Us fans of the original ’82 picture have been waiting (and dreading) the opening of the sequel Blade Runner 2049 for a year. The time has come: the picture is visually fantastic, the scenery compelling and the actors on top of their art, but my attention was also drown to the peculiar, even if understandable, food habits displayed! Edible insects…
First, I’d like to underline that the results of the first week end’s box office are talking lauder than the critics that over praised the picture: both in the US and in my home country Italy the film obtained a much lower income than expected. Warner Bros. counted on a domestic opening around 45/50 millions and the final intake stopped at 31.5, very shy compared to other sci-fi pictures like Interstellar, Gravity or The Martian (source Box Office Mojo).
Why so, if the people that saw it mainly liked it? Probably, it’s due to the fact that the film itself called for a 70% male and over 35 audience, possibly also because a sequel of a cult movie like Blade Runner is destined to be overlooked by cinema purists. Moreover, in the end is not an action film, not a thriller with over paced fighting scenes, but a remembrance of how writing, directing and acting geniuses can create interesting and visually enthralling pictures that run on a different lane compared to pure entertainment.
My sister Chiara is used at sharing with her friends reviews of the pictures she sees and I found the Blade Runner 2049 one so precise and compelling that saved me the time to write one myself 🙂
In 2020 the world has plunged into chaos through famine, climate change, and nuclear war. In response, the Wallace Corporation developed new farming techniques and obedient replicants, life-like robots with superhuman strength, working “off-world” to support Earth. Twenty-nine years later and thirty years after the events in the original Blade Runner, the Blade Runner Unit still exists within the LAPD to retire runaway replicants. During an investigation Officer K (a spectacular Ryan Gosling) makes a shocking discovery that will throw world order out of balance, also threatening Dr. Wallace (Jared Leto)’s business empire. In the process, K will have to retrace the steps of his predecessor Rick Deckard (a surprisingly soulful Harrison Ford), who has vital information.
I will not disclose the twists and turns of the story, because the ride adds to the enjoyment of this visually stunning film. Director Denis Villeneuve (Arrival, Sicario) masterfully weaves through new and familiar landscapes. He grounds us in the known Blade Runner imagery of a rainy Los Angeles, now surrounded by dams to guard off rising sea levels. Then brings us to new places, such as the trash heaps of San Diego where outcasts live, and the glowing ruins of Las Vegas, now a nuclear wasteland. Everyone who didn’t die in the original movie is back and every cameo is a tiny masterclass in acting. There are inconsistencies in the plot, but everything flows so effortlessly that the 2 hours and 44 minutes go by quickly. Overall the script revolves around the original theme of what it means to be human…and we still do not find out whether Deckard is a replicant or not…
Note: I saw it on the IMAX which made the expansive scenery even more massive and realistic.
And now, let’s talk about food!
Imagine that your only chance to survive, due to the lack of food, would be to start liking bugs. Don’t fret right away, I”m not talking about any bug, just edible ones 🙂 Luckily for you entomologists, chefs and millionaires like Blade Runner’s Dr. Wallace, have already been trying for years different recipes based on taste and protein needs.
Maybe, you want to get used to it and experiment a little bit before we get to 2049. Here are the dishes I selected for you!
Title: Edible Insects
Directors: various (replicant ?) Chefs
Cast (of ingredients 🙂
Crickets, worms, ants, bees, centipede, cockroach, dragonfly, fly pupae…should I carry on???
INT – NOMADIC CHI’S KITCHEN – DEEP FRIED CRICKETS SALAD
Food expert Nomadic Chi presents a salad made with Pandans leaves and crickets fried in vegetable oil (Source Pinterest)
INT – CHEF HORTEGA’S KITCHEN – MESCAL WORM TACOS
Chef Hugo Hortega cooks the worms with “white onion, butter, olive oil and he finishes the tacos with fresh parsley and serrano peppers”. He can assure you that they taste like crispy bacon! (Time Magazine)
INT – CHEF BARROSO’S KITCHEN – GRASSHOPPER MIX
Chef Karen Barroso prepares a typical Mexican snack “sauté chapulines from Oaxaca with garlic cloves, chile de arbol oil, sea salt and Spanish peanuts.” (Time Magazine)
INT – LORY LYNN’S KITCHEN – BEETLE WORMS PANCAKE
The owner of the blog Taste with the Eyes tried a Korean dish the Jeon a pancake with beetle larvae, kinchi juice, cabbage and scallion. In her blog post you’ll find other fun bugs’ food you can enjoy while drinking. Yum….
This post is also available in: Italian
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