A TASTE OF HUNGER/SMAGEN AF SULT. Denmark, 2021. Starring Katrine Greis-Rosenthal, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Flora Augusta, Charlie Gustafsson, August Vinkel, Nicholas Bro. Directed by Christoffer Boe. 104 minutes. Rated M (Mature themes, sex and coarse language).
With so many popular cooking programs, from all over the world, on television, it is not surprising that there have been a number of films in recent years taking audiences into kitchens, observing food preparation, cooking, service and style.
As the title seems to indicate, this is one of those films. It comes from Denmark and stars popular Danish actor Coster-Waldau as the meticulous cook Carsten, a rather different role, from trekking across the Arctic to mythological adventures in Game of Thrones. And he is matched by Danish actress, Greis-Rosenthal, as his wife, Maggie.
For those watching, there is an amount of food preparation, cooking, failures in the kitchen, eating – and, as it emerges, the desperate hope for the restaurant in Copenhagen to receive the honour of a Michelin star. And, it would seem this is the greater hunger, the hunger of ambition dominating so much else.
The film creates the atmosphere of Copenhagen, of the restaurant, especially in the kitchen, as well as homes and apartments, other restaurants. And, there are some dramatic excursions to the countryside outside Copenhagen.
But, audience attention is more and more drawn to the relationship between Carsten and Maggie, their two children, life at home with Carsten’s preoccupation with his restaurant (his daughter complaining that he talks about food even away from the restaurant). Gradually, deeper tensions are revealed, a mysterious typed letter indicating that Maggie is not faithful to Carsten.
Audiences have to pay attention to the chronology of the film – because, we realise, that it is presented as something of a jigsaw puzzle. On the one hand, there are the scenes in present Copenhagen, times indicated specifically at the bottom of the screen. Then, there are some words presented something like a screen poster, a heading, and some attention to detail and action. And we realise that we are being taken back into the past, sometimes within a few minutes of a present scene. Eventually, we are able to put all the pieces in place but it is a challenge to attention.
The main flashback is to the first meeting between Carsten and Maggie, his background, failure at a function, her coming to his support, inspiring him – and a realisation that they have been running the restaurant for 10 years, married for 10 years. In the background are genial characters, especially Carsten’s older brother whom he worked for, another man who is his mentor, and a number of cooks, including Frederik (Gustafsson), the younger member of the group.
There is also a frantic sequence when one of the children is lost in the forest, a desperate search. And there is also a highly dramatic sequence involving the young daughter, the repercussions of the tensions in her parents’ life becoming overwhelming.
Actually, we can leave the cinema in quite a cheerful mood in some respects – and, a note, there is actually another minute with Carsten and Maggie after the final credits.
Pivot Pictures
Released 13 October 2022