Paul LaCoste's STEP UP TO THE PLATE: fine French eatery moves from père to fils

Reminiscent in some ways of last year's change-comes-to-a-fancy-restaurant doc, El Bulli: Cooking in Progress, the movie under consideration here is maybe one hundred times as human and humane. Whereas El Bulli seemed most concer-ned with food as art (oh, the colors, the patterns, the tex-tures, the shapes!), STEP UP TO THE PLATE (Entre les Bras is its native French title), tracks a three-generation French family for whom (very) good cooking has meant its livelihood, worldwide acclaim, and perhaps, for the father-and-son chefs we meet here, its deepest love.

Filmmaker Paul Lacoste, shown at left, has done a swell job of making his film inclusive -- of the restaurants (there's another one in Japan!) its chefs, their family, friends and community, and of course, the food. And while it is that food that has made the family name, this documentary, unlike a number of others, would not qualify for the relatively new genre of "food porn" because it is about so much more than the thrill of merely stuffing our faces with exotic, expensive, fancy-to-foolish cuisine.

Among these other, and to TrustMovies' mind, much more interesting topics, Lacoste engages with the old bugaboo of the senior male retiring, stepping down, and allowing the heir to take center stage. While nothing about this is shoved in our faces, the scenes that show dad, Michel, tasting one or another of the concoctions served up by his son, Sébastien (note dad's expression, above), turn the movie into a whole new mini-genre you might call edible Oedipal.  

We meet the wives/mothers, and some of the community in which the Brases labor. There is no narration to either clog things up or make them easier for us to understand. But for the most past, M. Lacoste keeps us abreast of what's happening and what this means. France has long been considered a rigid place in terms of ideas such as feminism and a woman's place. The restaurant business would seem to underscore this, as the women we see here are all wives and mothers -- even though it was originally grandma who did the actual cooking that inspired Michel. In the restaurants, while we see an occasional female underling, women are relegated to the role of hostess.

There is also a certain amount, I would think, of whitewashing going on here, as in nearly all documentaries about people and their businesses (that's the restaurant, above). But this is offset by the sense of reality and generosity conveyed by both the filmmaker and his subjects. We get some history, too, via the grandparents who are still alive: "Michel didn't go out to play; he always liked to hang around the kitchen."

How a chef creates is expressed quite well here, too, particularly via the dishes Sébastien hopes to produce for the Japanese location. What we see being made appears to be more organic, genuine, richer and more filling than what was shown us in El Bulli. One of these dishes is milk-based and then topped with all sorts of flavors, from the savory to the sweet. (That's the gorgeous Gargouillou salad, above, and something else, the name of which I am not certain, below.)

The differences in philosophy between Michel and Sébastien are apparent, thought not explored in any depth (food critics will no doubt engage in this as the son makes his mark on the restaurant in the time to come), and the film ends with a lovely little homage to mom's blackberry jam and cheese.

Step Up to the Plate, an appropriate title now set in quite a different context (from The Cinema Guild and running 84 minutes), opens this Friday in New York City at the Lincoln Plaza and Quad cinemas, and will begin its limited released in another ten cities next week. You can check all currently scheduled playdates here. (Above is shown perhaps the next chef in this famous food family's chain: Michel's grandson.)

Gereon Wetzel's doc on EL BULLI, as that chic restaurant comes to its imminent close

TrustMovies suspects that many viewers will come away of two minds about the new documentary EL BULLI: COOKING IN PROGRESS. They will certainly, if they possess any interest in "cuisine," find this work of German filmmaker Gereon Wetzel worth a watch, if only for its crisp, clean cinematographical peek into the seaside Barcelona-based restaurant considered to be among if not the best in the world. At the same time they may better understand the meaning of a phrase that, until I saw this movie, I did not fully appreciate: food porn.

Mr. Wetzel -- that's he, I believe, shown at left (you're a hard man to find a photo of, Gereon!) -- follows in his film the several chefs of El Bulli, with emphasis on the "boss," Ferran Adrià and his cohorts Oriol Castro and Eduard Xatruch, as they plan the coming season's menu. Their restaurant is open for business spring, summer and fall but closed all winter so that the three can "create" their upcom-ing menu. This creation is by far the most interesting part of the film and takes up around half of its 108 and slightly overlong minutes.

From its opening-in-the-dark moment, the movie's a visual feast food-wise and otherwise. (Even the restaurant's seaside location, above, should take your breath away.) And though yours truly doesn't pay that much attention to his own cooking or eating, for people who do, the film could be a goldmine of education. How new dishes come into being provides several highlights. Often, when you hear a chef describing some screwy-sound combination of tastes, you want  to roll your eyes. Not here. Not, at least, during this first half of the film.

"But why?" One of the chefs asks about a certain dish at one point along the way. It's a question that ought to be asked more often. "It's not pretty!" notes Ferran later, which pretty much sums up the idea of "presentation." What we see one day as jelly turns into an exquisite vinaigrette the next, and later we discover a cocktail, above, with oil, like a soup: The top feels like silk, while the bottom remains liquid. And we go with two of our chefs to market, where, on one particular day, they purchase only five white grapes.

During the second half of the film, the new staff for the coming season is trained. While this portion will appeal most to those who plan to open their own first-class restaurant, there are some highlights here, as well. We see brilliance suddenly achieved out of a "goof": using the wrong water (carbonated rather than regular) has produced something magical. The preparation of food, at least in the hand of these chefs, seems to require a combination of science and art. And in the midst of all the planning/execution, at last there is mention of a dish I actually recognize: pine nut ravioli.

Your overall reaction to El Bulli - the film and the restaurant (which is slated to close for good on July 30 of this year) -- will depend, I think, on your overall reaction to food. Is it necessary nourishment or something to be treated as an art form, as a fabulous and tasty game to be played and won?  The last few minutes of the movie are devoted to menus -- with each dish, as above (coconut sponge), below (ice vinaigrette with tangerines and green olives) and at right (vanilla chips), named and pictured in all its bizarre glory. You may possibly be seized with a huge case of food envy at never being able to partake in these amazements. Or, like me, you will find yourself salivating at the thought of, tonight, grilling a simple burger seasoned with salt, pepper, garlic and parsley, with a side dish of perfectly steamed, al dente and sauce-less, green beans.

El Bulli: Cooking in Progress, from Alive Mind Cinema, begins a two-week run here in New York City at Film Forum on Wednesday, July 27. Click here for screening times.