A CHEF IN LOVE
A film review by James Berardinelli
Copyright 1997 James Berardinelli
RATING (0 TO 10): 6.0 Alternative Scale: **1/2 out of ****
France/Georgia, 1996 U.S. Release Date: Spring 1997 (limited) Running Length: 1:40 MPAA Classification: PG-13 (Nudity, sex, violence) Theatrical Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Cast: Pierre Richard, Nino Kirtadze, Timur Kamkhadze, Micheline Presle, Jean-Yves Gautier Director: Nana Dzhordzadze Producer: Marc Ruscart Screenplay: Irakli Kvirikadze Cinematography: Georgi Beridze Music: Goran Bregovic U.S. Distributor: Sony Pictures Classics In French and Russian with subtitles
A CHEF IN LOVE, Georgia's entry into the 1997 Academy Awards sweepstakes, is a frustrating motion picture. Frustrating, because this poorly-focused movie is guilty, first and foremost, of not taking advantage of its chief assets. Films about food and culinary wizards are almost always evocative creations that tease the senses, even if they're imperfectly prepared. A CHEF IN LOVE barely tickles the palate, and certainly won't drive scores of movie-goers in search of a quality meal the way BABETTE'S FEAST did.
The film is structured in an irritatingly non-chronological fashion. Instead of presenting the narrative in a straightforward manner, director Nana Dzhordzadze and screenwriter Irakli Kvirikadze have decided to skip around in time, flashing back and forward to events during the 1920s, while presenting the entire story from the perspective of a man reading the Chef's memoirs from 70 years in the future. Although this approach isn't as chaotic as it sounds, it dilutes character development and leaves us floundering in our attempts to get a solid grip on the emotional core of the romance that lies at A CHEF IN LOVE's center. For films like PULP FICTION and BEFORE THE RAIN, the non-chronological structure was effective, because it amplified the plot. In A CHEF IN LOVE, there doesn't appear to be a compelling reason for it, and the jumps and cuts serve primarily to distract us from the story Dzhordzadze is trying to tell.
That tale is about an aging French chef, Pascal Ichac (Pierre Richard), who, shortly after the first World War, travels from his native country to the Caucasus mountains "in search of new tastes." While there, he meets and falls in love with the flame-haired, fiery Princess Cecilia Abachidze (Nino Kirtadze). He will not marry her, however, claiming that he's too old. The two spend time together, but their happiness is destined not to last. Communist revolutionaries topple the government, and Pascal, a friend of the deposed President, is placed under house arrest. Cecilia, despite her royal title, emerges virtually unscathed because one of the heroes of the revolution, Zigmund Gogladze (Timur Kamkhadze), wants her for his wife.
A CHEF IN LOVE purports to be about the enduring power of love (even a revolution and all sorts of nasty characters can't kill what Pascal and Cecilia share), but the film's exploration of the subject matter isn't compelling. Although Dzhordzadze tries to trick us into believing that Pascal and Cecilia's romance is a great cinematic love affair, it comes across as incomplete and poorly-sketched. A brief scene details their initial meeting, but, after that, every exchange between them happens long after a relationship is established. A CHEF IN LOVE cheats us of the opportunity to fall in love with these characters as they fall in love with each other. As a result, we're expected to accept them as passionate lovers simply because the screenplay tells us that they are. That's a cheat, and it's one of the reasons why A CHEF IN LOVE falters.
The modern-day scenes in A CHEF IN LOVE are pointless. Jean-Yves Gautier plays Cecilia's middle-aged son, Anton, and Micheline Presle is Pascal's elderly niece, Marcelle. Together, they page through the handwritten notes and diary entries of the late chef, attempting to make sense of his life. One revelation late in the film seemingly justifies the presence of these characters, but it's not all that effective because we don't spend enough time with Anton and Marcelle to know them as more than plot devices.
The lead actors, Pierre Richard and Nino Kirtadze, are wonderful, and it's thanks to their efforts that we develop a genuine liking and sympathy for Pascal and Cecilia. Richard is especially noteworthy, giving a performance that is both bigger than and full of life. His Pascal is the ultimate hedonist, who loves eating, drinking, making music, and making love. Despite being more subdued, Kirtadze's portrayal is no less stirring. Even as circumstances force Cecilia into Zigmund's arms, we sense that she will always love Pascal, and only Pascal, and that lends an element of effective tragedy to an otherwise- erratic story. Unfortunately, few of the supporting actors do much with their roles. In particular, Timur Kamkhadze is disappointing because he is unable to develop Zigmund into more than an almost-cartoonish villain.
A CHEF IN LOVE is being marketed as a worthy successor to the likes of BABETTE'S FEAST and BIG NIGHT. However, it isn't in the same category as either, and not just because it doesn't truly tantalize our senses of taste and smell. When it comes to plot and character, both of those films possessed a richness that A CHEF IN LOVE fails to attain. With its melodramatic flourishes and confused, anecdotal approach, this movie is frequently overdone or underdone, but rarely cooked to perfection.
- James Berardinelli e-mail: berardin@bc.cybernex.net ReelViews web site: http://www.cybernex.net/~berardin
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