61
Metascore
17 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 91Entertainment WeeklyOwen GleibermanEntertainment WeeklyOwen GleibermanEl Bulli becomes a haunting celebration of the human desire to turn food into art - even if the results are consciously insane.
- 80The Hollywood ReporterKirk HoneycuttThe Hollywood ReporterKirk HoneycuttThe film never quite pins the chef down about any of this but in his menu introduction to the staff or off-hand remarks to long-time colleagues you begin to understand the mindset. "The more bewilderment, the better," he declares. He is not joking.
- 75The A.V. ClubScott TobiasThe A.V. ClubScott TobiasThere's nothing particularly distinctive or engaging about Wetzel's fly-on-the-wall style, which feels like second-hand Frederick Wiseman. But for hardcore foodies, El Bulli offers a clear, unvarnished look at the master at work.
- 63Slant MagazineJesse CataldoSlant MagazineJesse CataldoA unique restaurant like El Bulli probably deserves a more creative documentary than El Bulli: Cooking in Progress, a static portrait that comes off as less than inspired by its unusual subject.
- 60Boxoffice MagazineJohn P. McCarthyBoxoffice MagazineJohn P. McCarthyFor all the innovative dishes we watch being concocted, the movie needs another ingredient or two for flavor enhancement and full satisfaction.
- 50Village VoiceVillage VoiceCooking in Progress is, in fact, all magic and no path: This is extreme fly-on-the-wall vérité, with only the barest context provided (no helpful TV-style titles here - when it comes to identifying ingredients and techniques, viewers are usually left to their own devices) as the culinary impossible is realized one painstaking step at a time.
- 50The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Jennie PunterThe Globe and Mail (Toronto)Jennie PunterEl Bulli barely registers a pulse stronger than a book's. There is no narration, there are no interviews and forget about any apron-ripping drama, as presented nightly on the Food Network.
- 30The New York TimesJeannette CatsoulisThe New York TimesJeannette CatsoulisAnyone looking for the lowdown on haute cuisine will be sorely disappointed: devoid of emotion, context or narrative, the baffling avant-garde techniques and extreme politesse of the lab become oppressively dull.