Hunger Movie Review: A Whiplash-esque examination of the culinary arts

Ever wondered what your last meal could be? If you had the choice of picking out your last meal, what would it be? Watching Hunger, the latest Thai movie making all the right noises on Netflix, made me think of that perfect last meal. Apart from this existential question, Hunger also provokes a debate on the haves and the have-nots and provides a commentary on the class divide in Thailand. 

Cast: Nopachai Chaiyanam, Chutimon Chuengcharoensukying

Director: Sitisiri Mongkolsiri

Streaming on: Netflix

Language: Thai

Aoy (a terrific Chutimon Chuengcharoensukying), a local noodle shop chef and a culinary prodigy, gets the opportunity of a lifetime when she is asked to join an exclusive and prolific restaurant called Hunger. “A kitchen has no place for democracy. It is a dictatorship,” says a character, and in Hunger, Chef Paul (a brilliant Nopachai Chaiyanam) is that dictator. The way Aoy is integrated into the kitchen is reminiscent of the teacher-student scenes we have seen in films like Whiplash. In fact, most of the scenes involving Paul and Aoy are visceral, brutal, and yet, profound. Despite having a host of secondary characters, including Aoy’s family and potential love interest, Hunger is primarily about these two chefs from different value systems. The absence of strong supporting characters notwithstanding, Hunger is a compelling reflection of society, and its indifference and depravity. 

Hunger shines best when it is about the conversations between Aoy and Paul. Take, for instance, the scene where she asks him why he became a chef. The answer, much like another much-loved movie about the culinary arts, Ratatouille, lies in the chef’s childhood. While Ratatouille takes a dreamy route to emphasise the beauty of simple things, Hunger paints an ungainly portrait of the ugliness in our world. The way Paul berates his staff and shows off his superiority is an oft-repeated representation of the culinary world, but it is his take on exclusivity and the smugness of the rich that add zing to Hunger. 

Hunger is essentially about the hunger for excellence, and the hunger to get out of the doldrums of mediocrity in a fast-moving world. Of course, the film makes a larger point of finding a true calling, and how it is always lonely at the top. However, it doesn’t really bode well for the film that an ambitious young woman is forced to rethink her strategies every step of the way because of the men around her who try to impose their worldviews on her. As the credits roll, and Aoy figures out her place in a world that will always exalt the Pauls despite everything they do, it shows us that the hunger for excellence needs to first overcome the struggle for identity.