--- airs weeknights on SBS Food at 7.00pm and 10.00pm, or stream it free on . Catch the late night snack episode Wednesday 25 August. ---
The worst thing about lockdown life is the lack of company. Well, the worse thing is actually sky-rocketing COVID numbers and no end in sight. But loneliness is up there.
No matter how much you love them, when it's just you and the same 5, 4, 3, 2, even no people, things can get really mundane, really fast. Every part of your being wishes you could get together with new buddies and a bunch of good food and conversation to match.
Sorry, not yet. But a really good movie might reduce the longing. Especially when you combine it with eating your cares away via a truckload of matching snacks.
So, pick your movie, fire up the tele and the oven and get busy. You've got a party to attend and you'll cry if you want to.
Get the party started with this action-packed manga thriller. A highly skilled samurai in feudal Japan has been cursed with immortality after a legendary battle. He promises to help a young woman avenge the death of her parents, leading them both into a bloody war. Warning: bloody is a very apt description for this gruelling film from prolific cult director Takashi Miike. But don't let that put you off because it's also irresistible fun!
The kind of easy, light snack a horror/supernatural/thriller/drama/action film calls for. Source: Adam Liaw
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Let's hit Japan for a snacking menu
All heart and soul, Panga follows a retired kabaddi player ( Kangana Ranaut as Jaya) who returns to the sport after seven-years away raising a family. At its heart this little sports gem is really a romance film, charting the love between Jaya and her husband, who makes his own sacrifices to help her achieve her dream.
Munching on samosas watching a fabulous film is as good as life gets. Lockdown or none. Source: Anjum’s Australian Spice Stories
In this incredibly funny, but equally dark comedy, six foolish men play a series of increasingly bizarre games while fishing from a luxury yacht in the Aegean Sea. It's a queasy look at the competitiveness of the modern male dynamic as seen by the focused eye of whip-smart female director Athina Rachel Tsangari.
Maybe make three, it's quite a long movie... Source: Danielle Abou Karam
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Pasteli (toasted sesame bars)
This poignant coming-of-age dance/love story manages to rise above the inevitable clichés the genre so often leaps and bounds into. Polina follows a gifted Bolshoi ballerina who falls in love with a French dancer who introduces her to contemporary dance and a new life in France.
You can get your pirozhki prepped ahead of the movie, ready to slide into the oven during the opening credits. Source: John Laurie
In this exquisite martial arts feast, Nie, a general's young daughter is kidnapped and trained to become an exceptional assassin. When she fails a mission she is ordered to kill her betrothed, forcing her to choose between love and duty.
Rou jia mo have been made in Shaanxi Province for more than 2000 years. So Lie probably snacked on them during her quest to defeat the assassins. Source: Danielle Abou Karam
When Italian mama meets gay fiancé, it's as much OTT fun and drama as you'd wish for.
Seadas take a long time to make. But even the best romances can take a while to get going. Source: Danielle Abou Karam
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Panzerotti (fried dough pockets)
An editor discovers a masterpiece among a pile of rejected manuscripts. She tries to track down its unknown author, who may already be dead. This light-hearted, fast-paced, well-acted mystery flits through the charming villages of rural Brittany. It's basically a heap of fun.
Delicate little cakes infused with vanilla, madeleines are fit for big and little kids. Source: Merle Parrish
Three very different flatmates in Tel Aviv straddle the precipice between traditional Syrian culture and their free-spirited ways. The sharp script showcases a Syria (and particularly the nuanced women who live there) in light-hearted, apolitical way rarely shown.
This beautiful dip is balanced in between the heat of spices like chilli and paprika and the sweetness pomegranate molasses. Source: Adam Liaw
This quiet, emotional burner has a gentle comedy at its heart. It stars Bill Nighy at his eccentric best, after all. It calls for an equally quiet, British kind of snack, but one with bite.
You'll want to munch on these plump gingerbread pillows way more often than sometimes. Source: Murdoch Books / Regula Ysewijn
When an eight-year-old Zambian girl is convicted of being a witch after an incident in her local village, she is consigned to a witches camp in the desert. This politically-charged film is beautifully captured with both sorrow and humour by debut writer-director Rungano Nyoni. The compelling performance by Maggie Mulubwa as Shula is impossible to forget.
Afrikaner frikkadels are baked, not fried. Which frees you up to pop them in the oven and get the movie started. Source: Sarah Graham's Food Safari
An architect (Thaneth Warakulnukroh) sets off on a road trip through Thailand to take his elephant Bong back to his hometown. Yes, this movie is as warm, joyous and slow-moving as that sounds.
These wings are a labour of love, but it's 'boy and his dog' movie featuring a man and his elephant, so it needs something special. Source: Danielle Abou Karam
