Food is… not really my thing. I eat because I have to and find the experience to be almost entirely inconvenient. I think the abuses of the food world are genuinely unacceptable and am largely disgusted by the culture that exists within the “higher” echelons of that universe. The strange religious zealotry that exists within so-called “foodies” when it comes to consuming something prepared in esoteric, wasteful, and largely meaningless ways is something I find… unsettling. So, when I say that this film centered around the pursuit of a Micheline star is entirely captivating, excellently directed, and wonderfully produced, I hope that has some merit.

A Taste of Hunger is a 2021 Danish film that has less than 2,000 reviews across the three major aggregate sites [IMDB, Rotten Tomatoes, and Cacciatoreviews Metacritic] and doesn’t even have a Wikipedia article. While I don’t think Taste is particularly groundbreaking, I do think it deserves more attention than that. The writing is concise, the narrative structure is fun and intriguing, and the cinematography, lighting, and production design aspects are all absolutely masterful and unique without ever feeling the need to be “different”. The film has a very interesting and individual identity with an unusual ability to meander around it’s purported goal without ever losing the audience’s attention. That said, it’s not all rosés and fancy octopus legs. The film has some fairly major drawbacks… drawbacks that are only so striking because the rest of it is so humanly imprecise and vulnerable.

In A Taste of Hunger we follow Chef Carsten and wife Maggie as they chase their collective passions and attempt to win a Micheline star for their Copenhagen based restaurant, Malus. Through a series of current and past events, we learn that there is more to their impassioned lives than we see originally presented. The lengths and stresses one must go to pursue their ultimate dream may drive some to moments of aggressive expression, while it may lead others down roads not easily repaired. In the end, are the loses accrued worth the rewards gained?

A Taste of Hunger is a film best viewed on an OLED or alternate screen of similar color density, because each scene is so vibrantly shot and intentionally lit that to do otherwise would be a disservice. Onscreen, both Nikolaj Coster-Waldau and Katrine Greis-Rosenthal are at once captivating and upsetting with the authenticity of their performances. Adding to the overall engagement of the film, the cinematography makes it feel like you’re watching a documentary while the score is subtle, distinct, and moving. As a total piece I’d say this most reminds me of 2020’s Little Fish in visual and energetic presentation, though I don’t think it’s anywhere near as touching or complete. And that lack of of “completeness” is where A Taste of Hunger hurts itself the most.

The film largely centers around our two main characters, Carsten [Coster-Waldau], and, Maggie [Greis-Rosenthal]. These two are excellent, flawed, and dynamic. In short, both of these “characters” are more like “people” rather than something made up and written down for the convenience of a plot. Because of the interestingly real writing of these two characters, many of the tertiary members of the cast feel a little flat. While this is generally the case for roles outside the main focus, there’s two in particular that hinder the film in a fairly large way. I’ll talk about them more in the dropdown below to avoid spoilers. Adding to this lack of completeness is, oddly, the overall and general tidiness of the final scenes of the film. Whereas something like 2019’s A Marriage Story gives us a definite but kind of nebulous and melancholy conclusion, Taste is a little more determined to undermine it’s entire message for the sake of the audience’s approval. For some this won’t be an issue, for me the ending was lacking a little context to truly translate.

However short some of Taste’s stunts are from sticking their landing, this is one to celebrate for its merits rather than loath for its foibles. It’s a drama that will move you, divide you, and have you both cheering for and scolding everyone on screen. Though I’m not entirely sure the reaction is intentional, it will even make you laugh and choke on your drink as certain elements are revealed. As Christoffer Boe’s 5th feature-length film, it’s difficult to say that A Taste of Hunger shows vision in the same way that I wave away other early work imbalances… but it is an intriguing piece and I do want to make space to watch his other pieces. Film is a kind of funny thing where we judge a person’s skills based on an incredibly small body of work… but that’s a discussion for another time.

A Taste of Hunger is a beautiful film with difficult characters, a focused and driven plot, and absolutely stunning production. It seems to have garnered almost no attention since its release, and I hope that I can change that at least a little. Be prepared to have some opinions on other people’s lives, sharpen your knives, and set your tables for A Taste of Hunger.