Catering to the food movie, ‘The Taste of Things’ serves up a mouthwatering feast

By JAKE COYLE
AP Film Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — Since before Charlie Chaplin made bread rolls dance in “The Gold Rush,” cinema and cuisine have been as intertwined as the spaghetti of “The Lady and the Tramp.” But a real food movie is a rarer delicacy. It’s a rich and savory tradition that gets a delicious new serving in Trần Anh Hùng’s “The Taste of Things.” The movie opens with a glorious 40-minute scene set in a late 19th century French country kitchen where a meal is being prepared. Butter is sizzling. Loins of veal are roasting. Freshly peeled crawfish are readied. Soup bubbles. Few words are said but the kitchen hums. Utensils clank. Meringue burns. Steam rises.