Reel Food & World Cinema

In the Italian-American film, Big Night, the movie tells the story of two Italian brothers who own and operate their own restaurant where Americanized versions of Italian foods are cooked and served to their customers. However, the business, as well as the personal relationship between the two brothers, are thrown into limbo after a large argument begins, and the restaurant is in danger of being closed forever. In the last scene of Big Night,  one of the two brothers, Secondo, begins to cook an omelette in the kitchen of the restaurant for himself and the third main character of the film, Cristiano, one of the restaurant's waiters. Shortly after Secondo and Cristiano begin eating, the second brother, Primo, enters the kitchen and is given a plate as well. This is scene is very powerful because it shows how strong the familial connection between Primo and Secondo is. After all they have been through (i.e. the restaurant's failing business, the personal quarreling between the t...

In the films Once Upon a Time...When We Were Colored and  Soul Food , the food that is presented and eaten by each family helps to constitute the cultural and ethnical identities of the African-American families of each film. For example, both films depict the African-American families eating what many would call a "traditional Southern Feast" (Balthrope, 103) consisting of fried chicken, ham, corn, mashed potatoes, and sweet potato pie. While many believe the foods listed above to be foods that are typically eaten by African-American people, the foods that are eaten in each film actually help to show the cultural identity of the characters as being Southerners as well.  In addition to the food that is cooked by the African-American families in each film, the collective name that is given to the food and that the food is referred to as, "soul food", also helps establish cultural boundaries and ethnical identities in these films, especially considering the fact th...

The film "Tortilla Soup" and the original "Eat Drink Man Woman" share many similar elements with each other. First of all, the overall plot of each film is about a male cook who have lost their senses of taste yet cook incredible meals for their families. In both of these films, the family members consists of three daughters, all of whom are beginning their own adult lives and have started to break away from their family traditions. In addition, the three different paths each daughter takes are similar in both films. For example, the oldest daughter of each family converts to Christianity and also works as a school teacher, while the middle daughter in each film enjoys cooking and shares the same passions as her father, but never pursues that career choice. Finally, the youngest daughter in each film does not have any set career path in her life, and is slightly more rebellious and defiant than the other two. However, one main difference between these two films,...