The documentary is a creative journey into the unique mind of René Redzepi. Located in Copenhagen, Denmark, renowned chef René Redzepi reinvents his restaurant, Noma, to make it the best in the world.
Food is not an inherently cinematic subject, being fundamentally about the sense of taste rather than that of sight. But, in its own terms, this doco isn't too bad at all.
Unfortunately, you learn more about his struggles, and his food, in multiple episodes of Anthony Bourdain's TV series No Reservations and The Mind of a Chef than you do in the 100 mostly flaccid minutes of Noma: My Perfect Storm.
Foremost in this fly-on-the-wall report is the fascinating contradiction of Redzepi himself, whose abrasive perfectionism appears to be prompted by the prejudice he suffered in his youth after his family moved to Denmark from humble roots in Macedonia.
Any attempt to examine Redzepi's philosophy, much less interrogate the reasons for the restaurant's success (is it more than a fad or a gimmick?), is notably missing in action. In its place are pretty pictures of glistening leaves.
Deschamps never ventures below the surface of Redzepi's wildly successful experiment, and while the pictures are pretty, no one judges food on appearance alone.
