BREAKING BREAD
Israel, 2020, 85 minutes, Colour.
Dr Nof Atamna- Ismaeel.
Directed by Beth and Elise Hawk.
Actually, there is very little bread to be seen in this quite spectacular chefs’ story. The focus is on a vast array of dishes manifesting the creativity of that area of the Middle East referred to as the Levant, ranging from Syria through Lebanon on to Israel and Jordan to the Gaza Strip. And for audiences outside the area, these dishes have star quality! As the camera frequently moves to extreme close-ups, it is almost as if these dishes were echoing Gloria Swanson’s demand in Sunset Boulevard, “I’m ready for my close-up….”.
Given the enormous popularity of television programs like Master Chef, there is a vast audience and they are ready, even eager, for this kind of documentary and one hopes they hear about it and go to enjoy seeing it.
Speaking of Master Chef, the host for this documentary and for the Festival is Dr Nof Atamna Ismaeel, Israeli- Arab background who some years ago excitedly won Israel’s Master Chef competition. Already, in herself and in her talent, she is a sign for peace in the region. She is a very genial host, offerings all kinds of information, a good tour guide for all the dishes which will feature.
The audience is invited to the Israeli coastal city of Haifa. There is to be a special three-day food festival, especially of Arabic cuisine, presented in the context of Israeli cuisine, a festival of collaboration. In fact, the film opens with a quotation indicating that while food will not be the solution for world peace, it is a good start. And here we see it in action.
In fact, the participants often point out that they are citizens of Haifa, Jewish, Muslim, Christian, are able to live in harmony, critical of the small percentage of extremists in the city. They do not shirk the difficulties and tensions in Israel and the Gaza Strip, but emphasise that common humanity is the key to living together.
And this is nicely exemplified by three pairs of chefs who work on the specialist dishes. There are pairings of Jewish whose ancestors migrated from Europe and an Arab Israeli living in a town bordering on Lebanon which then was cut in half, one part in Lebanon, the other in Israel. There is also a chef with French Catholic and Jewish parentage, another whose ancestors came from Morocco. And there is a genial middle-aged couple who for decades have shown harmony in their marriage, she Jewish, he Arab, but both considering themselves Israelis.
So, the political situation is not ignored.
But, the focus is definitely on the food, visits to markets, selection of fish, meats, vegetables, explanations of specialties of the region, the detailed preparation of the ingredients, techniques of preparation, cutting and chopping, plate arrangements, sources and oils, salads, fish and lamb, cooking and timing… And, of course, the finished products in those spectacular close-ups.
The main participants (interestingly the featured chefs are men) own restaurants and tell the stories of their families, the origins of the restaurants, customers. On the other hand, talking head interviews of Festival judges indicate that many of them are women.
So, Breaking Bread might be called a specialist film – but, amongst the audiences who will enjoy it, there are many cooks who would love to be specialists!
