Bloody Hungry

 “Hunger” film directed by Sitisiri Mongkolsiri, 2023

No, it’s not the Hunger Games series or the film about the hunger strikes in Northern Ireland in 1981; nor is it the book by Knut Hamsun about poverty in rural Norway, a memoir by Roxanne Gay or a triple CD rap release.  It is a Thai film taking a look at Bangkok’s high-living upper class and their obsession with food and the chef(s) that cater to them.  It comes out of the same class conscious Asian approach as the south Korean gems Parasite, Squid Games and Snowpiercer. 

Ruling class pigs out

A brutal and driven Chef Paul is the pivotal character.  He says that the more money you have, the ‘hungrier’ you get.  “What you eat reflects your social status” according to him.  Or as another puts it, when reflecting on Chef Paul’s autocratic style:  “In kitchen, there is no room for democracy – it’s a dictatorship.”  This reflects the Thai government itself, a militarized authoritarian, monarchist clan coddling the self-same rich gobbling down the Chef’s ‘perfect’ delicacies.  The Chef runs a catered, on-site kitchen for upscale parties.  We are taken to the birthday party of one of the bloody and aging military men of Thailand, also attended by celebrities, politicians and businessmen. Then to a pool party by a bunch of drunken and obnoxious rich kids; and a ‘hunters’ outdoor lunch consisting of a protected species of bird.  A secretly-fraught private dinner for a rich family, later discovered to be bankrupt, is next.  Lastly, a leading Thai socialite’s huge bash, where two chefs battle it out for her ignorant approval. 

If this all sounds like a darker version of Crazy Rich Asians you wouldn’t be far wrong. Class understanding is something that seems obvious across the world now.  Class consciousness is no theoretical concept to most - it’s everywhere, which is a good sign. Chef Paul himself came from poverty – his mother was a maid to a wealthy family, but he saw how they ate.  He accidentally broke one of their caviar jars and tasted its terrible contents, and he decided then and there to be the yelling, pan and plate throwing, brow-beating asshole that he became – a Thai Gordon Ramsey.  Sometimes the worst petit-bourgeois are former proletarians, and he’s no exception.

Into this mix is a dead-faced noodle-shop cook named Aoy who wants to become ‘special’ and so she joins Chef Paul’s crew after a harrowing cooking test.  The hunter’s dinner of a dead rare bird forces her to leave and she joins another restauranteur, highlighting her ‘burning wok’ style.  She partially mimics Chef Paul's brutal attitude towards her own kitchen staff.  Eventually she realizes that cooking pretentious and very expensive food for rich people is a no-go.  She returns to her noddle shop to make ‘Cry-Baby Noodles,’ a family favorite, and create her own menu for her neighbors.  It is somewhat similar to the other cooking series The Bear where an upscale chef returns to a hot beef sandwich shop in Chicago, and perhaps has the intention of upgrading it.  The Bear, being U.S. based, has an undertow of class consciousness in the debate between Richie and Carmen, but it’s really a typical family story.  Not so in this film, where class is up front. The neo-liberal obsession with eating, cooking and chefs is widespread – the flip side of the real hunger affecting millions. 

Food is a fraught topic with class and knowledge overtones.  The less income and education you have in the U.S., usually the worse the quality of the food you eat – though it may taste addictively good.  Marx saw this in his time in London – workers eating toxic, non-nutritious and cheap food that barely kept them alive.  Even Little Shop of Horrors is a play on that idea. Now U.S. food eventually makes many proletarians sick with obesity, hypertension, cancer, heart disease and diabetes, let alone its animal, social and environmental impacts.

Meat and fish seem to be the gastronomic stars in this movie … the bloodier or wetter the better. Claiming the lives of animals is a form of power to this upper class.  But without saying it, this animal focus is a quiet commentary on the unjust and expensive gluttony of the Thai capitalists … a class that is not unique, but spread across the world in nearly every country.  

Prior blog reviews on this subject, use blog search box, upper left, to investigate our 16 year archive, using these terms:  “The Bear,” “Hunger Games,” “Parasite,” “Squid Game,” “Crazy Rich Asians,” “Salt, Sugar, Fat,” “Vegan Freak,” “Animal, Vegetable, Junk,” “Kraft-Heinz,” “Foodopoly,” “A Foodie’s Guide to Capitalism.”

P.S. - An ex-Primer Minister of Thailand returned from exile yesterday and was immediately put in jail.  The winner of the May election has been blocked from taking office by the military/monarchist bloc. An unelected real estate tycoon has been backed by the king and generals for prime minister.  Maybe they'll appoint an authoritarian chef next.

And I bought it at May Day Books!

The Cultural Marxist

August 22, 2023