A feast of films

A brief list of movies in which food plays a starring role, or serves as a metaphor.

BABETTE'S FEAST (1987) G

A French Catholic housemaid in a 19th-century Danish village prepares a fabulous meal out of gratitude to her employers.

BIG NIGHT (1995) R

Two Italian brothers in a 1950s New Jersey town try to serve authentic Italian dishes to Americans raised on spaghetti and meatballs.

A CHEF IN LOVE (1996) PG-13

A travelling French chef falls in love with Princess Cecilia of Georgia and decides to open a restaurant in Tblisi on the eve of the invasion by the Red Army in 1921.

DIM SUM (1985) PG

A young Chinese-American woman cares for her interfering mother in San Francisco. A feast for Chinese-food fans.

EAT DRINK MAN WOMAN (1994) R

A chef who has lost his sense of taste communicates his love to his three daughters by cooking exquisite dishes every Sunday.

EATING (1991) R

A group of women confess their anxieties about eating and weight.

FRIED GREEN TOMATOES AT WHISTLE STOP CAF (1991) PG-13

Unhappy with her marriage, a woman listens to an older woman's tales of two women who set up a cafe in 1920s Alabama.

LIKE WATER FOR CHOCOLATE (1992) R

The unmarried youngest daughter of a Mexican family pours her unrequited love and longings into the food she cooks.

SOUL FOOD (1997) R

A family's tradition of Sunday meals is upended when the matriarch falls ill and relationships begin to deteriorate.

THE SPITFIRE GRILL (1996) PG-13

A young girl just released from prison tries to start life over as a waitress in a small-town diner.

THE STORY OF BOYS AND GIRLS (1989) UNRATED

Two very different families unite over a 20-course wedding banquet in 1930s Italy.

TAMPOPO (1986) R

A stranger wanders into the restaurant of a widow and teaches her how to make the perfect noodle.

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