JACOBIN FICTION CONVENTION MEETING 34: DÉLICIEUX (2021)
1. The Introduction
Hello, dear Citizens, and welcome back to Jacobin Fiction Convention. I’m not feeling too great today so please forgive me if this review seems shorter and a little half assed. But I didn’t want to cancel the promised review yet again so here we are.
So, this movie came to my attention completely by accident during a flight from Moscow to Istanbul a while ago. The synopsis included the year 1789 and the setting is France, so you can BET that I was immediately curious and watched the entire thing in one sitting.
(Btw, it’s available on Amazon prime in French and English, but can be watched for free online in the Russian dub.)
That being said, this movie is far from flawless and still warrants a full review, so let’s begin today’s meeting in earnest, shall we?
2. The Summary
This movie tells the story about Pierre Manceron, a former chef who decides to leave his position when his noble employer and said employer’s friends mock Manceron’s new dish and generally impede his creativity.
After the scandal, Manceron and his son move in with a family friend and open up a small tavern, but the former chef decides not to create new dishes ever again. Little does he know, a mysterious woman named Louise is about to cross paths with him.
Eager to become Manceron’s apprentice in cooking and to make sure he begins to cook again like he used to, Louise nevertheless seems to have an agenda of her own and the secrets she keeps might just ruin everything.
3. The Plot
Overall, it’s a good story with nice pacing and structure. Of course, this story of the first restaurant in France is pure fiction but it is a fictional movie that doesn’t pretend to be a documentary, which is awesome.
Also, while Frev isn’t at the center of the story, it is mentioned quite a lot and is, in fact, part of the reason why the main villain, the former employer, gets his comeuppance in the end. It also overlaps with the storyline of opening a completely new type of eatery, since gone are the days of dingy inns and lavish feasts of nobility.
Aside from all that, I loved the found family trope used in the story, as over its course Louise bonds with Manceron and his son, thus finding a new family and a new purpose in life. I could’ve been fine without Manceron and Louise falling in love though, but that’s just me.
4. The Characters
At first, Pierre Manceron came off as a cliché reluctant cynical mentor so I was prepared not to care about him much. I was pleasantly surprised though, since he gets some nice development later on and he is realistically flawed. He is a womanizer, he can be a stubborn mule and he does attempt to hit on Louise after finding out she used to be a sex worker (read: kiss her). Luckily, his behavior is never romanticized by the narrative.
To his credit, Manceron quickly realizes that Louise isn’t okay with this treatment and never attempts to pull those stunts ever again and grows out of his time period-accurate views on women. For example, while initially correctly stating that most apprentices are young men, he does eventually begin to teach Louise and really begins to respect her, even helping her humiliate the shit out of the villain in the end.
Louise herself is my favorite character though.
I think making her a middle aged woman instead of a young ingenue is quite a bold choice. She too is flawed and at first only needs this apprenticeship to seek revenge on the noble who used to employ Manceron. Her past is troubled and includes becoming a widow and losing all of her children, for example.
However, she later genuinely becomes attached to her mentor and to his son and gets her revenge not in the way she originally wanted, but in a way that is far more harmless and doesn’t put her loved ones at risk.
Louise is also the proverbial brains behind the establishment she and Manceron open up and comes up with the majority of the innovations they use in the restaurant, like menus and specials of the day.
Benjamin, Manceron’s son, is a young adult interested in the works of the philosophers of the Enlightenment and in the upcoming revolution. He’s an idealist, sometimes to a fault, but he’s a genuinely nice guy who accepts Louise even before Manceron himself does, this avoiding the “jealous kid” trope.
Jacob, Manceron’s friend who takes him and Benjamin in, is a fairly minor character but I did like him. He’s a bit of a drunk, but a very caring man.
Duc de Chamfort, the main villain, is an ass. A typical pompous noble believing only nobility should have access to tasty food since only they can “appreciate it”. He is also a metaphorical thread connecting Louise (the woman he wronged in the past) and Manceron (his former chef whom he claims to respect but treats like shit), thus becoming a catalyst for the entire storyline. Fortunately, he does get a satisfying humiliation when the heroes trick him into eating at their restaurant while surrounded by people of lower class and confronting him about his crimes.
These are the most noteworthy characters in my opinion.
5. The Setting
I liked the setting, even though some female costumes aren’t accurate due to lack of shawls (fichu) that would usually cover up the cleavage.
Other than that, it’s pretty good in terms of scenery and costumes. I especially liked the changes in the color scheme and the lighting as the shabby inn is transformed into a much more welcoming restaurant.
As for the food, it looked just amazing!!!
I also loved details like confusion about how to spell Manceron’s name (fixed spelling didn’t exist).
6. The Acting
Isabel Carré (Louise) is my favorite here, but most actors did an amazing job. I found the duke a bit hammy, but I think it’s probably the screenwriter and director who are to blame. Or maybe it’s because creating a somewhat comical villain was the whole point.
7. The Soundtrack
Not exactly a masterpiece, but quite good.
8. The Conclusion
To sum up, this movie is a pretty good fictional story about found family, changes in the food industry and the French Revolution.
Not a perfect movie by any means, but I found it pretty enjoyable so you can check it out if you want.
With that, today’s meeting has officially come to an end.
Stay tuned for updates, everyone!
Love,
Citizen Green Pixel
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