Culture au Cinema!

Bonjour Mes Amies!
I am so excited for my first french film post, which is about the classic film Ratatouille. Growing up, this was one of my favorite movies and the soft cultural details incorporated so effortlessly and beautifully in the movie makes it so enjoyable to watch and of course, a disney classic. The movie was released by Pixa

Bonjour Mes Amies!
I am so excited for my first french film post, which is about the classic film Ratatouille. Growing up, this was one of my favorite movies and the soft cultural details incorporated so effortlessly and beautifully in the movie makes it so enjoyable to watch and of course, a disney classic. The movie was released by Pixar in 2007, it's a love letter to French cuisine, culture and art. I think that there is a much deeper meaning behind Remy (the rat) with such big goals, breaking through restrictions to follow his dreams in the city of Paris. 

The very first scene already showcases esprit français. It portrays a house just outside of Paris, with beautiful cobblestone streets and the beauty of the plants and scenery. Throughout the movie, you are exposed to the aesthetic views of Paris, the city skyline and famous eiffel tower. The movie really romanticizes Paris, and that's exactly how the French live, romanizing their daily lives and finding the good in little things. You can listen to French classical instruments like the accordion. The french accordion is an iconic symbol of French music and tradition. It started in 19th century Paris in the working class. It was very connected to the “Musette” Music in France. The musette music style usually involved other instruments like the violin for instance. Artists like Édith Piaf made it famous by singing and dancing songs in the 1930s. The accordion is linked to the romance and culture of the streets in France. 

One thing that I love about this movie is how they recreated France with real accuracy and illustrates French culture in a beautiful way. France is known as the “La Ville Lumière” which is the city of lights. This is actually because the French adopted street lighting early. In the movie, there is always a beautiful, warm glow on the river seine and the streets which depicts the beautiful city lights of Paris. In french, the word “Flâner” means to stroll aimlessly and just live in the atmosphere and notice the little details. Something about that stands out to me because it romantizes the french life and relates back to my personal life, because now i start “je flane” in my daily life, whether it be when I walk my dog in my neighbourhood or even in the school hallways, just soaking up the environment. 

A classic line in the movie is “Anyone can cook”, I really do enjoy this line because it illustrates the french passion for cooking. In France, cooking is taken very seriously. Did you know that French cuisine is a part of the “Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity” by Unesco.  As well as butter is a key component of french cooking, as I watched the movie in Gusteau’s kitchen, you start to see how butter is a cornerstone of french cooking. In French, the word Terroir means the natural environment. France is celebrated for its food because of where it originates, natural soil, the climate and environment is what makes the food so tasty because of the beauty in the ingredients. Of course, coming from the name of the film, La Ratatouille is a famous french dish and when you hear it, oftentimes people assume that it’s a fancy dish, however la ratatouille was actually food for peasants from Provence in France. In France, Provence is known for its mediterranean vegetables and fields of growth. That is why ratatouille uses vegetables like eggplant, zucchini, tomatoes and herbs.

Another thing that I love about this movie is how I feel like each character represents an aspect of French culture. Remy represents the French's passion and stubbornness.  He is guided by la goût, which means taste. The French critic represents France's history of critics which is taken very seriously in their culture and is very dramatic. The classic scene in the movie when Anton (the french critic) enjoys the ratatouille dish portrays how each french meal represents emotion and brings back childhood memories and stories, meals are sacred times and meals bring back feelings. In the movie, you can see how kitchen hierarchy is a real thing and chefs have been trained for long periods of time. It requires a lot of skill and learning. 

The movie really illustrates the French passion, and the universal theme that passion drives transformation. In France, there is so much creativity and passion which to me is so inspiring. Did you know that France is the birthplace of the culinary michelin guide.  Did you know that the film inspired many people to visit France and created a lot more tourism in France which actually helped the nation's economy!! I really enjoyed rewatching this movie and learning so much more about French culture even in this disney movie!  It really showed la gastronomie: the art of good eating! 

New words!

Flâner: To stroll and enjoy atmosphere 

La Goût: the taste 

Terroir: Environmental factors 

Gastronomie: good eating