Julia (2021)

It is true that there has been a lot written and put up on the big screen about the life of Julia Child and the effect that she had on the generation of women who were her contemporaries, and then by virtue of that, on all of us who followed, but for me, who has both read and watched many of these, there was a lot to take pleasure in here, and a few things to learn. This is kind of documentary light. It has an inclusive and conversational touch as well as a fun attitude—qualities that also define the fascinating subject at the heart of their film—the co-directors manage to whip up a highly engaging documentary anyway, stirring in pieces of archival footage, old photographs, and contemporary talking heads interviews into their stew with well-managed proportions. I liked that they did not linger too long on how exacting the co-authors of Mastering the Art of French Cooking were in putting the recipes together. They were blazing a trail in the wilderness that had never been done in an American cookbook, and while the success of their translation of traditional French cuisine into a format that could be produced in the average American kitchen while shopping at the local grocery story was a herculean feat, it is not much to look at. They did a nice job of walking us through how book tours and cooking shows have their roots in this book and Julia herself—I particularly liked learning about how a public television studio without a test kitchen managed to pull off filming The French Chef—they went a bit lighter on her at the end of her life, and things that might have been less desirable about the American queen of French cooking. This is well worth watching, especially if you are a fan.