Menu-Plesir - Les Troisgros Review: A Beautiful Collaboration

In his 44th documentary, Frederick Wiseman travels to the French countryside to explore the workings of the Michelin-starred family restaurant Le Bois Sans Feuilles. Trungro and his friendly team explore this ancestral gastronomic dynasty that began in 1930.

This restaurant, beautifully situated amongst the green hills on the outskirts of the French city of Lyon, seems to continue the tradition of love for cooking that runs through generations of the Trungro family. The love for food is taken to a whole other level, the superbly prepared and beautifully served dishes coming out of their kitchen turn cooking into an art form. The restaurant has been famous since 1956 when it first received a star''Michelin, and has held onto its three-star reputation ever since.

Wiseman is known for his documentaries about institutions and the relationships between organizations and their employees. In his new film Menus-Plaisirs, he allows viewers to get a closer look at the workings of a restaurant.

Wiseman's movie goes on for a full four hours, but there is no loss of interest in what is going on. The work of the chefs and staff, their daily rituals and their interactions with each other make for an exciting and dynamic picture. We also get a glimpse into the other restaurants of the Trungro family to better understand their approach to''gastronomy.

The footage shot inside the restaurant and the shots of the beautiful nature around it epitomize the idea of cinema, this is Frederick Wiseman's undisputed masterpiece. Walking behind the scenes gives you the opportunity to appreciate the fine details and the level of detail of the food preparation. "Menus-Plaisirs" is a movie that immerses us in the culinary world of the Trungro family and makes us think about the meaning of food and how it connects us to love and tradition.