AFI Fest 2021: Julia Review

This will be one of many reviews during this year’s AFI Fest, to keep up with our latest coverage, click here.

Everyone has surely come across Julia Child in one way or another. The legendary chef not only revolutionized the world of food and food on television but also became an unlikely feminist icon. More than just an unusual voice and a proclivity for butter, many probably were unaware of her impact. Julia is a compelling and insightful documentary chronicling the life of the titular chef. A more than interesting character in her own right, her perspective made for an interesting guide through the decades and her evolution as a person as the world evolved around her. She broke barriers and opened doors for those that came after her, including women and minorities. While her impact was interesting to learn about, the film was also very fun to watch and running at a brisk 95 minutes, it’s a concise documentary that certainly doesn’t overstay its welcome.

Child lived an interesting life long before she ever graced our screens as a chef. Working with the OSS, she met her husband Paul as their journeys took them to France where her infamous relationship with French cuisine began. It would not be until her 50s that Child truly broke through in the world of food with the release of her first book, Mastering the Art of French Cooking. From there, her star kept growing, leading her to television and one of the first cooking shows. In the end, Child never let her age stop her as she kept going all the way until the end, continuing to pursue her passion for food and raising the voices of others. Though she still made plenty of mistakes along the way, she still learned from them and evolved as a person.

Using the standard documentary conventions of archival footage and interviews with prominent members in Child’s life, Julia was an entertaining watch while its impressive archival footage of Child added more power and purpose to her tale. That being said, the film is likely to appeal to fans of her and food then anyone else as it will certainly not be changing minds but the film is much more than just Child therefore it still deserves a chance.

 still courtesy of Mongrel Media

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Keith Noakes

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.