Films that make you want to play with your food

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This post is dedicated to all of the social and societal norms that has ever told me and women in general to not take pleasure in food. I refuse to accept a world full of misogyny. If you’ve ever felt like you’ve had a negative relationship to food, then I encourage you to watch these films (also just watch these anyway lol they are fun). To me, food is about pleasure, fun, curiosity, and adventure and it’s for everyone to enjoy. This is why I created a cute little list of films that make you want to play with your food!

TAMPOPO (1985)

Tampopo is one of my favorite films with food, because it’s about a woman who doesn’t give up on making the perfect ramen and it’s beautiful watching the process. However, I was there for the side story too. I love the parallel between food and sex. To me, eating food is about the experience. It’s about being in the present moment, enjoying it, and appreciating the details. I used to spend a lot of time eating food to look a certain way or because it’s what I thought I was supposed to be eating. However, this robbed me of so many beautiful moments and when I came to think of it, I would not want to have sex this way, so why would I want to eat this way? The two topics are SO related and food and sex should always be nourishing. This movie shows this in the most beautiful way.

EAT DRINK MAN WOMAN (1994)

Eat Drink Man Woman was incredible because it intersects the feelings of love and passion with food. Throughout the film, there are close ups of completely decadent, beautiful feasts. The scenes go back and forth between this and the complex relationships between three sisters and the men in their lives. This film explores the meaning of love and how people can interpret it in many different ways. Even though every character in the movie is going through completely different things, the food is the one thing that remains constant and connecting. Eat Drink Man Woman reminded me of how I can sometimes associate food with different times in my life. I can also remember people through food if I ate a specific meal with them. Food can make moments that much more special. The film also reminded me of how people crave food, like they crave love.

DAISIES (1966)

Daisies is amazing. I thought this movie was hilarious because two woman are completely taking advantage of men and being reckless with their money and ultimately ditching them in the end. They both don’t give two fucks and they’re as decadent as they please. My favorite scene was the two of them walking across the dining table in their heels and crushing the gorgeous feast with their stilettos. They are bad bitches and I love them. They make complete messes and never clean up after themselves. There is zero shame involved. I think that maybe this is so satisfying to see, because woman aren’t socialized to be this way and I love that a movie even from the 60’s is already breaking those barriers of the (ridiculous) expectations people placed on women. Marie 1 and 2 are goals.

JIRO DREAMS OF SUSHI (2011)

Okay, not going to lie but there was apart of this movie that I thought was pretty lame. It was when he said he would give the woman less food and it honestly made me want to scream at how people eat or serve food based off gender instead of desire and reality. I think that people should eat as much or as little as they please because THEY WANT TO not because they are man or woman or they. The same goes for when people won’t eat something because it’s “too girly.” I don’t know…I’m allergic to this. But, anyways I’m ranting now. This movie was beautiful because it basically dissected the importance of each ingredient. It was completely sexy how the sushi was served. Especially the close ups of the fish falling onto the rice. MY GOD. I had to eat sushi all week after watching this. Seeing the hard work and labor that went into each aspect of the restaurant was incredible and made me appreciate it that much more. It also makes me miss living in Japan so much!

Anyway, those are some of my favorites! All of them have subtitles. Please share in the comments below if there are any that you think are missing. I absolutely love films that make you want to play with your food! I feel like I didn’t do them any justice at all, but now you know if you need a good movie. All of these give me a new found appreciation for food each time which inspires me to create and play with my food. What films make you want to play with your food? 🙂