Reviews
61
64% Positive
9 Reviews
9 Reviews
29% Mixed
4 Reviews
4 Reviews
7% Negative
1 Review
1 Review
"Witty and brisk" is not the name of a French breakfast cereal, but it does describe a certain brand of French film, the type that coquettishly flirts with comedy while sprinting in the direction of dry, sophisticated charm. Such is Haute Cuisine.
Writer-director Christian Vincent and co-writer Étienne Comar, aided by Frot's quiet intensity, imbue Hortense's quest to pull off culinary miracles with an urgency that's almost absurdly compelling, and all the more entertaining for it.
Its restraint is its strength. The focus on a woman's passionate hard work without need of marital-status back story is refreshing.
Narrowness of focus keeps the movie from becoming bloated with self-importance, but it also leaves it feeling a little inconsequential.
A bonbon, not of a full-course meal. Foodies will smack their lips over many delectable shots of victuals prepared by the film's engaging protagonist, a provincial woman chosen to cook for the president of France. As a story, though, it's insubstantial - there's conflict here, but it feels perfunctory.
As flatly directed by Christian Vincent, Haute Cuisine is a reserved, très simple tale that raises the occasional smile and tummy rumble but keeps hiccuping because of the drawn-out parallel story about her subsequent tour of duty.
Offers all the ingredients for a great feast of enticing visions and thematic concerns, only to have them be prepared, plated, and served with the grace of Elmer Fudd.
User Reviews
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Production Company
Vendôme Production,
France 2 Cinéma,
Wild Bunch,
TPS Star,
Ciné+,
France Télévisions,
La Banque Postale Images 5,
Armada Films,
Canal+
Release Date Sep 20, 2013
Duration 1 h 35 m
Rating PG-13
Tagline He runs the country. She runs the kitchen. Together they serve with excellence.
Awards
Provincetown International Film Festival
• 1 Win & 1 Nomination
César Awards, France
• 1 Nomination
Lumiere Awards, France
• 1 Nomination
