A Taste of Hunger

No pun intended - Game of Food? I don't think that works - though if you have used it, I am not saying you are wrong. I guess if you are responsible for a kitchen, for many people who cook (for you and customers), you have to be quite ... well hard and really "bossy". The start gives us a clear view of our main character and how he thinks and acts.

We may feel he is a bit too much - the way he commands and talks (down) to his employees ... but as I said, sometimes this is the only way to go about things. Add to that a really tough relationship and other issues that seem to lay in his way ... and you can feel for the guy ... especially towards the end ... both his wife and him ... we understand both perspectives ... or rather we can understand them both ... maybe we are more on one side than the other ... will it help or be an obstacle to his professional goals?

This movie is mainly destined to gourmets - whom I am not - so maybe that's for this reason that I hardly feel any taste in my mouth watching it. I was at first afraid to be COVID infected - absence of taste - but I fastly realized that I focused on the wrong link to appreciate this dish movie. I preferd Ted Kotcheff's WHO IS KILLING THE GREAT CHEFS OF EUROPE? Which was far more delightful than this one. Actually this film has to be seen as a drama, romance, nothing else. It remains an interesting movie after all, the rest concerns only a matter of approach. Nothing else.

Nikolaj Coster-Waldau is one of my favorite actors, and as always he has an excellent performance in this film. A Taste of Hunger was sold as Nikolai being the main actor, however the big star of this film is not him, but Katrine Greis-Rosenthal (Maggie). The plot developed throughout the film was completely wrapped around her character, leaving Carsten, Nikolai's character, in the background. There was no reason to create so much marketing over Nikolai's name and so little on Katrine, this is something that bothered me a lot, even though Nikolai is my favorite actor.

The story is interesting, with a justifiable personal desire of the character. The photography is wonderful, capturing beautiful elements and scenery from Denmark. I noticed some camera and continuation errors, but they are passable.

The plot developed throughout the film is quite warm until the middle, focusing exclusively on the desires, hopes and characteristics of the characters. And after all that, there's an interesting plot twist at the end of the movie, something that is, frankly, unimaginable.

Overall, A Taste of Hunger is a good movie to watch in the afternoon. It's not a film with an excellent plot, but it is... charismatic. The performances are excellent, soundtrack PERFECT, photography great, and a warm story.

I recommend.

Completely enthralling film; both the double barrelled leads are amazing and it's so beautifully shot that I've rewatched it several times.

The premise seems simple; how can one strive for perfection in one area without it detrimentally changing the rest of your life. If it's a shared dream can balance be found elsewhere?

I loved it because of it's honesty; for the non-parents out there SPOILER ALERT having children changes your relationship especially if they sleep best in your bed. If you pour most of your energy into your work then can you also be a great spouse and parent? I fear the ending might not be the end but then presumably both these successful actors have relationships too and they must have to travel and sacrifice to do what they do so perhaps it is possible.

Smagen af sult is a decent film. I went in with little expectations and came out satisfied having seen a nicely presented picture. The only other Michelin-star-level cooking film that I remember watching is Burnt, which was a TOTAL train-wreck, so the bar was set pretty low.

The plot perhaps lacks some substance, but in other respects the film delivered. It was nicely framed, the performances were good all around, and the characters felt real. This especially goes for Frederik. A character that would commonly get downgraded to one-dimensional home-wrecker, in this film he gets just enough spotlight to show how he also was yet another victim of the ambition to get that coveted Michelin star.