"We don’t need virtual reality, we need virtual unreality."
Initially trained as a painter, Peter Greenaway's avant-guard imagery has consistently influenced his filmmaking, culminating in an exquisite body of work that is not for the faint of heart.
His films often confront challenging themes—nudity, sexuality, decay, and mortality—imbued with a lush visual style that reflects his deep knowledge of Renaissance and Baroque painting.
'The Cook, The Thief, His Wife & Her Lover' is an allegorical exploration known for its audacious blending of visual art and darkly twisted storytelling. Released in 1989, the film is set within the confines of a lavish French restaurant, where power, lust, and decadence simmer just beneath the surface.
The Cook serving up gourmet masterpieces symbolises art. The Thief represents commerce, and the Lover embodies intellect. The Wife mirrors the British public—trapped in a troubled marriage with commerce, in love with the intellectual, and consuming the works of artists. The film, among other things, is an examination of desire—whether for love, freedom, or the sensual pleasures of food and flesh. It’s this juxtaposition of elegance and barbarism that makes the film both unsettling and utterly compelling.
The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover, 1989