2008 Athens International Film Festival
‘How to Cook Your Life’ portrays beauty of food, lack of focus
By Taryn Lentes, Staff Writer
April 28, 2008 | 8 p.m.
Athens Film Fest documentary “How to Cook Your Life” examines everything from Zen, to cooking, to the wasteful nature of our culture. Unfortunately, the film takes on too many topics to focus successfully on any of them.
"How to Cook Your Life” is a documentary from filmmaker Doris Dörrie that attempts to show the link between Buddhism and the art of cooking. The film features Zen Master Edward Espe Brown, who guides the viewer through a series of connections between devoting oneself to cooking, savoring food and living a happy, peaceful life.
The premise behind the film is an interesting one, and there are moments that are genuinely entertaining -- most of which revolve around the fact that although he is a Zen Master, Brown become frustrated by everything from his students to plastic packaging around cheese.
There are, however, also many dragging moments within the film. "How to Cook Your Life" is a film that is longer than it needs to be in order to retain an audience’s full attention, and the number of areas it attempts to portray prevents any of them from being explored fully.
The focus of the film seems to be too vague, and the filmmakers, perhaps adapting the Zen mindset, let topics wander rather than editing the film so it is easier to follow. There is simply too much crammed in one film, including the basics of Zen, Zen's relation to the preparation and consumption of food, poverty, hunger, the ethical treatment of animals and organic farming.
The most outstanding aspect of “How to Cook Your Life” is the film's cinematography. The film makes use of extreme close-ups of various types of food -- many of which are shockingly beautiful -- to break up different thematic sections. "How to Cook You Life" also prominently includes the brilliant colors of fresh vegetables and fruits, as well as flowers and gardens. The visual look of this film is well-suited to the overall goal of inspiring a sense of appreciation for the food people eat, or at least the food Brown thinks people should eat.
“How to Cook Your Life” is able to combine a strong point of view with humorous characters and a collection of visually stunning images, but probably would not hold the attention of those not previously interested in the art of Zen or the art of cooking.
- - -"How to Cook You Life"
Speakeasy Rating: C
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for brief strong language
Running Time: 94 min
Tuesday, April 29 at Athena: 9:45 p.m.
Wednesday, April 30 at Athena: 11:30 a.m.
Thursday, May 1 at Athena: 7:15 p.m.
Check out the official Web site of the Athens Film Festival for more information about the 31 feature films and 215 competition films playing at this year's festival, running April 25 through May 1.