In his big first appearance, Chief Slovik (Ralph Fiennes), the film’s central character. Menu, available on Disney+ and Star+, clears up two things. Firstly, the dinner to be tasted is the result of many months of work. It’s not just about the food, it’s about the experience, which needs to include the reaction of the diners to be complete.
The second is that he is the absolute master of everything that happens in his restaurant. A dictator in a beautiful white apron who can even decide the life and death of all who are under his command.
The premise of Mark Mylod’s feature film is shocking, but by no means new. For much of its history, cinema has used cuisine and delicacies to better and more accurately tell the story of a person. Using like central element primal feeding instinct, many arguments ask head-on questions about identity. But also, as in Menuwhich food can symbolize, since it is the core of natural and even inexpressible appetites.
Fear between food in other productions outside Menu
A prime example of this is the film Hole, Halder Gaztelu-Urrutia. In the story, platforms loaded with food descend several levels, testing the mental endurance of the starving hostages.
As well as in Menu, edibles are not attractive or appetizing, but hooks to drag those who eat them into dark places. On the other hand, in a terrifying deliJean-Pierre Jeunet and Marc Caro, food is a moral decision. Temptation can turn characters into real monsters.
On the same topic OkjaJun-ho Bong presents food as a spiritual dilemma. How far can we allow animals to suffer for the sake of culinary pleasure? Although the restaurant does not appear in the film—not directly—the meaning is clear. Gastronomy can become a symbol for the analysis of our desires. At least at what price do we satisfy most of them.
Not being a chef, Hannibal Lecter also presents food as an object of power. The most famous serial killer in pop culture is not just a cannibal. Also – in both his film version and the cult TV series – he is a culinary enthusiast.
The combination turns the character’s hunger into a terrifying psychological place, as is the case with Menu. For the history of cinema, one of the final episodes Hannibal from Ridley Scott. In it, the character cooks the brain of a person while he is still alive. A moment that took the perception of disgusting to a new level.
Love and cooking also take place
However, contrary to what seems to suggest Menu, the great cooking scenes are more than just a horror center. AT ten meter journey, written by Lasse Hallström, a well-known restaurant expert, understands the importance of sensitive food. A concept directly related to gastronomic preparation as something happy.
In the Mexican classic Like water for chocolate, Alfonso Arau, the kitchen is the only refuge for Tita (Lumi Cavazos). As well as a space where you can literally turn food into magic. A film somewhat in tune with Menu In this sense, he plays with elements that turn the cooking process into a tribal ritual. Of course, in this case, one can evoke memory, pain and love just as straightforwardly as carnally.
The premise is that of course ratatouille, written by Brad Bird, brings it to perfection. The story of a rat with an outstanding culinary talent is one of the most curious in Pixar. At the same time, one of the cutest scenes in the studio’s filmography.
When food critic Anton Ego (voiced by Peter O’Toole) tries the titular dish, the first bite takes him back to the past. But it’s not just the memory it invokes. The image takes a journey down memory lane that makes it rediscover the emotional meaning of gastronomic art.
Delicious idea to remember
AT chocolate, another film directed by Lasse Hallström, confectionery has an essential value. Vianne Rocher (Juliette Binoche) can understand the aches and pains of her clients by the way they taste this sweet treat.
It is a concept connected with the secret and common thread of sensuality and flesh. After all, the production is a collection of memories – unusual and delicate – of curious importance.
AndJulie and Julia, written by Nora Ephron, is an important cookbook in American food culture that connects two women across time. But more than that, turns tasting and enjoying food into learning.
The way the film connects the life of Julia (Amy Adams) with the life of the famous Julia Childs to create a single script is very generous. At the same time, how the role of food as an inheritance passed down from generation to generation is clarified.
On the other side of the kitchen door that hides Menu
Menu, directed by Mark Mylod, ties the codes of horror cinema to very subtle social ridicule. However, his greatest interest doesn’t lie in fear of a heartless chef’s unfortunate patrons.
The plot of the film touches on unusual places in our understanding of food. What does it really mean to sit at a table? A cultural conversation or a symbol of luxury that has little or nothing to do with the physical sensations of tasting?
The answers to these questions can be found in the final episodes of the film. In them, Margo (Anya Taylor Joy) enjoys munching on a simple hamburger. Among the dozens of dishes prepared to surprise, frighten, and send distorted messages, the metaphor carries considerable weight.
Food is part of what we consider valuable. A deep sense of memories and the elements that make up the individual. It would seem a simple idea that has power.
Source: Hiper Textual
