The most romantic film of 2023 will visit cinemas in the Boston region soon before Valentine’s Day. “The Taste of Things” earned the best director prize at last year’s Cannes Film Festival. Directed by Trần Anh Hùng, this film depicts a wonderful narrative of real love and excellent cuisine, sometimes in different sequence.
It’s a film that encourages you to appreciate the little things in life before they slip away. Trần’s film is reminiscent of classic blockbusters like “Babette’s Feast” and “Like Water for Chocolate,” which captivated viewers with beautiful culinary sequences. It’s remarkable how much people like watching others cook, even when they can’t taste the meal. “The Taste of Things” is a visual feast, particularly with the exquisite culinary scenes. It follows two lovers from the kitchen to the bedroom, although the actual action takes place in the kitchen.
It’s a pretty wonderful narrative in which Eugenie and Dodin are not only lovers, but also close friends. They admire one other’s culinary talents and love eating together. Because the whole film is around their relationship, we’re all curious what will happen, particularly because Eugenie doesn’t want to marry Dodin. What’s next for them?
Eugenie and Dodin’s Love Story
One special thing about ‘The Taste of Things’ is that it doesn’t begin right from the start. When we meet the characters, they have known and cared for one another for many years. Eugenie and Dodin’s story started long before we knew about them. They lived the most of their life together, despite never marrying. So, in a sense, they ended up together, albeit Eugenie’s early death prevented them from growing old together as they had hoped.
In the past, people believed that marriage meant the end of a relationship. In many love films, lovers strive for marriage, and whether they succeed or fail defines the success of their relationship. However, Eugenie and Dodin are distinct. Dodin begged Eugenie to marry him many times, but she always declined. Surprisingly, this had no effect on their love and regard for one another, owing mostly to Dodin’s understanding of Eugenie’s refusal to marry.
Both Eugenie and Dodin loved food a lot. It was more than simply a profession for them; it was an outlet for their emotions. They cooked for each other, preparing meals that showed how well they knew one other and how much they cared. In one moment from the film, Dodin is seen creating a dessert for Eugenie with such love and devotion that everyone watching can tell how much he feels for her.
Why did Eugenie decline to marry Dodin?
Eugenie loves Dodin, but she refuses to marry him since she views herself primarily as a chef. Even while she loves him, she does not want to be remembered just as his wife. She does not want their connection to alter as a result of marriage. At the conclusion of the film, they have a short exchange that expresses her feelings. Eugenie inquires if Dodin regards her as a lover and wife, or only as a chef. He says he sees her as a chef, and Eugenie grins since that is the response she was hoping for.
Eugenie and Dodin had been together for a long time, but she was more enthusiastic about her love of food and art. She feared that getting married would disrupt the particular equilibrium they had established over the years. That’s why she declined to marry Dodin. Perhaps she wanted their connection to strengthen first, so that becoming a wife wouldn’t affect anything between them. She didn’t want to leave Dodin and was in no rush to marry. When Dodin proposed, she could sense he wasn’t entirely prepared, so she declined.
Eugenie’s terrible death ends their relationship without marriage
Finally, when she accepts to marry him, a long time has passed, and they’ve been through a lot together, making them feel like an old married couple. A wedding would now be simply another aspect of their lives, rather than something that would upend everything. So, after a delicious lunch with numerous courses, he asks her again, and she says yes, and they intend to marry later.
Eugenie may not have married Dodin because she knew she was going to die. She had several fainting spells, which concerned Dodin, so he had a doctor examine her. However, what was wrong with her remained unclear. Eventually, she passed away peacefully in her sleep, ending her love story with Dodin.
In the traditional sense, they didn’t end up together since they did not marry. However, in actuality, they were constantly together and shared the most memorable moments of their life.