Film Forum

WINNER!
Best Non-Fiction Film
New York Film Critics Circle Awards 2023
Los Angeles Film Critics Association 2023
National Society of Film Critics 2023

Frederick Wiseman’s 44th documentary takes us to Central France and Troisgros — a Michelin 3-star restaurant owned and operated by the same family for four generations, and destination for gastronomes from around the world. Behind the scenes, we are privy to passionate debates among the head chefs (a father and his two sons) about texture, color, and depth of flavors; visits to a bounteous produce farm, a local vineyard, and a massive cheese cave (where “each cheese has its moment of truth”); and waitstaff meetings focused on individualized customer preferences and food plating at a performance-art level. In his trademark style, Wiseman patiently illuminates the restless creativity of this culinary family as they experiment with dishes, methods, and ingredients — keeping their haute cuisine anchored in tradition while brilliantly evolving.

2023     240 MIN.     USA / FRANCE     ZIPPORAH FILMS
IN FRENCH WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES

Reviews

ONE OF THE 10 BEST MOVIES OF 2023
– Manohla Dargis and Alissa Wilkinson, The New York Times
– Amy Taubin, Screen Slate
– Dana Stevens, Slate
– Slant Magazine
– Matt Singer, ScreenCrush
– Lovia Gyarkye, The Hollywood Reporter

"Transporting... its focus on beautiful food that’s prepared and served with equal beauty makes it especially seductive...deeply pleasurable.”
– Manohla Dargis, The New York Times
Read full review.

“SPELLBINDING. Nestled in the idyllic French countryside, Troisgros boasts a remarkable legacy spanning four generations… Privileged with ample time in the kitchen, viewers are treated to an astonishing display of culinary talent and technique. It is all irrefutably mesmerizing.”
– Elissa Suh, Eater

“MASTERPIECE. [A] cinematic triumph that brings an iconic French eatery to thrilling life. Frederick Wiseman has long been non-fiction cinema’s GOAT and, at the age of 93…the auteur continues to put most of his documentary brethren to shame. The director’s 44th non-fiction feature is a study of a restaurant that doubles as a rumination on art itself, which may begin with a unique and individual spark of inspiration but can only become real through thoughtful, harmonious collaboration.”
– Nick Schager, Daily Beast

“Mouth-watering. Highlights the superhuman focus that feeds into each plate, and the breadth of the collaboration required to source, prepare, and serve it.”
– David Ehrlich, IndieWire

“Frederick Wiseman reveals the mighty substance of culinary luxury…the ‘small pleasures’ of the title are highly concentrated distillations of mighty exertions, from the grand and carefully catalogued tradition of French cooking to the immediate tradition of the Troisgros family restaurants (now in its fourth generation)... The Troisgros kitchen combines the experimental exactitude of a laboratory with the creative spirit of an artist’s studio and the tensely expectant energy of the wings of a theatre, and Wiseman is alive to it all.”
– Richard Brody, The New Yorker

“A mouth-watering and methodical marathon for foodies. [An] immersion inside one of France’s, and the world’s, finest restaurants. Set in the kitchens, dining rooms and neighboring farms of a mouth-watering Michelin 3-star establishment nestled in the bucolic Loire region, the film is both a food lover’s dream and an aspiring chef’s guidebook, uncovering the sophisticated alchemy that makes such places not only run flawlessly, but serve up groundbreaking dishes that are also locally sourced.”
– Jordan Minzter, The Hollywood Reporter

“The most delicious excuse to spend four hours in a theater has got to be this new doc from the legendary Frederick Wiseman that takes a look at the workings of a family-owned three-Michelin-star restaurant in central France.”
– Alison Willmore, New York Magazine