Vatel

Director: Roland Joffé

Stars: Gérard Depardieu, Uma Thurman,Tim Rothand an actor I recognised from Harry Potter Richard Griffiths

Plot: In 1671, with war brewing with Holland, a penniless prince invites Louis XIV to three days of festivities at a chateau in Chantilly. The prince wants a commission as a general, so the extravagances are to impress the king. In charge of all is the steward, Vatel, a man of honor, talent, and low birth.

This movie gives you a glimps of preparations for huge feasts. For me it was more about hard work than food, at least as far as kitchen is concerned. You really see how masterpiece of sugar comes to life than anything else. For me this movie is more about power, intrigues, honor than cooking.

I see also how my view changes with age instead of being impressed and amazed by the colorful spectacle I see it as waste. Don’t understand me wrong, I’m not a minimalist, I regret that in modern architecture there is more space for economy than beauty, but I guess vatel is overdoing it for me.