This is a frothy, light-hearted, witty intelligent and very entertaining film which also happens to be true. It concerns two characters. The first is Julie Powell who is a young New Yorker, stressed out by working in a call centre. She has the idea of cooking her way through Julia Child’s famous French cookbook and writing about her experiences on a daily blog. This becomes a big success. The other person is one of America’s most celebrated cooks, Julia Child who wrote the book (now available in two volumes).
Meryl Streep plays Julia Child and Amy Adams plays Julie Powell. Stanley Tucci is Julia’s husband, Paul. The film was directed by Nora Ephron.
It was Julia Child’s landmark book of French Cooking that the story revolves around. Just after the second world war this very tall lady (6’ 2”) who had recently married late in life found herself in Paris with her husband Paul who was working for the American Embassy. At first she is at a loss as to how to spend her time. She went on a hat making course but found this boring.
She said she had no strong interests in life apart from eating. With this in mind her husband suggested that she might enrol for a cookery course with the famous Cordon Bleu School of Cookery in Paris.
She was the only woman and the only foreigner on the course and had to work hard to convince others that she was capable of mastering the skills and knowledge needed needed to become a top French chef.
She fell in love with French cooking and developed an obsession which led her to begin the task of writing an enormous compendium of French recipes written for the American market.
Later, back in America she became the first TV chef making her very famous and her book a huge success.
Part of the interest of the film lies in seeing Paris as it was just after the war and how French society behaved.
The film was largely based on a collection of Julia child’s writings called, My Life in France. Julie (my wife) has read the book and found it fascinating.
See the film, read the book, or try the recipes
You can stream this film on Amazon, rent it on DVD, read Julia Child’s book about her life in France, or her Mastering the Art of French Cooking which is still hugely popular. Clicking on any of the links below will allow you to explore what Amazon has to offer of these items.
