An Antarctic research station is possibly the last place anyone would expect to encounter seriously fine dining, but nevertheless this is what’s on the menu in Shuichi Okita’s delicious adaptation of Jun Nishimura’s autobiographical novel. Lobster, foie gras, you name it—nothing is too luxurious for Chef Nishimura to dish up to the eight man crew of the Dome Fuji Station research base in the frozen no-man’s land where not even a virus can survive, let alone a human. As the men carry out the mundane tasks of their communal isolation interrupted by occasional playful forays into the stunning exterior wilderness, they develop bizarre cravings or dress eccentrically and start to pine for home. Okita wisely concentrates the action around the much-anticipated meal times, with Nishimura as a kind of surrogate mother to the disparate team members, seeking to constantly divert them from going stir crazy. Taking a low key, elliptical approach to the story, and told from Nishimura’s point of view with flashbacks to his much-missed wife and young daughter, The Chef of South Polar is a delightful, quirky blend of daily observation and elegantly simple aesthetics and a mouth-watering addition to the food movie genre. Don’t, on any account, come hungry.
One of the films to be shown on the 2011 Eiga Sai @ the Shang Cineplex. I'm gonna watch this tomorrow!!!
