by Stephanie Harwood

Created on: August 10, 2009

The film Julie & Julia, which grew out of Julie Powell's memoir about her attempts to prepare every recipe in Julia Childs's Mastering the Art of French Cooking, has joined the memorable list of "food movies." In these films it's all about food: its preparation, its consumption, its effects on the characters. (And on the viewer; one film critic has written: "Warning: Do not see J&J on an empty stomach.")

But food movies are not cooking shows. As in good food writing, it's the narrative around the food that captivates, and in the end, of course, it's about us. And there are some good stories out there; in addition to Julie & Julia, these films qualify as top food flicks:

Babette's Feast (Danish, 1987). The classic, based on a short story by Isak Dinesen. Stephane Audran's refugee chef creates an evening of haute cuisine that is a gift and a blessing.

Like Water For Chocolate (Mexican, 1992). Love sublimated into food in a repressed household, where meals become mystical events. Who knew what rose petals could do?

Eat Drink Man Woman (Taiwan, 1994). For those who think Chinese food is stir-fry, here is the revelation of its beautiful complexity, in a film Leonard Maltin ranks with Babette, Chocolate and Tampopo (Japan, 1986, about the perfect noodle shop and reverence for ramen).

Big Night (U.S.,1996). An unforgettable Italian banquet produced by struggling sibling restaurateurs. Louis Prima would have loved it.

Ratatouille (U.S., 2007) Where love of food changes the lives of rats (thanks to animation) and men, and the dish itself trumps Proust's madeleines.

The influence of food over those who devote themselves to preparing it - chefs - has been at the heart of A Chef in Love (French-Russian,1996), where the chef refuses to flee his Georgian restaurant in the face of the Russian Revolution; Mostly Martha (a 2002 German film remade in the U.S. in 2007 as No Reservations), which opens with Martha at her therapist's, and Vatel (French-British, 2000), where Gerard Depardieu is the 17th-century chef who some believe committed suicide when the fish arrived late.

But nothing says a list has to stop at ten. The broader the decision about what constitutes a food film (so it's not necessarily about food, but has some great scenes), the longer the list. There's food and sex (Tom Jones (British, 1963), 9 Weeks (U.S.,1986); food and the Mafia (prison cooking in Goodfellas (U.S.,1990), Italian food throughout The Godfather (U.S.,1972)); food and friends or family (Fried Green Tomatoes (U.S.,1991), Mystic Pizza (U.S.,1988), Heartburn (U.S., 1986, based on a novel by Nora Ephron, who directed J&J); and even food-as-business (The Dinner Rush (U.S.,2001)).

And then there's chocolate, which anchors the plots in Chocolat (U.S.,2000) and Roald Dahl's Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (U.S.,1971) which was remade in 2005 as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, starring Chocolat star Johnny Depp.

There are also the quirkier ones, such as The Grande Bouffe (French-Italian, 1973), where food is a means for suicide; and the comedy-mystery Who is Killing The Great Chefs of Europe? (U.S., 1978).

And finally there is passing mention to the films that are worthwhile but that only the wags add to food movie lists, because they involve cannibalism: the Jeunet-Caro classic, Delicatessen (French, 1991); Eating Raoul (U.S., 1982); Peter Greenaway's The Cook, The Thief, His Wife & Her Lover (French-Dutch, 1989); and The Silence of the Lambs (U.S., 1991).

So when all is said and done - with a nod to Charles Laughton's gusto-eating scene in The Private Life of Henry VIII (British, 1933) - the list of food films makes a fine menu. And it all goes well with popcorn!

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