By Travis Johnson
Barbecue, the mouth-watering documentary by Australian filmmakers Matthew Salleh and Rose Tucker that wowed audiences at SXSW and the Sydney Film Festival, will make its global streaming bow
on Netflix on August 15.
Described as “a sweeping vision of humanity told through the simple act of cooking and eating”, Barbecue saw the filmmaking team travel through 12 countries, telling a story of community and togetherness as they documented each culture’s barbecuing traditions.
“Barbecue came from my desire to show the best of cultures, relish their differences and be heartened by what is common to us all,” said director Salleh. “There couldn’t be a more important time or that message, and perhaps barbecue can be the lens through which we can all see a fair, just, and
beautiful world.”
Filmed in over 200 days and in 12 languages, the film travels from Africa to the Syrian border, the Mongolian steppes, the Australian outback, modern day Tokyo, the smoke-rooms of Texas pitmasters and more, accompanied by a bold, classically inspired score created by Adelaide-based Christopher Larkin.
“The role of the music in Barbecue is to reinforce one of our most common rituals with a sense of seriousness and depth,” explained Larkin. “Barbecue is not something to take lightly, and similarly, the score does not trivialise the process, but rather it emphasises the importance of it, resulting in a melancholic and meaningful sound which provides the emotional link between the audience, and the strong, hardworking people and cultures shown on screen.”
Check out our review of Barbecue and our interview with Matthew Salleh, then make up your own mind when it hits the ‘flix next month.
