Rating: 
Summary: Life Imitates Art Imitates Life
Review: THE TASTE OF OTHERS may not be for the taste of everyone, but for those who delight in the oh-so-French form of character examination, then this is a film for you. From the very beginning of the movie we feel as if we just dropped in on some French people who are having varying discussions that seem extemporaneous, loose and unrelated: nouveau riche businessman Castella (Jean-Pierre Bacri) discusses mundane notions with his clueless 'decorator' wife Beatrice (Brigitte Catillon); Castella's worldly bodyguard Bruno (Alain Chabat) passes the time with his rather boring buddy Franck (Gerard Lanvin); middle aged actress and English teacher Clara (Anne Alvaro) pines away at how her life in the arts is aimless; bartender Manie (director Agnes Jaoui) ponders why men are so fickle as lovers...you get the picture. But the beauty of this film is how the story interweaves these various isolated 21st Century people's lives and in doing so makes many valid comments on the importance of the arts in our lives, the power of 'opposites attract', the need for meaningful relationships to keep us on course, and the varied ways we all view our surroundings, our lives, depending on our individual vantages. Here is a film with wonderful acting, smart ideas well played out, and a musical score that is so varied and good that it is well worth a CD! But again, The Taste of Others will find its own audience depending on others tastes. In French with English subtitles.
Rating: 
Summary: Une vraie comedie a la francaise !
Review: This is French comedy at its best. Subtle wit and humor mixed with hilarious situations, all smacking of dry irony...just another reminder that ALL French movies are not films noirs. This one is quite colorful, and should be a favorite.
Rating:
Summary: Une vraie comedie a la francaise !
Review: This is French comedy at its best. Subtle wit and humor mixed with hilarious situations, all smacking of dry irony...just another reminder that ALL French movies are not films noirs. This one is quite colorful, and should be a favorite.
Rating:
Summary: Good Taste
Review: This is one of my favorite 2002 movies (that's when it arrived in my town). Here is a movie that will surprise you, slowly subvert your expectations and (is it possible?) make you feel good. Ostensibly a movie about relationships, billed as a romantic comedy, it's really a meditation on a collision between the world of art and the world of the bourgeois. Can a businessman be moved to his soul by a moment of art? Can an artist who is sensitive and open to the world also be blind? Lot's of good acting, interesting characters, and a nice slice of contemporary French life. In French with subtitles but the DVD would have an English track.
Rating: 
Summary: A Cure for Insomnia?
Review: This is one of those movies that starts out slow, and generally stays that way until the bitter end. I must say that the music was the high point of this film for my wife and me, although the dog gets good marks for biting the actors. Why movies such as this get any nods for Academy Awards nomination I'll never know. But hey, it sets the tone for a good night's sleep!
Rating:
Summary: wonderful character-driven film
Review: This movie is probably not for all tastes, but it was definitely for mine. It is an investigation of the way our opinions about others are very often based upon their tastes, whether about lifestyle, music, humor, or art. The main character Castella's transformation from ignorance to interest is fascinating and sweet. Highly recommended for those who love nice slow character movies.
Rating:
Summary: wonderful character-driven film
Review: This movie is probably not for all tastes, but it was definitely for mine. It is an investigation of the way our opinions about others are very often based upon their tastes, whether about lifestyle, music, humor, or art. The main character Castella's transformation from ignorance to interest is fascinating and sweet. Highly recommended for those who love nice slow character movies.
Rating: 
Summary: It's a matter of taste.
Review: When it comes to foreign films, it's a matter of taste. Some prefer to read subtitles, while others prefer to gaze in awe at special effects and lots of pyrotechnics (if you don't believe me, just ask Michael Bay). I'll admit, I'm not the most avid follower of foreign films, but "The Taste of Others" managed to keep my interest at a reasonably elevated level throughout most of its somewhat lengthy but overall meaningful duration. The movie focuses on the life of Castella (Jean-Pierre Bacri), the middle-aged owner of a trucking company in France whose life is as conventional as his marriage. His wife, Beatrice (Brigitte Catillon), an interior decorator who ignores quips about her appalling taste, finds dislike in things he takes an interest in; when he buys a painting in one of the film's later moments, she moves it elsewhere in the house, much to his dislike. And then, Castella's life starts to change, beginning with his introduction to his English teacher, Clara (Anne Alvaro), who happens to be the 40-year-old actress he falls in love with after seeing in a play. He attends the play a second time, begins dabbling in the cultural arts, all of which are his not-so-subtle attempts to impress Clara, who, along with her circle of friends, finds Castella's presence more of a pestilence than a blessing. As this relationship begins, so does that of Castella's bodyguard, Bruno (Alain Chabat), who romps with barmaid/hash dealer Manie (Agnès Jaoui). ... If, by the time the movie has established these relationships, you don't understand what the central message of the film is, you're our of luck. ...The film hits its audience over the head with realistic situations, all relating to the various different tastes and preferences its characters appeal to, and how these tastes clash with humorous and eye-opening results. The film does have its drawbacks. There are moments and periods of conversation, character interaction, and so on, that borderline on tedious; the bad news is that this continues throughout. "The Taste of Others" may only appeal to certain tastes, but it bears a message and an understanding of differences that almost anyone can relate to.
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