Foodie Movies make me happy
Did you ever see the “Taming of the Shrew” with Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton? What a movie! Shakespeare’s comedy of male chauvinism and women’s lib in the 16th century has always been one of my favorites. I remember seeing “Kiss me Kate”, the musical version, at Starlight Theatre in the early 1950s. What a treat, I was 11 or 12 years old and I loved it. I also loved the fact the lead character was named Katharina , the European version of my name, Katherine.
The Franco Zeffirelli movie is a work of art. Every inch of the film is beautiful. It was filmed in Italy and depicts the life of Italians, both rich and poor, in the 1500s. There were scenes in the rain and you felt the cold damp creeping through your bones. There were scenes in Petruchio’s home in Verona which made you feel the poverty ; the dust almost made you cough!
But my favorite scenes? The food, what else? It didn’t show a great deal of food…it wasn’t huge tables of food for lavish feasts. But there was one scene when Katharina followed Petruchio from her father’s home in Veronna to his home in Padua, after their wedding. He was so obnoxious! But she followed him anyway, through the rain, through the mountains and the snow and ice. She was frozen to the bone, hungry, her wedding gown was a sodden, mud and ice caked mess. She finally arrived to find the table covered with roasted chicken, a huge beautiful copper bowl full of rich creamy polenta, fresh breads. Starving, she grabs for the food, only to watch Petruchio turn the table upside down, dumping the warm inviting dinner onto the dirt covered floor! I was so saddened by this….not for her, but for the polenta…one of God’s greatest achievements! I dream of creamy polenta….sometimes drizzled with pesto, sometimes topped with mushroom ragout…most of the time with a huge pat of creamery butter and a mound of freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano. As I have said before, no wonder I am 4’ square!
I have watched “Under the Tuscan Sun” dozens of times, just to gaze upon the beautiful food she feeds the artisans who are restoring her old Italian villa. And “Moonstruck” to see the eggs in a basket…eggs fried in the center of a piece of bread!
I cried the first 6 times I watched “Babette’s Feast”, of course living on a desolate Denmark coast in the middle of winter would make anyone cry! But the food that Babette prepared for her feast was incredible.
“Like Water for Chocolate” is another great foodie movie. Set on a ranch in Mexico at the turn of the century, this beautiful food will kill you! But you will die happy.
“Woman on Top” is a magical movie about a Brazilian chef; “No Reservations” is a movie about food, wine, and has Aaron Eckhart for dessert! What more could a girl want?
I suppose if they ever made a movie about me, they would call it “Monday Night at Mimi’s” It would be a cross between a disaster movie and a psychological thriller with great cinematography and huge platters of food. There would be discussions at the dinner table that would rival those of the Walker family of the television show “Brothers and Sisters”.There would definitely be a Grilled Cheese Contest going on! You would definitely need to lower the volume.
Never fear…. It will never happen.
The Franco Zeffirelli movie is a work of art. Every inch of the film is beautiful. It was filmed in Italy and depicts the life of Italians, both rich and poor, in the 1500s. There were scenes in the rain and you felt the cold damp creeping through your bones. There were scenes in Petruchio’s home in Verona which made you feel the poverty ; the dust almost made you cough!
But my favorite scenes? The food, what else? It didn’t show a great deal of food…it wasn’t huge tables of food for lavish feasts. But there was one scene when Katharina followed Petruchio from her father’s home in Veronna to his home in Padua, after their wedding. He was so obnoxious! But she followed him anyway, through the rain, through the mountains and the snow and ice. She was frozen to the bone, hungry, her wedding gown was a sodden, mud and ice caked mess. She finally arrived to find the table covered with roasted chicken, a huge beautiful copper bowl full of rich creamy polenta, fresh breads. Starving, she grabs for the food, only to watch Petruchio turn the table upside down, dumping the warm inviting dinner onto the dirt covered floor! I was so saddened by this….not for her, but for the polenta…one of God’s greatest achievements! I dream of creamy polenta….sometimes drizzled with pesto, sometimes topped with mushroom ragout…most of the time with a huge pat of creamery butter and a mound of freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano. As I have said before, no wonder I am 4’ square!
I have watched “Under the Tuscan Sun” dozens of times, just to gaze upon the beautiful food she feeds the artisans who are restoring her old Italian villa. And “Moonstruck” to see the eggs in a basket…eggs fried in the center of a piece of bread!
I cried the first 6 times I watched “Babette’s Feast”, of course living on a desolate Denmark coast in the middle of winter would make anyone cry! But the food that Babette prepared for her feast was incredible.
“Like Water for Chocolate” is another great foodie movie. Set on a ranch in Mexico at the turn of the century, this beautiful food will kill you! But you will die happy.
“Woman on Top” is a magical movie about a Brazilian chef; “No Reservations” is a movie about food, wine, and has Aaron Eckhart for dessert! What more could a girl want?
I suppose if they ever made a movie about me, they would call it “Monday Night at Mimi’s” It would be a cross between a disaster movie and a psychological thriller with great cinematography and huge platters of food. There would be discussions at the dinner table that would rival those of the Walker family of the television show “Brothers and Sisters”.There would definitely be a Grilled Cheese Contest going on! You would definitely need to lower the volume.
Never fear…. It will never happen.
Timpano from " Big Night"
the photo above is from one of my favorite blogs,
Proud Italian Cook.
Other movies about food? Don’t miss “Tortilla Soup” and “ Big Night” is absolutely required! You will be in your kitchen making timpano before you know what hit you.I suppose you know what is last, …but certainly not least. The movie about the queen of the kitchen…no, not Martha Stewart! Julia Child! Don’t miss "Julie & Julia", it is an inspiration to all who dream of creating works of art in the kitchen!
Have fun!
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