Despite planning to review my first film of this blog until next week, I couldn't wait so I've done it early :)
Julie
and Julia (2009)
About the film-
Julie and Julia film is based on two
stories:- a woman who learns to cook to use up her free time, and a woman who
goes through all the receipts in her idols cook book.
Looking at food, the desire of food, the passion of food, and hunger to
eat is all seen within this movie. At the very beginning of the film, it is made very clear that character Julia Childs loves butter, and loves food. This is shown in the first scene of Julia and her husband eating their first meal in a Parisian restaurant, before they move into their new house. As well as this on more than one occasion throughout the film, not only does the older couple have conversations about food, and share one anothers company within the main restrictions of the kitchen, but they share their meals in restaurants, feeding each other and sharing the pleasure of particular courses. Within the film, Julia Childs attends cooking classes for professionals, to learn how to cook due to her admiration for cooking and food. As well as this, the fact that she is always in the kitchen cooking, or out buying ingredients for cooking, and looking at food, displays her passion for it. The fishmongers market, bakery- she is there.
As for the other part of the film, the young
woman Julie, and her husband, also enjoys each other’s company over food and
conversation after a long day at work. As she says within the film, “cooking is
something I do to get away from what I do all day”. This shows that she not
only loves cooking but is absorbed by it. the fact that character Julie works
in a cubicle answering questions and enquiries on the results of the event of
9/11, in a insurance company, food is what
seems to get her through the day and looking forward to being in the kitchen
cooking.
The feel of the film-
Both stories are wonderfully linked together, and yes this film
definitely makes you want to eat! Steak is one of the things that you crave throughout
this film. Some of the speechless moments when Julia Childs character, (played
by Meryl Streep), when she eats certain foods, just makes your mouth water. Amy
Adam’s character Julie Powell, also makes you want to start cooking some of the
things within the story, such as baguette bread with tomato mixture on top, and
beef bourguignon (I will be trying these out at some point). Despite the baguette bread with tomato mixture on top meal, not being in Julia Child’s cook book, it still looks tasty.
I feel that butter is completely promoted
within this film, its brought up several times, used in more than one recipe
and the tone and way the characters speak about food within this movie is
beautiful. You can tell that there is a real love for not only cooking, but
home cooking, proper cooking. Making things from scratch tastes a lot better. This is the sort of film you want to be watching while scoffing down your most favorite meal of all time. Trust me- it works!
My personal experience/influence from the
film-
I have never been into cooking, not proper
cooking for that matter; I have always been the sort of person to cook because
I need to eat to get me through the day. However recently through out the last
year or so, I have developed my taste buds, expanded my interests, and have started to eat for passion and pleasure,
enjoying my meals with the various flavors rather than eating because its just lunchtime.
Due to this factor, and now haven watched
the film more than 10 times within a monthly period when i first got it, it has got me really into
not only wanting to try new meals and recipes, but wanting to learn to cook
more than just pasta, a roast dinners, and different types of red meat all the time. Not
that I will always be cooking from scratch everything that I produce from the
oven or hob for every evening meal, but its nice to start to know that if you
do fancy more than just the usual meal of meat and veg and wanting a bit more
enjoyment out of a meal, then I know I can do it.
I have yet to try some of the recipes from
the book, or even buy Julia Childs massive thick cook book, but the film has
persuaded me to at least start to look into it. I have, of course, got the movie that came with
a smaller version of the cookbook. I have looked over that, and despite a few
things not to my taste (for instance I don’t like parsnips); I can at least
adapt some meals to my liking.
So I suppose what I am trying to say is
that my experience from watching the movie, not only makes you really hungry
and craving steak, butter and fancy restaurant meals, but it does encourage one
to take some sort of an interest in cooking, and learning more advanced stuff. Of course I just watch it to make me hungry so I have the excuse to eat (hehe),
but it has definitely been one of those films which for me, if you want to
watch a food film, it’s the first one that comes to mind.
I now because of this film, I want to learn how to cook more sophisticated meals, I have begun to enjoy food more, I want to expand my palate and it's not just because of this movie, but because of Julia Childs herself for writing the cookbook over nearly a decade, and to Julie Powell for cooking from the cookbook and blogging about, because if it weren't for them, this film wouldn't have got made, and inspired another generation to cook.
Check out this film! There are so many aspects to it, that the food part is only the beginning. Meryl Streep's performance and interpretation of Julia Childs is excellent, and Amy Adams looks great, and.....just watch it.
Raquel
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