MovieChat Forums > La vie d'Adèle (2013) Discussion > Why is everyone obsessed with spaghetti?...

Why is everyone obsessed with spaghetti?

posted 9 years ago by vanessa_julia_lutz
8 replies | jump to latest

It's in like 4 scenes and the director loves to capture people eating it... Is that supposed to be attractive? Lol

[–] luvie2003 9 years ago

It is realistic. Many times you never see people really eating in a film, I thought that those scenes were executed perfectly. It has nothing to do with attraction!

Always look for the positive in every situation.

[–] yajji 9 years ago

I think the intention was to show how different the world's of the two girls were. Adele's life was obviously middle class, in contrast to the more upper class life of Emma, whose family indulged in seafood. Spaghetti is a middle class staple food, while seafood (particularly oysters) is probably something enjoyed more by the affluent bourgeois society. When Adele is invited over by Emma for the first time, we see how unaccustomed and almost reluctant she is to eating food like that.

[–] luvie2003 9 years ago

And it was shown in a realistic way, something I believe the OP had a problem with.

Always look for the positive in every situation.

[–] vanessa_julia_lutz 8 years ago

No luvie2003 I absolutely have no problem with the realism of someone eating speghetti... Lol. I only commented on how weird it was that they focused on it so many times.

[–] scorpiointhesun 9 years ago

Excellent take on that. Food, defining their classes, subtle and smart.

[–] Howlin Wolf 9 years ago

I thought the prevalence of spaghetti was strange, as well! To show a scene of somebody eating it for the purposes of realism is fair enough - but more than once (four times, as it might have been) borders on fixation! 



"Your mother puts license plates in your underwear? How do you sit?!"

[–] Fran_Kubelick 8 years ago

Yes, and not only spaghetti - Adele was eating something in each and every scene (or making love, for that matter...).

I got the impression the director wanted to show how sensual, sexy and natural Adele was. It bothered me a little, because I personally thought it was too forced and I didn't find Adeles infantile and disgusting eating habits very attractive.

[–] AtomicReturns (1252) 7 years ago

Adele did also mention she was "voracious" (I believe Emma used that word to describe her). And the director seemed to be using food and sex a lot in this film. Even at the party with Emma's friends, there is very frank sexual talk while they are eating spaghetti.

The oyster scene (metaphor alert) reminded me of the one in Kubrick's Spartacus. "Do you eat oysters or snails? Some have a preference for both. A matter of taste." (paraphrasing)