The Truffle Hunters

I really enjoyed this documentary about four elderly gents - and their four legged friends - who quite literally scavenge the Piedmont countryside looking for one of the most valuable commodities known to culinary science. It takes a sort of fly-on-the-wall approach to exploring and sharing with us how these men operate, how their working practices have changed little since God was a boy. How they get ripped off by intermediaries who then sell these rare fungi onto the restaurant trade for exorbitant prices that only become more so when we have them in a restaurant - it really does give an whole new meaning to the "food chain". The subjects are real characters that provide us with a quirky and engaging look at this subsistence existence that really does entertain for just under ninety minutes. The camerawork - indeed, the entire production - is a little on the basic side, and the audio could do with a little bit of boosting, but somehow that all adds to the integrity of the film and of the men taking part. Next time you have truffle mash, or truffle fries - think on this and maybe it will help you enjoy the flavours just that little bit more.