What looks to be a terribly fascinating documentary film called “Cooking History” is playing at the VIFF (found via Chefs Table Talk). More details after the leap…

Proving the maxim “an army marches on its belly,” the playful Cooking History

Engrossing as the cooks’ personal histories are, the extraordinary nature of the film lies in the theatrical way in which the monologues are staged against clever and elaborate backgrounds. In some instances, the subjects play to the artifice of the director’s setup, deliciously adding to the stories they tell. The film’s sly humour adds immeasurably to the more piquant scenes: Bekes Mihaly, a cook during Hungary’s 1956 anti-communist uprising, recounts his memories while overseeing a bloody outdoor party of sausage makers in Cegled; and gourmet chef Jacques Besson, at ease in his backyard in Lyon, captures a crowing rooster to prepare a very fresh coq au vin.

Winner, Special Jury Award, Hot Docs 2009. inventively uses the field kitchen as a prism through which to view 20th century European history. Director Peter Kerekes provides fascinating sociological insights via powerfully staged interviews with a baker’s dozen of military cooks, plus Marshal Tito’s personal taster. Structured as separate episodes that consider conflicts such as WWII; the Russian invasions of Hungary, the Czech Republic, and Chechnya; the Franco-Algerian war; and the Balkan bloodbaths, Kerekes lets his articulate subjects hold forth in monologues. Through their subjective recollections, food preparation becomes a metaphor for battle strategy.