It might not be the other way around but of all the people that I know, those who have a good taste in food would hardly be bores.
I grew up in a place where food was one of the most important things in everyday life and whether you were good at it could make or break a relationship. So it's not surprising that Sichuan or Szechuan Cuisine becomes the most popular, and ubiquitous, cuisine in China, from Beijing to Tibet. What amazed me was that not only did people in my province know how to enjoy good food, but how well everybody was in making it. In fact, from early on I knew for a fact that my parents were just about average when it came to cooking and my sister and I would even complain about it from time to time. Looking back, we took too many things for granted.
Not every kid in my town grows up to be a chef, of course. But to enjoy and to appreciate a good meal is the least I can do. If you are the same, you would probably enjoy "Ratatouille", a story about a rat who has a passion for food and eventually becomes a great chef, as I did.
The success of the movie started with great casting. Patton Oswalt was so at home for the leading role of Remy, the chef rat: he simply transplanted his character from "The King of Queens" and it worked well. Peter O'Toole as Anton Ego, the food critic, whose image was reminiscent of "Les Triplettes de Belleville", another great animation film, was another brilliant casting. One of my favorite, and criminally underrated, actors, he always brings a fascinating charm wherever he goes. As the title suggested, French cuisine was the backdrop of this film. (For a dazzling display of Chinese cuisine, see "Eat Drink Man Woman" 《饮食男女》, my favorite Ang Lee movie.) The climax of the film, that the unforgiving food critic was astounded by an reinvented simple dish, was a Zen-ish theme familiar to Chinese, or Asian in general. (See "God of Cookery", or "Sik San"《食神》 by Stephen Chow for a strikingly similar plot.) For the animation, one word is enough to convince you that it's good: Pixar.
By the way, in US theaters, Pixar's latest short film, "Lifted", is shown before the feature. Another gem from this amazing studio.
Finally, a little gift from the official site:
I grew up in a place where food was one of the most important things in everyday life and whether you were good at it could make or break a relationship. So it's not surprising that Sichuan or Szechuan Cuisine becomes the most popular, and ubiquitous, cuisine in China, from Beijing to Tibet. What amazed me was that not only did people in my province know how to enjoy good food, but how well everybody was in making it. In fact, from early on I knew for a fact that my parents were just about average when it came to cooking and my sister and I would even complain about it from time to time. Looking back, we took too many things for granted.
Not every kid in my town grows up to be a chef, of course. But to enjoy and to appreciate a good meal is the least I can do. If you are the same, you would probably enjoy "Ratatouille", a story about a rat who has a passion for food and eventually becomes a great chef, as I did.
The success of the movie started with great casting. Patton Oswalt was so at home for the leading role of Remy, the chef rat: he simply transplanted his character from "The King of Queens" and it worked well. Peter O'Toole as Anton Ego, the food critic, whose image was reminiscent of "Les Triplettes de Belleville", another great animation film, was another brilliant casting. One of my favorite, and criminally underrated, actors, he always brings a fascinating charm wherever he goes. As the title suggested, French cuisine was the backdrop of this film. (For a dazzling display of Chinese cuisine, see "Eat Drink Man Woman" 《饮食男女》, my favorite Ang Lee movie.) The climax of the film, that the unforgiving food critic was astounded by an reinvented simple dish, was a Zen-ish theme familiar to Chinese, or Asian in general. (See "God of Cookery", or "Sik San"《食神》 by Stephen Chow for a strikingly similar plot.) For the animation, one word is enough to convince you that it's good: Pixar.
By the way, in US theaters, Pixar's latest short film, "Lifted", is shown before the feature. Another gem from this amazing studio.
Finally, a little gift from the official site:
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