If it is available from this Wednesday in many theaters (about 300), "Umami" comes out discreetly. Following the publication of the Mediapart investigation in which thirteen women accuse Gérard Depardieu of sexual violence and even if, through his lawyers, the actor has denied any criminally reprehensible behavior, the distributor and producer of the film decided that the 74-year-old actor would not participate in the promotion of the feature film.
In this second film by director Slony Sow (after "Parisiennes", in 2014), Depardieu plays Gabriel Carvin, a starred chef in full glory but in crisis. His wife is cheating on him and he has been anxious since he had a big health problem. On the advice of his old oyster farmer friend, he abruptly leaves for Japan. There, he wants to find the chef who took first place in a culinary competition forty years earlier using "umami", the fifth basic taste after sweet, sour, bitter and salty. During this journey, he will find the taste ... Life.
A plot in the background
Tailor-made for Gérard Depardieu, to whom the kitchen apron fits like a glove, "Umami" seems to chain imposed figures: Depardieu who grumbles against capsule hotels or automatic car doors, Depardieu who growls against a slope too steep that he has to ride a bike and kimono under the snow, Depardieu who confuses the Chinese and the Japanese, who talks about his five heart bypasses... Behind these sketches that look like sketches, sometimes gags, the plot, impressionist, appears as in the background.
We sometimes smile and we have fun with this dwarf character who plays rock to his pigs to give taste to their meat. But the thinness of the scenario and the meekness of the final message ("It is useless to want to reach for the moon when a star is already shining in each of us") unfortunately get the better of these notes of humor.
Editor's note:
2/5
"Umami", dramatic comedy by Slony Sow, with Gérard Depardieu, Kyozo Nagatsuka, Pierre Richard... (1h36)