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The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover (1989)

 -  Drama  -  6 April 1990 (USA)
7.4
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Ratings: 7.4/10 from 18,975 users  
Reviews: 165 user | 67 critic

The wife of an oafish restaurant owner becomes bored with her husband and considers an affair with a regular patron.

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Title: The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover (1989)

The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover (1989) on IMDb 7.4/10

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Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
...
Richard Borst
...
...
...
Michael
...
Mitchel
...
Cory
Gary Olsen ...
Spangler
Ewan Stewart ...
Harris
...
Turpin
...
Mews
Liz Smith ...
Grace
...
Patricia
Janet Henfrey ...
Alice
Arnie Breeveld ...
Eden
Tony Alleff ...
Troy
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Storyline

The wife of a barbaric crime boss engages in a secretive romance with a gentle bookseller between meals at her husband's restaurant. Food, colour coding, sex, murder, torture and cannibalism are the exotic fare in this beautifully filmed but brutally uncompromising modern fable which has been interpreted as an allegory for Thatcherism. Written by Keith Loh <loh@sfu.ca>

Plot Summary | Plot Synopsis

Plot Keywords:

restaurant | food | sex | allegory | murder | See more »

Taglines:

Lust...Murder...Dessert. Bon Appetit!

Genres:

Drama

Certificate:

NC-17 | See all certifications »

Parents Guide:

 »
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Details

Official Sites:

Country:

|

Language:

Release Date:

6 April 1990 (USA)  »

Also Known As:

Spica  »

Box Office

Gross:

$7,724,701 (USA)
 »

Company Credits

Show detailed on  »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

| (R-rated)

Sound Mix:

Color:

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1
See  »
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Did You Know?

Trivia

The dog excrement was actually chocolate mousse. See more »

Quotes

Georgina: Bon apetit. It's French...
See more »

Frequently Asked Questions

See more (Spoiler Alert!) »

User Reviews

A beautifully filmed, ugly and disturbing film.
27 June 2004 | by (Portland, Oregon USA) – See all my reviews

I saw this almost fifteen years ago and I still have crystal clear mental images of some of the scenes. The chef at his table in the kitchen, planning his menu: stunning! Put it in a frame, hang it on the wall. In the restaurant scenes, you feel like you're there at the table as the camera pans, without cuts, from one person to another. Our heroes locked in the truck full of rotting meat: horrible, disgusting, perfect. It's a classic purification ritual and it's literally putrid. Greenaway is a genius. My only criticism is a minor one. There is a full frontal nude scene of the wife and her lover, where he is clearly more "relaxed" than he should have been at that moment. I'm a bit disappointed in Greenaway for not showing him at "attention", as he would have been in real life. But then, I guess he would have been accused of making porn. Whatever. This film is not for everyone. My wife didn't see it. I'm sure she would have hated it if she had. For that matter, I can't actually say I liked it, although I consider it a masterwork. But I'm glad I saw it. I'll probably see it again, but not until I can see it on HDTV. Plain old DVD couldn't possibly do it justice. An amazing movie.


47 of 68 people found this review helpful.  Was this review helpful to you?

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Albert Spica, the most odious film character ever. leucrottabob
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Why this movie isn't on the top 250 is beyond me... bplex
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