If this film was a restaurant, it would have three Michelin stars.
Yazid Ichemrahen is one of the world’s great pastry chefs, consulting to top-end establishments throughout Europe. Yet he was raised in mostly in a foster-family, and a children’s home, sleeping rough, and even getting arrested. His extraordinary memoire Un rêve d’enfant étoilé has now been made into a feature film, Sugar and Stars.
Director Sébastien Tulard makes his feature debut with this finely crafted piece of cinema. What could have been a cute feel-good confection is lifted up by intelligent jumps in time, some poetically beautiful sequences, and a gritty authenticity which cuts through the sweetness. And all this sits atop a tightly written screenplay by Cédric Ido.
Pierre Dejon’s exquisite cinematography delivers close-ups of food preparation that convey all the artistry that goes into fine pastry and dessert cooking.
Young Algerian actor Riadh Belaïche is perfectly cast as Yazi, joining an outstanding ensemble which includes Loubna Abidar as Yazid’s mother, and comedian Dycosh as Yazid’s best friend and fellow chef, Manu.
Struggling to live in a boy’s home, commuting regularly from Epernay to Paris in order to work in high-end kitchen, Yazid has to negotiate bullies, the temptations of the street, and a house director who sees him as a bad influence. Yet he keeps on with his dream of becoming a great pastry-chef, battling to make the French team for the World Pastry Cup.
Built within the framework of the classic rags-to-riches storyline, Sugar and Stars manages to soar a little higher than most in this genre. An absolute delight for foodies, or anyone who loves a good dessert (or even a mediocre one!), this is also a story worth telling from its human point-of-view, and its important call for better care of those young people who fall through society’s cracks.
A charming, delightful, delicious, but also important, piece of cinema.
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