Films infused with the joys of gastronomy have, alas, come in dribs and drabs. Think of Babette’s Feast (1987), Like Water for Chocolate (1992), Eat Drink Man Woman (1994) and Big Night (1996).
Tapping into our fascination with food, much less haute cuisine, the Toronto International Film Festival launched the subscription series, Food on Film, three years ago.
This year’s edition, hosted by CBC’s Metro Morning host Matt Galloway, is composed of six separate events that run from March until July at the TIFF Bell Lighthouse on King Street. The first in the series gets under way on Wednesday, March 12 at 6:30 p.m. when food writer/editor Peter Meehan serves up Chungking Express (1994), an offbeat romantic comedy.
David Kaplan’s feel-good comedy, Today’s Special (2009), will be “served” shortly afterwards, on April 9. Madhur Jaffrey, who has a role in the film, will introduce the crowd pleasing movie.
Today’s Special explores the relationship between cooking and culture and is set in contemporary New York City. Samir (Aasif Mandvi), a non-practising Indo-American Muslim in his mid-30s, works as a chef in a fancy restaurant. Informed by his boss that he’s been bypassed for a promotion, he abruptly quits, telling everyone he’s accepted an apprenticeship in France.
Samir’s mother (Jaffrey), meanwhile, is busy trying to find him a suitable wife. He gets along reasonably well with his mother, but not with his father, Hakim (Harish Patel), a restaurateur who still hasn’t forgiven him for not having become a doctor. “You just want to be a loser,” he says after learning that his son’s apprenticeship pays nothing.
The film takes a sharp U-turn after Hakim is hospitalized and can no longer manage his unsuccessful restaurant, the Tandoori Palace. Forced to put his life on hold while his father convalesces, Samir takes his place in the restaurant.
Upon discovering that the food is too oily, Samir berates the monosylabic cook, prompting him to bolt. Samir, knowing precious little about Indian cookery, panics. In a desperate move, he turns to Akbar (Naseerruddin Shah), an Indian taxi driver who claims to have cooked for India’s former prime minister, Indira Gandhi.
It’s an inspired choice. Akbar cooks intuitively, without formal recipes, and the dishes he cranks out are delicious and immensely popular. Improvisation is what really counts, he insists. Samir gradually learns to trust and appreciate Akbar’s talents, though he never learns to accept his practice of keeping live, free-ranging chickens in the kitchen.
As he connects with Akbar, Samir renews a bond with Carrie (Jess Weixler), a fellow cook and single mother. She’s swept into the aromatic circle of heady Indian cuisine, which takes pride of place in Today’s Special. Better still, perhaps, Samir reconciles with his father.
Today’s Special, with Kaplan at the helm and with wonderful performances from its cast, is charming, though somewhat predictable. It’s a movie that heightens your appreciation of fine food and sharpens your taste for good cinema.
In a word, it’s a treat you can really bite into and enjoy.
http://tiff.net/series/subscription-series/food-on-film2014