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Taste of Others (Le goût des autres), The
Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment // R // February 26, 2002
List Price: $32.99 [Buy now and save at Amazon]
As the saying goes, what's one man's trash is another man's treasure... and you can't judge a book by its cover. In one way or another, all the characters in the French comedy The Taste of Others (original title: Le goût des autres) come face to face with these truths as they apply to other people. Castella (Jean-Pierre Bacri) is a stodgy businessman with a busy schedule, a penchant for overeating, and a chauffeur and a bodyguard who are trying to juggle their own complicated social lives around their 24-7 responsibility to the boss. As it happens, Castella gets drawn from his tidy world of business into the bohemian world of theater by the coincidence that his English instructor, Clara (Anne Alvaro), is also an actress who stars in a play that Castella attends.
The Taste of Others is one of those movies in which it's not entirely clear where the story is going, but you're nonetheless pulled along for the ride. After introducing a fairly generous slate of characters, the film gradually develops a web of relationships among all of them. Each of these characters has his or her own sub-story; for the viewer, watching these stories is enriched by knowing more about the overall situation than the characters themselves know. The film's point of view circulates among the various sub-stories quickly enough to maintain interest in all of them, but not so quickly that any of the stories feels rushed. The character of Castella is the approximate focal point of the web of stories, but all of the others are presented in a fairly balanced way. Each story reflects on the others, as the different characters come face to face with the need for self-reflection as well as the importance of considering the effect one has on others.
Apart from their generally good performances, one thing that I particularly liked about the cast for The Taste of Others is their age. It's nice to see a film that treats men and women in their forties as being just as interested in love, sex, and relationships as the fresh-faced twentysomethings that populate the mainstream world of romantic comedies.
Films like The Taste of Others always sit a little sideways on my "comedy" shelf. In fact, this film is probably best classified as a comedy from the light touch it has and its humorous moments, but it's a film that has a serious core. There's a definite awareness of the human frailty of each of the characters, who are simply trying to achieve happiness in life as best they can, and a sensitivity toward them. When we laugh in The Taste of Others, it's in recognition that "life can be like that" and that we, or someone we know, could be in the same position. In support of this general tone, the characterizations have been handled with humor yet also subtlety, particularly Bacri's depiction of Castella, who starts off appearing to be a complacent middle-class bore but acquires considerably more depth by the end of the film.
Video
Miramax has, in fact, shown good taste in its excellent transfer of The Taste of Others. The anamorphic widescreen image is presented in its original 2.35:1 aspect ratio; it's a very clean print, free of noise and print flaws. Adding to the overall clarity and sharpness of the image is the fortunate lack of edge enhancement, plus excellent contrast in both indoor and outdoor scenes. Throughout the film, a varied and lively range of colors is used, all of which appear vividly in the DVD transfer.
Audio
The packaging is misleading in regard to the soundtrack of The Taste of Others: the case claims a Dolby 5.1 track, but in fact the French soundtrack is only Dolby 2.0. That said, the DVD does still present a very good all-around sound experience. The sound is full and well-balanced, with clear dialogue and a generally clean feel to it.
Extras
I'm pleased to report that the English subtitles for the film are optional. Apart from this feature, the only "extra" to report is a sampling of trailers for other Miramax films.
Final thoughts
The Taste of Others takes a humorous but also honest look at the way that finding love can be a difficult process of negotiation between partners. It's refreshing to watch something like this film, with a story structure that deviates from the predictable "comedy about romance" plotline, and I'd recommend it.
The Taste of Others is one of those movies in which it's not entirely clear where the story is going, but you're nonetheless pulled along for the ride. After introducing a fairly generous slate of characters, the film gradually develops a web of relationships among all of them. Each of these characters has his or her own sub-story; for the viewer, watching these stories is enriched by knowing more about the overall situation than the characters themselves know. The film's point of view circulates among the various sub-stories quickly enough to maintain interest in all of them, but not so quickly that any of the stories feels rushed. The character of Castella is the approximate focal point of the web of stories, but all of the others are presented in a fairly balanced way. Each story reflects on the others, as the different characters come face to face with the need for self-reflection as well as the importance of considering the effect one has on others.
Apart from their generally good performances, one thing that I particularly liked about the cast for The Taste of Others is their age. It's nice to see a film that treats men and women in their forties as being just as interested in love, sex, and relationships as the fresh-faced twentysomethings that populate the mainstream world of romantic comedies.
Films like The Taste of Others always sit a little sideways on my "comedy" shelf. In fact, this film is probably best classified as a comedy from the light touch it has and its humorous moments, but it's a film that has a serious core. There's a definite awareness of the human frailty of each of the characters, who are simply trying to achieve happiness in life as best they can, and a sensitivity toward them. When we laugh in The Taste of Others, it's in recognition that "life can be like that" and that we, or someone we know, could be in the same position. In support of this general tone, the characterizations have been handled with humor yet also subtlety, particularly Bacri's depiction of Castella, who starts off appearing to be a complacent middle-class bore but acquires considerably more depth by the end of the film.
Video
Miramax has, in fact, shown good taste in its excellent transfer of The Taste of Others. The anamorphic widescreen image is presented in its original 2.35:1 aspect ratio; it's a very clean print, free of noise and print flaws. Adding to the overall clarity and sharpness of the image is the fortunate lack of edge enhancement, plus excellent contrast in both indoor and outdoor scenes. Throughout the film, a varied and lively range of colors is used, all of which appear vividly in the DVD transfer.
Audio
The packaging is misleading in regard to the soundtrack of The Taste of Others: the case claims a Dolby 5.1 track, but in fact the French soundtrack is only Dolby 2.0. That said, the DVD does still present a very good all-around sound experience. The sound is full and well-balanced, with clear dialogue and a generally clean feel to it.
Extras
I'm pleased to report that the English subtitles for the film are optional. Apart from this feature, the only "extra" to report is a sampling of trailers for other Miramax films.
Final thoughts
The Taste of Others takes a humorous but also honest look at the way that finding love can be a difficult process of negotiation between partners. It's refreshing to watch something like this film, with a story structure that deviates from the predictable "comedy about romance" plotline, and I'd recommend it.
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