IFC Films
Updated: September 19th
Some things are elemental to the human experience, none more so than eating. We celebrate food, we fear what’s inside it, and we linger on the emotions it can unleash inside us through smell and flavor. Being central to our existence, it’s no surprise that food’s been a part of movies from the very beginning, on screen and off, to the point where most of us associate the smell of popcorn and the fizz of a soda with hitting the theaters.
To celebrate that connection, we’ve dug out the 10 best food movies on Netflix right now. Whether they’re B-movies to watch with friends, dramas to make you think about how food connects us, or comedies about what we eat fighting back, here are the best food flicks for you to feast on.
Related: The Best Cooking Shows On Netflix Right Now
Miramax
Like Water For Chocolate (1992)
Run Time: 105 min | IMDb: 7.2/10
This magical realist melodrama has Tita (Lumi Cavazos) learning — thanks to her beloved marrying her sister since her mother refuses to let her marry — that her emotions translate into her food. Which is a problem when you’re mourning losing the one you love forever and are serving a massive feast.
This tale of forbidden love and sexy food was one of the early indie darlings, and twenty-five years after it came to US theaters, it holds up.
Netflix
Okja (2017)
Run Time: 120 min | IMDb: 7.4/10
This potent satire of animal rights, the food system, and corporate farming follows a young girl (Ahn Seo-hyun) as she rescues the titular Okja, a “super pig,” in a movie that threads the needle between thriller, serious political polemic, and the enduring story of “kid and her animal buddy” we all know and love. It’s sometimes an odd mix, and the storybook touches, like Tilda Swinton playing twins, can sometimes fit oddly next to the adventures of a kid and her giant cuddly pig, but it adds up to a superb food movie.
IFC Films
The Trip To Italy (2014)
Run Time: 108 min | IMDb: 6.6/10
You’d be forgiven for thinking Michael Winterbottom’s movie is a documentary about two “friends” eating and making fun of each other, but in fact, Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon are playing exceptionally exaggerated versions of themselves, spun off from the movie A Cock And Bull Story. This hilariously dry comedy touches on food, love, friendship, and how stardom doesn’t make you happy.
Netflix
Maacher Jhol (2017)
Run Time: 108 min | IMDb: 7.1/10
A distinguished chef (Ritwick Chakraborty) goes home to West Bengal and finds himself faced with what should be child’s play: Make a great bowl of fish curry, one of West Bengal’s signature dishes. That mission turns into an odyssey exploring how food travels and how we make food is a deeply personal thing that’ll connect with anybody who makes a dish to feel like they’re home again.
