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If it’s true that to cook is to love, then Dodin and Eugenie must be enraptured by one another. They use the exquisite language of food to express their feelings for one another, and watching their exchange, you can’t help but feel honored, if not embarrassed, to witness such an intimate and love-filled act. Food is everywhere here, delicately prepared and sumptuously consumed, but the film is more than just a glorified Food Network program. It’s a painting come to life, a love letter to craft, and a beautiful example of a life fully lived.

Genre: Drama, Romance

Actor: Benoit Magimel, Bonnie Chagneau-Ravoire, Emmanuel Salinger, Frédéric Fisbach, Galatéa Bellugi, Jan Hammenecker, Jean-Marc Roulot, Juliette Binoche, Mhamed Arezki, Patrick d'Assumçao, Sarah Adler, Yannik Landrein

Director: Tran Anh Hung

Rating: PG-13

What strikes most people about The Vertical Ray of the Sun is how idyllic Tran Anh Hung captures Hanoi, Vietnam’s capital– lush greens, the summer sunshine softened by mosquito nets, scored by the birds and the neighborhood kids and a mix of early 00s soft rock and traditional Vietnamese songs. These visuals are so beautiful that it distracts from fairly turbulent conflicts in the three relationships present in the film, the unfulfilled desires they feel, some totally forbidden, some stemming from past generations, which makes the PG rating all the more surprising. But even as the drama unfolds, the feeling of a languid summer afternoon never fades, painting the melodramatic troubles under a peaceful veneer, made subtle and humorous with the way the sisters joke, make innuendoes, and decide on family matters together.

Genre: Drama, Romance

Actor: Chu Hung, Do Thi Hai Yen, Doan Viet Ha, Le Khanh, Le Tuan Anh, Le Vu Long, Ngo Quang Hai, Nhu Quynh, Tran Nu Yên-Khê

Director: Tran Anh Hung

Rating: PG-13