Harumph. I am positive. The second time I watched, some dialog and scenes were added. The first big issue presented in the film: respect for authority figures sometimes causes paralizing fear in employees. These authority figures have the power to cause very real damage to our lives and reputations if we perform badly in their employ. Hortense says very clearly at her interview that she does not think she is good enough for the President's private kitchen. They want her anyway. She did a marvelous job. Aside from the overabundance of meat, and an obsession with foie gras, the cooking scenes made the food look delicious. The meals were very attractively presented. The director made cooking look like fun. It was enjoyable to watch.
The film sheds light on another very important issue: certain people meddling in our labor when they are not trained in the field. The presidents advisors try telling Ms. Laborie what is or is not a sauce. They were wrong. She was right. She made broth, not sauce. A sauce usually has flour, a fat, sometimes an alcohol and a dairy product. These sauces are usually high in fat, but not always. She made broth. They told her it was a sauce and was not allowed in his diet because of health concerns.
No love interest for Hortense Laborie made the film a little unusual. Most films with adults as the main characters have at least one obligatory sex scene. The usual sexual tension in a film was replaced by the passion they all had for food. The French are world famous for their high quality cuisine, so I do think the film had interesting tension exactly because Hortense felt pressured to perform well in a tense environment. The head cook in the main kitchen made it clear he felt threatened by her. Neither the president nor his advisors told her very much about the dignitaries he would be dining with on a daily basis. Should she dress the plate to impress? Or not? How is she supposed to know? They never presented her with a budget. There was more than one episode of surprise lunch guests. Then without warning they want her to cook everything cheaper. After the oyster disaster, I would have quit, too. The ending was depressing. It was not a satisfying end to a film, but it did leave the door open to the future. The ending made the film a romantic. She is alone and facing a personal crisis.
The film sheds light on another very important issue: certain people meddling in our labor when they are not trained in the field. The presidents advisors try telling Ms. Laborie what is or is not a sauce. They were wrong. She was right. She made broth, not sauce. A sauce usually has flour, a fat, sometimes an alcohol and a dairy product. These sauces are usually high in fat, but not always. She made broth. They told her it was a sauce and was not allowed in his diet because of health concerns.
No love interest for Hortense Laborie made the film a little unusual. Most films with adults as the main characters have at least one obligatory sex scene. The usual sexual tension in a film was replaced by the passion they all had for food. The French are world famous for their high quality cuisine, so I do think the film had interesting tension exactly because Hortense felt pressured to perform well in a tense environment. The head cook in the main kitchen made it clear he felt threatened by her. Neither the president nor his advisors told her very much about the dignitaries he would be dining with on a daily basis. Should she dress the plate to impress? Or not? How is she supposed to know? They never presented her with a budget. There was more than one episode of surprise lunch guests. Then without warning they want her to cook everything cheaper. After the oyster disaster, I would have quit, too. The ending was depressing. It was not a satisfying end to a film, but it did leave the door open to the future. The ending made the film a romantic. She is alone and facing a personal crisis.