International Film Series: All About Food

 

 “Would you give me the recipe?”

Cinematic Representations of Food, Cooking, Kitchens, and Restaurants.

Food, the most mundane and necessary to sustain us daily, can turn into a magical experience. This course invites you to experience this magic through these eight acclaimed films from diverse countries that capture precisely this universal human experience occasioned by food, transporting us from the real to a suspended présent of enchantment.

This series es open to the public for free; students who enroll will receive 1 credit.

All films have English subtitles.

Schedule:

January 7

General Introduction & syllabus.
No film shown. Introduced by Insook Webber.

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January 14

Little Forest (South Korea, 2018) (language: Korean), directed by Yim Soon-rye.

When a wayward young woman finally has her fill of city life, she returns to her countryside roots and finally finds what she’s always been searching for.

Presented by Xinmin Liu.

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January 21

Strawberry and Chocolate (Cuba and Mexico, 1993) (language: Spanish), directed by Tomás Gutiérrez Alea and Juan Carlos Tabío.

Story of two men who are opposites: one gay, the other straight; one a fierce communist, the other a fierce individualist; one suspicious, the other accepting; and how they come to love each other.

Presented by Sam Ginsburg.

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January 28

Soul Kitchen (Germany, France, and Italy, 2009) (languages: German, Greek, Spanish, Turkish, and English), directed by Fatih Akin.

In Hamburg, German-Greek chef Zinos unknowingly disturbs the peace in his locals-only restaurant by hiring a more talented chef.

Presented by Lisa Hoeller.

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February 4

Babette’s Feast (Denmark, 1987) (languages: Danish, Swedish, and French), directed by Gabriel Axel.

During the late 19th century, a strict religious community in a Danish village takes in a French refugee from the Franco-Prussian War as a servant to the late pastor’s daughters.

Presented by Insook Webber.

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February 11

The Lunchbox (India, 2013) (languages: Hindi and English), directed by Ritesh Batra.

A mistaken delivery in Mumbai’s famously efficient lunchbox delivery system connects a young housewife to an older man in the dusk of his life as they build a fantasy world together through notes in the lunchbox.

Presented by Begoña De Quintana Lasa.

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February 18

Haute Cuisine (France, 2012) (languages: French and English), directed by Christian Vincent.

An obscure cook from a Périgord truffle farm makes waves in the Élysée Palace when she becomes the personal chef of France’s president

Presented by Sabine Davis.

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February 25

Like Water for Chocolate (Mexico, 1992) (languages: Spanish and English), directed by Alfonso Arau, written by Laura Esquivel

When tradition prevents her from marrying the man she loves, a young woman discovers she has a unique talent for cooking.

Presented by Etna Ávalos.

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March 4

The Cakemaker (Israel and Germany, 2017) (languages: Hebrew, German, and English), directed by Ofir Raul Grazier.

A German pastry maker travels to Jerusalem in search of the wife and son of his dead lover.

Presented by Rachel Halverson.