Marie Antoinette

[lperry]

What a movie for food as symbol.

Exquisitely arranged dinner tables and carefully choreographed meal service alongside strictly regimented court life. Conspicuous consumption of sweets intertwined with a shopping spree of epic proportions. The scene is set to the song, "I want candy."

Truly brilliant symbolism and some of the most beautiful food I've seen in a film. The opening scene filled with tiered cakes and a reclining queen. The refusal of the powers that be to let Marie nurse her baby. I could go on and on.

Did anyone else make the matinee?

-L

[SheenaGreena]

I heard absolutely horrible things about it, but it definitely caught my attention when it was being played as a movie preview almost a year ago. I love new order and sofia coppola...she seems to make great soundtracks for her movies.

also the costuming and everything seems gorgeous, I recently saw a 2 hour piece on the life on marie antoinette on pbs and it was very informative.

what kind of food do they serve? lots of game? anything other than french? maybe something that reflects her austrian heritage?

[lperry]

They serve more pastry than I've ever seen in my life. Lots of fruit and champagne. Then there are scenes with the royal couple at a dinner table that is always elaborately arranged and dressed. There are fish covered with cucumber "scales" placed as if they were swimming and a pheasant set as if it was running through a field (etc. etc.). Truly amazing.

[racheld]

pheasant set as if it was running through a field (etc. etc.).

A friend of mine once went to a garde manger class in Memphis because this was the picture on the brochure. She managed OK sticking the pineapple in the cavity to plump it out, but totally lost it when the teacher said, "Now replace the feathers. . ."

[Holly Moore]

Any cake?

[Gifted Gourmet]

Any cake?

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I think most of the cake was polished off by famished peasants during the French Revolution ...

[TheFoodTutor]

If presence of cake in a movie were any indicator of its success, this would be a blockbuster. Grand cakes for special occasions, yes, but more often little cakes to be eaten with tea, biscuity cookies, glazed sweets and all other sorts of confections.

Kirsten Dunst swallows enough sugar to feed a modest army, yet never gains an ounce, even through pregnancy. Jason Schwartzmann apparantly gained sympathy weight just watching her, giving his standard, hapless performance, albeit pudgier than usual.

Good music, pretty food, lots of shoes. Not an especially good film, though.

[Susie Q]

While I thought the movie lacking in many things I loved the sets, food props and costumes so much so that I saw it again at the dollar movies.

[KarenSherwood]

I haven't seen it yet but DD is working on convincing me. We'll probably rent it one of these weekends. She's a costuming maven, and pointed out to me that many of the key outfits were styled after food, especially desserts. THAT is worth looking for.

[gfron1]

The food was gorgeous but it all made me think about athenticity. Did they have gelatin back then? I thought I saw macarons. The pastries were beautiful, but I've seen better on Patrick's postings

[Megan Blocker]

The food was gorgeous but it all made me think about athenticity.  Did they have gelatin back then?  I thought I saw macarons.  The pastries were beautiful, but I've seen better on Patrick's postings

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Laduree was the pastry consultant, so the macarons are hardly a surprise.

Also, the movie was meant to be an interpretation, not a completely accurate historical retelling. Hence, liberties were taken with language, dress, set decoration, and most likely the pastries.

It's worth nothing, however, that macarons date from the 18th century, do not traditionally include gelatin (though Laduree's sandwich-style macaron made its debut only about 100 years ago, fair point), and are therefore entirely appropriate!

I for one really enjoyed the movie - I loved the stylized interpretation, though that may come from my familiarity with the source material, since I read the Fraser book a couple years ago.

That said, if you like visually arresting material (and food) see it, see it, see it.

[Megan Blocker]

Any cake?

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It's also worth noting that the attribution of the "Let them eat cake" quote to Marie Antoinette is an accident of history, a result of the campaign to malign her reputation during and after the Revolution. She was frivolous and overzealous in her spending, to be sure, but it was another, earlier royal who coined the phrase. Click here for more info...