rat-a-too-ee

I saw "Ratatouille" this past weekend at the drive-in, clearly not the best venue for a Pixar film since the sharp detail is mostly if not completely lost. In spite of the less-than-ideal screening conditions, made more ideal by the fun company and the ability to BYOR (Bring Your Own Ratatouille), the warmth, heart, and romance of this film still came through. Francophiles and foodies will be charmed without a doubt, but as the Newsweek review points out, the main character's desire to strike out on his own and to excel is definitely something with which non-foodie/non-francophile Americans can identify.

I really did love this movie, and was deeply touched by it, so I'm so glad that it is being well received in the film criticism and food worlds as well.
- NYTimes review
- Chicago Trib's Metromix review
- Michael Ruhlman's blog entry mentioning Anthony Bourdain's consultancy on the film

Obvious from the trailers, but expanded on in the full-length film, was the serious crush the filmmakers had on Paris. It's easy for me to smile at the romanticized version of Paris since the city is actually able to deliver every bit of that magic, but I hope that others (in this anti-French political climate) who are not so inclined to be kissed by Paris might open up a bit and at least let the Paris of "Ratatouille" affectionately stroke their cheek.

Going into the movie, I knew enough about it to glean that it's about Remy, a rat with abilities and tastes that reach beyond those of his family. Perhaps "beyond" isn't the right word since that implies a value judgment, so let's say the tastes reach in a different direction than those of his family. I am also someone who has acutely felt the distinction between her abilities and tastes and those of her family, in a very similar pattern to Remy in "Ratatouille," to a similar result of isolation. The film's resolution of this (probably common) family dynamic is that the individual should value his or her talents and interests more than conformity with the family. I have some reservations about adopting that policy whole-heartedly, but I do think the balance between the two options should rest closer to the individual pursuits than the family. At least that would let me sleep at night once I finally make stronger moves away from home.

Aside from the encouragement to trust and develop your talents and not to allow them to be mown down like so many tall poppies, even more prominent was the theme of food (and honestly, that should be clear from the title or certainly the trailers). In the film, we are privy to the inner workings of one professional kitchen, and by the various accounts I've read (Kitchen Confidential and The Making Of A Chef come to mind) they seem to get it right (check out Ruhlman's blog to see confirmation from others associated with professional cooking).

The compelling thing, the heart of the film and what moved me the most, is the exact thesis the film presented on food. Not just flashy entertainment (what Emeril's leaned on for years), the preparation of food is so much more:
-Good cooks are talented and see the world in a different way than many of us, much like artists and writers. In the film, cooks stand in for any artist, any human who creates and whose work can be witnessed or experienced by other humans and critics alike, although I'm still wrestling with the idea of cooking as art vs. cooking as craft.
-Food, or food culture, can heal (Remy and his human pal Linguine are both isolated and dealing with loss).
-One's relationship to food can be a metaphor for one's approach to life.
-Food can be one of the strongest markers by which to recall one's past (anyone else thinking of Proust's madeleines by now?). For all the flack that "molecular gastronomy" (Surrealist cuisine, as I say) is taking, when it's done well, it intentionally makes use of that ability of food to act a wormhole in the fabric of a linear life, to remind you strongly of past experiences while ingeniously weaving in the new, current experience of ingesting whatever it is you're consuming. Old and new are thus bound, linear time dissolves, the infinite is approached.