Although Paris is crowned the gastronomic capital of the world, the great dadaist of contemporary cinema, Quentin Dupieux, has set out to prove that only cinema can contain all the flavours at once. Premiering at Cannes, this comedy attempts to reconnect the father played by Woody Harrelson and the daughter played by Kristen Stewart, but instead of a heart-to-heart, Dupieux opts for Paris, French cuisine, and, apparently, the absolutely wrong hotel.

Philip Doom is a wealthy American industrialist who has been struggling to repair his relationship with his daughter, Madeleine. He is an energetically cantankerous man in his sixties with an opinion on everything, while all his daughter wants is to break free from their toxic yin-yang circle. When Philip and Madeleine arrive at a Paris hotel for a palate and relationship cleanse, their interactions remain sour, despite being served the most exquisite meals. As they dine and watch cinematic concoctions in the stylings of 1950s Ed Wood, Doom’s weekend quickly shifts genres.

French director and screenwriter Dupieux, better known as the DJ Mr. Oizo and the auteur behind such cult films as Rubber (2010), Deerskin (2019), and The Second Act (2024), once again dips into the cinematic vocabulary of director Buñuel. Bringing Harrelson, Stewart, Emma Mackey, Charlotte Le Bon, as well as YouTube comedians Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim to the screen, Dupieux serves up a mischievous “bon appétit!” of body horror, absurdity, and good old-fashioned family drama. This subtly cheeky piece of cinematic finger food, ambitious enough to make The Substance (2024) blush, will leave fans of the comic cadence of There’s Something About Mary (1997) in stitches. RIGA IFF guarantees plenty of stomach-churning moments and laughter that will leave you doubled over.