Sumptuous, sensual and impossibly handsome, French-Vietnamese director Tran Anh Hung’s lavish foodie romance is set almost entirely in the kitchen, grounds and dining room of the country chateau of famed gourmet Dodin (Benoît Magimel) in 1880s France. Starting with a wordless nod of approval from Dodin’s celebrated cook, Eugénie (Juliette Binoche),the film then gets down to the serious business of cooking. This luxurious, leisurely opening allows us to fully explore and feel our way around the relationship between Dodin and Eugénie. Vanishingly rare are pictures that capture this kind of relationship so satisfyingly. There’s a serene emotional harmony between Dodin and Eugénie, but also an enduring, intensifying pleasure in each other’s company. It’s a pleasure that is expressed through food rather than words.–Observer (UK)

“It is sensuous, languorous, soothing and as rich and deep as (I now know) a consommé should be.”–The Spectator