A Chef In Love

"Bolshevism will disappear. Fine cuisine won't," declares the smitten gourmet of this Franco-Georgian nominee for Best Foreign Film. Apparently, neither will the appetite for movies that exalt eating. But director Nana Djordjadze's concoction is an afternoon snack compared to more sumptuous and satisfying cinematic feasts like Big Night. The windy saga starts in Paris, where a man from Georgia (Jean-Yves Gautier) -- home of the Bolsheviks, not the Braves -- meets a photographer (Micheline Presle) who asks him to translate a manuscript. The memoir details an affair between a bon vivant French chef (the zesty Pierre Richard) and a Georgian princess (Nino Kirtadze), who oh-so-coincidentally turns out to be the man's mom. Flashback to 1920s Georgia, where the gastronome and his amour open a restaurant, only to be sucked into the Communist revolution.

The film lovingly captures Georgia's moody landscape but struggles to strike an even tone. Instead, it lurches between eras to sketch half-heartedly a friendship between the son and the photographer. Consequently, just as the audience opens wide for a juicy bite of drama, this ode to epicurean excess snatches the plate away. Opens Friday at the Avon.

-- Alicia Potter