I have seen Ratatouille.

I know, I know, it's been out for quite some time. I've never been much of a TV and film guy, I'm always too busy playing games or pottering around on message boards with my spare time, and very often simply have no TV at all. It's not that I don't like either of those things, it's just that, barring my recent extended and involuntary sabbatical to the familial homestead, most of the time I simply don't follow it or bother to watch it much.

In the specific case of Ratatouille, there was the additional hitch of it being a Disney/Pixar film, qualifiers that I largely avoid purely on reflex.

However, this one, had hints of promise. Thomas freaking Keller advised on the film. Anthony Bourdain called it one of the best restaurant movies he'd ever seen. And then came the final straw earlier today, when rumors trickled in to one of my IRC haunts that it was in the running for an Academy Award nomination.

My ears perked up. There was some discussion on the part of some of the chatters as to how in the hell a restaurant movie could even have such appeal as to net an Oscar. I attempted, in my own groggy, sleep-deprived, and largely futile way, to impart upon the residents as to the kind of drama and tension that goes on in a restaurant when the shit really hits the fan, the rising level of interest in the mysterious workings of the professional kitchen, and the proliferation of legend and myth surrounding it. But largely it all seemed to fall on deaf ears.

Having now seen it, I know now how I should have responded: "Just watch the fucking movie."

To really sum up in my mind exactly why this film is bloody incredible, however, I must dip into a rather singular moment from the film, it's climax to be exact. While most of you reading this have probably already seen it, for the sake of those who haven't, I will simply state that this is a film that captures the spirit of truly great cooking in a truly brilliant and clever fashion that I simply did not expect, that you must see it immediately, and that you should also really, really skip reading the rest of this post, because I'm about to spoil the hell out of one of the biggest moments in the film.

I'm serious. Stop it, now. Go get the film, watch it, then come back. You'll understand, trust me.

The film climaxes on what can be no better explained than by the application of the sadly cliche phraseology of "a moment of clarity". Not just for the for the character who experiences it, but for the audience, the creator, and I suspect a bit of the real life chef, Mr. Keller, who created the dish that sparks it.

The ominous, vampire-like restaurant critic is served the titular dish, with Remy the rat's (and real life chef Thomas Keller's) particular spin. We see him take a bite, and then suddenly, he is instantly transported back in time, to his childhood, standing in the doorway with a sad look on his face, his mother, smiling back, and comforting him with a bowl of simple ratatouille.

All in an instant, transported by memory to a better place, a better time, simply through the gentle touch of a chef, bringing to life a seemingly simple, unimpressive dish, simultaneously new and remarkable, and yet also old and familiar.

This is the power of truly great food. And this is why Ratatouille is one of the most incredible pieces of cinema I have ever seen, because in that brief scene, more than any other in a line of well-crafted moments and visual cues, we see it represented visually to a level of clarity I wouldn't have thought possible in the medium. So much is conveyed in such a brief, yet powerful image, and it seems to bely a level of understanding that I was simply floored by.

Setting aside my snarky, cynic's facade a moment, I must humbly admit that scene literally makes my cry just thinking about it. Its like someone reached right in my chest and found that spark that makes me want to do what I do, and thrust it on screen, and then comforts me softly just as Ego's mother comforts him.

The rest of the film is, in many ways, simply icing on the cake. The incredible verisimilitude, the clever writing, the animation, the sight gags, Collette, all really build the foundation for that final resolute moment in a way that few films manage.

So yes, it deserves an Oscar nod. At least a damn nomination. I'd consider it a victory for chefs and cooks everywhere if this film got the recognition it deserves, simply for managing to portray so well with so little, the passion and the joy that is food and cooking. This is an Important Movie(tm), if not for the rest of them, then at least for us.