I first watched the French film “Delicatessen” on a shag rug in my family’s living room in 1992. I was 16 years old and virtually in my cultural infancy. While many peers were bored with subtitles and abstract plots, I had a hunger to understand what it was about these films that tickled the fancies of artsy-fartsy set.

Watching this film as a 16 year old confirmed to me that, indeed, foreign films were worth my time. And I’d be safe to say; this was one movie that impacted my future appreciation for unique film making.

“Delicatessen’s” Plot: Post-apocalyptic conditions are hard, meat is scarce, and people are desperate. A retired clown rents an apartment above the Butcher’s shop and meets a mélange of characters who are, to say the least, eccentric. This includes the Butcher who brutally tends to his flock of tenants by feeding them what livestock is available: HUMAN!

When the whimsical protagonist falls in love with the Butcher’s daughter (and visa versa), the plan to make a meal of new guy goes awry. She attempts to protect him through pleas to her brutish father, but to no avail. Finally she hires an underground vegetarian faction to fix things and then things REALLY get wild.

“Delicatessen” is visually engaging with striking contrasts, smoky cityscapes, and just an overall eeriness. The sets are reminiscent of Braque’s cubist paintings – monochromatic, confusing, and deliberate.

What’s most impressive to me is the multi-sensory experience that the film magically conveys with its cleverly composed percussion numbers and dust and smoke that can almost make you choke.

For those of you hungry for a little French culture post-apocalypse-style…or for those with, simply stated, an appreciation of dark humor, please join us at Foothills Performing Center on Monday November 17, 8 pm for this delicious and playful masterpiece.

Christina H.

As I’m usually reminded whenever I watch foregin films, our sensitivities and expectations as Americans are not universal. We were all taught that any good story has a conflict, a climax, a resolution… and so on. Based on this, most Hollywood films are packed heavy with tensions and “situations”. Tampopo (Japanese) was a pleasant departure from that formula.

The film is simply a romp. This is not to say that it is without some plot lines, but it is a comedy after all, and a Japanese one at that. The main character Tampopo, is a widow who owns a noodle shop. It’s not such a good noodle shop, and the film follows her education and efforts to make her place the best it can be. To paraphrase Tampopo: Everybody has got a ladder to climb. Some climb every rung to the top and some don’t even know they have one.

And perhaps that’s the biggest “message” in the movie. To strive for personal improvement! I can say that after the movie I had a serious hankering for noodles and a new appreciation of the complexities of what appears to be a simple dish.

Absolutely well worth the time, this move has many heart warming moments and is an overall joy! Ten toes up!

At Foothills Monday, November 2 at 8pm.

John Costa

The November movies are great for date night.  Food is a sensuous and seductive subject.  The Foothills setting is intimate and fun.  And the movies we’re showing will make you feel like a genius.  They are staples of any study of cinema theory and practice.  These movies will feed your brain!  (Even the disgusting ones.)

See you at the theater.

Jennifer