--- title: "The Taste of Things: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/the-taste-of-things/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/the-taste-of-things" critics_score: 84 critics_reviews: 13 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # The Taste of Things (2023): what the critics said Critics' score 84 from 13 reviews: 12 positive, 1 mixed, 0 negative. The reviews agree almost to a fault. Nearly every critic begins with the long opening kitchen sequence, a single stretch of cooking that several call the finest thing in the film, and most go on from there to the photography of the food and the ease between Binoche and Magimel, whose shared history off screen is often credited with the warmth on it. The praise clusters around those three things and rarely strays: the cooking, the couple, the light. Several place it beside Babette’s Feast as one of the few films to make a meal worth watching for its own sake. Reservations are few and mild. A handful note that there is little plot and less conflict, and that the film relies on process and beauty to hold attention. The Skinny finds it staid and emotionally undercharged for all its care, and Deadline calls it light, with a love story that does not go deep. The spread is narrow; nobody dislikes it. ## Little White Lies — David Jenkins Rating 4/5/5. 15 February 2024. The review lauds the film's delectable photography of food and the perfectly matched pairing of Binoche and Magimel in a sensual epic of gastronomic passions, declaring it instant foodie film canon. [Read the review](https://lwlies.com/reviews/the-taste-of-things) ## Time Out — Phil de Semlyen Rating 5/5. 25 May 2023. Festival review. The critic calls it a rich and romantic gastronomic feast, praising the lived-in chemistry between the leads and the erotic, sensory pleasures of the food preparation and romance. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/the-pot-au-feu-2023) ## The New York Times — Alissa Wilkinson Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 8 February 2024. The critic calls it a magnificent culinary romance that exquisitely captures the kitchen’s bittersweet blessings and the transcendence of food and love. It highlights the leads’ chemistry and the film’s emotional depth amid sumptuous meals. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/08/movies/the-taste-of-things-review.html) ## Empire — David Parkinson Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 16 February 2024. The film is a visually ravishing and emotionally delicate costume drama that sensually and reverentially depicts the preparation and consumption of food. It features real romantic frisson between the leads, enhanced by their real-life history, along with scrutiny of class, gender, and culinary culture. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/the-taste-of-things/) ## Film Comment — Simran Hans Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 2 February 2024. The critic praises the film’s respectful, culturally specific use of food as a storytelling and character tool in its Belle Époque setting, highlighting the long choreographed kitchen sequences and the couple’s intimate history. It notes the film’s comforting appeal while appreciating its period detail and subversion through a Vietnamese director. [Read the review](https://www.filmcomment.com/the-food-film-a-la-france-the-taste-of-things-tran-anh-hung-review/) ## Radio Times — Max Copeman Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). The review describes a sumptuous French drama in which food serves as the language of love, commending the strong chemistry between Binoche and Magimel and the luxurious presentation of the dishes. [Read the review](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-5xunm0/the-taste-of-things/) ## The i Paper — Francesca Steele Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 14 February 2024. This is a slow, incomparably patient film about the bond two people form over food, with an extraordinary 38-minute opening scene of cooking that emphasizes sensory details and the joy of the process. It is a bittersweet, unflinching look at how all things pass, even romance, while celebrating artistry in the ordinary. [Read the review](https://inews.co.uk/culture/film/the-taste-of-things-review-2901881) ## The Telegraph — Robbie Collin Rating 4/5. 15 February 2024. The review celebrates the film's vivid, loving depiction of cooking and eating as a full-fat foodie experience that earns a place in the canon alongside Babette's Feast. It singles out the virtuosic opening sequence of simultaneous dish preparation for particular praise. [Read the review](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/0/the-pot-au-feu-cannes-2023-review-tran-anh-hung/) ## The Times — Ed Potton Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 16 February 2024. The critic highlights the sensuous French-language film as offering some of the best screen food since Babette’s Feast, with an epic opening meal sequence that turns Frenchness up to 11. The pretentious yet kind gourmet protagonist and the soulmate dynamic with the cook are noted positively. [Read the review](https://www.thetimes.com/world/europe/article/the-taste-of-things-review-juliette-binoche-l0qtxsf23) ## IndieWire — Sophie Monks Kaufman 24 May 2023. Festival review. Highlights the passionate chemistry between Binoche and Magimel and the film's focus on food as an expression of love in this Cannes competition entry. [Read the review](https://www.indiewire.com/criticism/movies/the-pot-au-feu-review-food-1234867465/) ## Los Angeles Times — Justin Chang 15 December 2023. The critic describes it as an absorbing, pleasurable mouthwatering crowd-pleaser that celebrates the artistry of cooking and the intimate bond between the leads. It singles out the extended kitchen sequences, performances, and themes of time and pleasure. [Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2023-12-15/the-taste-of-things-review-juliette-binoche-benoit-magimel) ## Screen Daily 24 May 2023. Festival review. The critic highlights the tender rapport between Binoche and Magimel, the exquisite filming of the meals, and the film's celebration of a mature relationship guided by mutual respect and equality. [Read the review](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/the-pot-au-feu-cannes-review/5182562.article) ## Sight and Sound 8 February 2024. The critic praises the film's elegant portrayal of a culinary romance between a gourmet and his cook, highlighting the delicate chemistry between Binoche and Magimel and its sensual focus on the artistry of cooking and deeper themes of love and artistic exchange. [Read the review](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/taste-things-tran-anh-hungs-elegant-gastro-film-feast-senses) ## Slant Magazine — Chris Barsanti 29 November 2023. Notes the film's sensual attention to culinary creation and the intertwined passions of food and romance, commending Binoche and Magimel's performances. [Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/taste-of-things-review-juliette-binoche-tran-anh-hung/) ## The Guardian — Peter Bradshaw 18 February 2024. The critic praises the film's daring, leisurely opening sequence focused on food preparation and its unconventional portrayal of a tender, enduring later-life romance between equals. The sensual parallels between cooking and physical intimacy are highlighted as subversive and satisfying. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2024/feb/18/the-taste-of-things-review-juliette-binoche-tran-anh-hung-benoit-magimel-deliciously-subversive-tale-of-later-life-love) ## The Hollywood Reporter — Jordan Mintzer 24 May 2023. Festival review. Praises the film's gorgeous portrayal of haute cuisine and middle-age romance between the leads, calling it one of the most appetizing art-house food films in years. [Read the review](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/the-pot-au-feu-review-juliette-binoche-benoit-magimel-1235497317/) ## Variety — Guy Lodge 24 May 2023. Festival review. The critic praises the film's sensual, unhurried depiction of haute cuisine and the quiet, intuitive partnership between the leads as a deeply moving love story centered on food. It notes the minimal plot and conflict, with beauty and process holding the audience. [Read the review](https://variety.com/2023/film/reviews/the-taste-of-things-review-la-passion-de-dodin-bouffant-1235623784/) ## Vulture — Bilge Ebiri 9 February 2024. Celebrates the film's ravishing focus on food preparation and consumption as central to the characters' emotional lives, praising the leads' chemistry and the director's poetic languor. [Read the review](https://www.vulture.com/article/the-taste-of-things-review-delectable-and-maybe-radical.html) ## Collider — Chase Hutchinson Rating 9/10. 13 February 2024. The film is one of the most quietly beautiful and romantic ever made, telling a love story between two culinary artists. The critic singles out the spellbinding opening kitchen sequence for its immersive rhythm and splendor. [Read the review](https://collider.com/taste-of-things-review/) ## The Wrap Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 24 May 2023. Festival review. It is an absolute delight, a refined, handsomely shot and soothing serving of art house food porn that prefers steaks to stakes, with wonderful depictions of food and strong performances from the leads. [Read the review](https://www.thewrap.com/the-pot-au-feu-review-cannes-2023-juliette-binoche/) ## Deadline — Damon Wise Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 24 May 2023. Festival review. The critic finds it a charming, artful but light soufflé of a film that celebrates the senses through its treatment of cookery as poetry and performance art, though the love story lacks depth. [Read the review](https://deadline.com/2023/05/the-pot-au-feu-review-tran-anh-hung-juliette-binoche-benoit-magimel-1235379211/) ## The Skinny — Carmen Paddock Rating 3/5. 7 February 2024. The critic finds the film lovingly prepared and beautiful but ultimately staid and undercharged emotionally, with its slow-simmering romance and food-as-love themes feeling removed from deeper feeling despite the visual adoration of the process. It remains a gorgeous but slight entry in the food-as-love canon. [Read the review](https://www.theskinny.co.uk/film/new-releases/the-taste-of-things) ## Eye for Film — Amber Wilkinson 20 October 2023. Festival review. Hùng's film is a sensuous celebration of savoring the moment through exquisite cooking, light, and a slow-burn romance between the leads, whose real-life history adds depth. The cinematography and attention to detail make it a visual and emotional treat about love expressed through effort and food. [Read the review](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/the-taste-of-things-2023-film-review-by-amber-wilkinson) ## HeyUGuys — Jo-Ann Titmarsh 15 January 2024. Festival review. The film is a charming, nostalgic entry in the lineage of food-centric cinema like Babette's Feast, with meticulous kitchen scenes that will delight food lovers and a lovely portrayal of the central couple. It indulges in beauty and romance without hardship, making for an enjoyable feast. [Read the review](https://www.heyuguys.com/the-taste-of-things-pot-au-fue-review/) ## Paste — Brianna Zigler Rating 8.5. 8 February 2024. Festival review. The film is a very nice and sweet tragic love story of sensory delights centered on food and a long-term bond. The critic singles out the sound design and tactile cooking scenes for creating an ASMR-like world of pleasure. [Read the review](https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies/new-york-film-festival-2023/the-taste-of-things-review) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/the-taste-of-things.md