One of cinema’s most overpraised genres is the foodie movie. But slavering over delicious dishes is not the point – or not the whole point – of this demure period film from Japan. Aya Ueto (who 10 years ago was playing a teenage assassin in Azumi) is Oharu, a maidservant with a genius for cooking – the culinary equivalent of a great composer’s melodic sense and perfect pitch. She is married off to Yasanobu (Kengo Kôra), a chef-samurai – that is, someone with the lesser, but still important job of preparing food for the samurais themselves. Conceited young Yasanobu is terrible at cooking, and must swallow his pride and take Oharu’s lessons. Their marriage is also clouded by his inferiority complex with regard to a deceased older brother, because he still carries a torch for someone else and because their household is to become politically compromised by its association with a disgraced clan. The film has an unforced confidence in its pacing, its performances and its production design. A tasty snack, rather than a meal.
