- Directors
- Michael Dweck, Gregory Kershaw
- Rating
- PG-13 (United States)
- Running Time
- 84 minutes
- Release Date
- December 25th, 2020
Overall Score
Rating Summary
This will be one of many reviews during this year’s Toronto International Film Festival, to keep up with our latest coverage, click here.
During troubled times such as these, sometimes people want an escape to take their minds off of things. The Truffle Hunters is a cute, little documentary that will surely provide that escape for most viewers over the course of its surprisingly short running time of 84 minutes. But just like anything, this non-traditional documentary, especially its pace and culture barrier, will certainly not be for everyone. Probably the best way to describe it is a slice-of-life story, capturing its subject in their element for better or worse. That being said, along with some beautiful cinematography, what truly stood out here was the sheer passion on display that was just so infectious to watch.
The Truffle Hunters of course follows a group of eccentric seventy and eighty-something truffle hunters and their trusty canine companions within the small forest town of Piedmont, Italy. Viewers will quickly learn about the cutthroat world of truffle hunting as many chose to pursue it for money rather than for the love of the game, not willing to let age get in the way. Despite this, it’s clear to see that their passion has taken a toll on them and their lives whether they were willing to admit it or not. The personalities on display of these men as well as their love for their dogs was fun to watch while the sequences from the perspective of the dogs was also a nice touch. Meanwhile, the film followed the trajectory of the truffle to the heated marketplace that eventually led to the fine-dining restaurant world. However greedy the fine-dining world may be in their pursuit of truffles, in the end, they were essentially at the mercy of these gatekeepers.
Overall, The Truffle Hunters is a solid documentary that offers a fun window into the lives of these men, proving one is never too old to pursue their passions. If there’s one thing that could be taken away from the film, hopefully it’s that.
still courtesy of TIFF
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The EIC of the coincidentally-named keithlovesmovies.com. A Canadian who prefers to get out of the cold and into the warmth of a movie theatre.