Cuisine et dépendances (1993)
Directed by Philippe Muyl

Film Review

After the success of their stage play, Cuisine et dépendances, Jean-Pierre Bacri and Agnès Jaoui co-scripted this film adaptation, directed by Philippe Muyl.  The film features the same cast as the play and marks the first in a series of impressive film collaborations between Jean-Pierre Bacri and Agnès Jaoui.  Their subsequents hits include Un air de famille (1996), On connaît la chanson (1997) and Le Goût des autres (2000) - all popular films which portray male-female relationships with insight, sensitivity and a certain amount of wry humour.

The quality of the writing and acting in Cuisine et dépendances is such that you scarcely notice that virtually all of the drama takes places in one room - the kitchen.  Occasionally, the film cuts away to an adjoining room to offer us an introspective glimpse of one of the characters as he or she reflects on his predicament.  We see nothing of the dinner party itself, and indeed two of the characters - the unnamed TV star and Fred's girlfriend Marilyn - are not revealed to us.  The kitchen is the place where the film's characters come and vent their pent-up fustrations, the neutral territory where they can reveal their true personas without feeling the need to put on act - in fact, the total opposite to how they would behave around the dinner table.  What the film offers is an appetising slice of life which is moving, amusing, and uncompromisingly truthful.

Film Synopsis

When Martine meets an old friend that she hasn't seen for over ten years she naturally invites him to dinner, and naturally he accepts.  Much has happened in the past decade - Martine has married Jacques and the friend has become a wealthy television celebrity.  The dinner party promises to be something special, so Martine invites several other friends and relations to make up the numbers.  As luck would have it, the guest's wife, Charlotte, is an old flame of the hosts' unwelcome houseguest, Georges.  The latter has none of the party spirit and his sarcastic comments serve merely to sour the atmosphere.  It is Martine's brother Fred who ultimately ruins the evening.  With Jacques and Georges both refusing to pay off his gambling debts, he lures the guest of honour into a friendly game of poker and sets about fleecing him.  Meanwhile, Fred's seductive girlfriend Marylin draws the attention of the male guests and provokes more ill-feeling amongst the women.  You can always count on lodgers and relatives to ruin a party...