Reviews

How can I fail to comment on this delightful film? Not only is it wonderful entertainment and pleasant to watch, it is about a country in which I currently live, about a subject very close to my heart — food, that is! — and contains seemingly extraneous elements of personal importance.

The basis, if not the model, of the film's centerpiece is a restaurant near my home town, Napa, California. Thomas Keller's famous 'French Laundry' occupies a building that was once a real laundry in the 19th century post-Gold-Rush days of Yountville, in the center of the Napa Valley. His restaurant is now one of the most famous in America and a feature of the Valley's colorful late 20th century renaissance.

Another nostalgic connection is a real version of the automobile belonging to the character Skinner, an 1960s Facel Vega, belonged to a colleague of mine when we worked in Geneva, Switzerland. He took it with him when he returned to America to live near Washington, DC. Not only did this elegant French automobile have an American engine but also had the distinctive Chevrolet wraparound wind screen of the era. I don't know that the US components kept it from being more popular; I think it was simply another example of the many makes produced in small numbers that did not differentiate themselves and survive in the marketplace.

All-in-all, 'Ratatouille' is both a charming film but also a nostalgic reminder for me of pleasant times.

The images are amazing! Clearly, the filmed clips were taken at the time the events were ready to 'take off,' and the devices were at the final stage of development. Imagine how many similar concoctions never reached this stage, or took place without being filmed. The patience of editor Howard Smith for reviewing so many sources is being rewarded here. Some of the ideas inspired (or were inspired by) scenes in contemporary Hollywood movies, i.e., the building climbing, or survive as photo post cards. What we see here was a sampling of unusual and compulsive behavior popular in the film age. A question: was the TV presenter the young David Letterman?

As an American living in France and working in Switzerland during the early 1980s, I'd often stop at the border and chat with a friendly Swiss customs/immigration officer. One morning, he asked me if I'd seen 'Die Scweizermacher' and, with a smile, recommended it to me. Accepting this as an 'official' and informed recommendation, I soon saw the film. It was in German with the other 3 official languages as subtitles but, because the lead character is played by Emile, the famous circus clown, and the stories within the film are so stereotypical, understanding it is no problem. (The film was shown one year in New York City at the Swiss Cultural Center on lower Broadway but seems not to be known in the US.) Besides the traditional European nationalities being screened for Swiss citizenship, the film fades on an American who bops into the office making the same request. For those who appreciate the Swiss — and who marvel at current US immigration procedures — this film is a gem!