Docs capture drive of top racer, inspired chef

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MONGREL MEDIA Formula One driver Ayrton Senna was deified in Brazil.

IT is debatable if the two films opening at Cinematheque tonight were intentionally programmed together. But they do enjoy a certain symmetry as both films are about charismatic young men with an extraordinary amount of drive.

Take that literally in the case of Senna, a documentary on Brazilian Formula One racing driver Ayrton Senna. Senna died on the track at the age of 34, and it would be inevitable that he would be, like many a sports hero before him, deified, especially in Brazil. Even as a child of privilege, he was lionized for his skill and his pride in his country. (His good looks, charm and success with the ladies didn't hurt.)

Life wasn't perfect. Senna faced his share of conflict, including a partnership-turned-rivalry with fellow driver Alain Prost, and he struck sparks with Formula One chief Jean-Marie Balestre, whose hubris is showing in a tempestuous driver meeting before a race in which he states unequivocally: "The best decision is my decision!" In short, this doc by Asif Kapadia has all the components of an inspirational Hollywood biopic -- action, conflict, romance, and an arrogant bad guy -- entirely constructed from archival footage, a neat trick.

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For a short documentary, A Matter of Taste spans a considerable amount of time, beginning in late 2001, when inspired young chef Paul Liebrandt is seen bemoaning a post-9/11 shift in New York restaurants towards comfort foods and away from the beautiful haute cuisine dishes he concocts.

The doc jumps a few years at a time, sharing Liebrandt's chagrin that a person of his talents can endure so much time spinning his wheels, waiting to be discovered, or at least appreciated. (Curiously, the chef does not register as arrogant; he is simply realistic about claiming his star in the foodie firmament.)

Liebrandt's white knight emerges in the form of restaurant overlord Drew Nieporent (Nobu, Tribeca Grill), who underwrites a new haute cuisine playground -- Corton in Tribeca -- for Liebrandt. The creation of the restaurant is the most interesting and exciting aspect of the film, wherein Liebrandt is seen critiquing everything -- from sauces to lighting -- in anticipation of the make-or-break critique of New York Times critic Frank Bruni.

It's fascinating stuff that may remind some of the movie Ratatouille, another film about a genius chef and a powerful food critic, with the proviso that Remy the rat was perhaps a more socially adept character than Liebrandt.

randall.king@freepress.mb.ca

Senna

Directed by Asif Kapadia

Cinematheque

PG

106 minutes

3 1/2 stars

A Matter of Taste: Serving Up Paul Liebrandt

Directed by Sally Rowe

Cinematheque

Subject to classification

65 minutes

3 stars

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition January 26, 2012 D4