The movie is based on a gourmand created by French food writer Marcel Rouff, under the title La Vie et la Passion de Dodin-Bouffant, Gourmet (The Passionate Epicure), which was originally published in 1924.
Starring Juliette Binoche and Benoît Magimel, the feature film celebrates both love and gastronomy.
The story follows Eugenie, played by Binoche, an exceptional cook who has worked for 20 years alongside the famous gastronome Dodin, played by Magimel. Over time, a love affair develops between them, closely linked to their shared love of gastronomy. Together, the pair create delicious dishes that amaze the world's greatest gourmets. However, Eugenie, who is eager for freedom, never wanted to marry Dodin. Due to this Dodin decides to offer her a unique gift as a gesture of love, to cook for her.
Director Hung will compete for the title against several renowned foreign film directors, such as Aki Kaurismaki, Wes Anderson, Hiokazu Kore-eda, and Todd Haynes.
The 76th edition of the Cannes Film Festival will be held from May 16 to May 27, in the city of Cannes, in southern France.
Hung is widely known as a successful director of contemporary-style movies such as The Scent of Green Papaya (1993), Cyclo (1995), I Come with the Rain (2009), and The Vertical Ray of the Sun (2000).
His adaptation of Haruki Murakami’s bestselling Norwegian Wood (2010) was his first film in Japanese and he made his French debut in 2016 with Eternity.
