appConfigEntityId

bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

isVideo

articlePageQuery

article

articleSchemaContent

content

hooksArticlePageAdvertisementConfigArticle

appConfig

filter

json

liveArticle

James Marsh

3/5 stars
A world-class Japanese chef returns to his former stamping ground in search of that ever elusive third Michelin star in Grand Maison Paris, director Ayuko Tsukahara’s big-screen spin-off of the hugely successful Japanese television series La Grande Maison Tokyo.
Takuya Kimura and Kyoka Suzuki reprise their roles in this feature-length adventure shot entirely on location in the French capital.
Tsukahara has two feature films opening in Hong Kong this week; time-travel romance 1st Kiss is also debuting in cinemas.


Grand Maison Paris sees the director on familiar ground, since she directed five of the TV series’ 11 episodes as well as a feature-length special in 2024.
Adopting a more serious tone than the comparatively lighthearted series, the film finds chef Natsuki Obana (Kimura) facing a crisis once again.
His triumphant return to Paris ends in disaster, with his banquet failing to impress Michelin’s committee and the restaurant’s French owner threatening to hand Grand Maison back to his son.
Obana faces prejudice and derision at every turn for daring to tackle traditional French cuisine, while friction within the kitchen boils over, causing sous chef Rinko (Suzuki) to quit.
Adding more fuel to the fire, Korean patissier Rick Yuan (Ok Taec-yeon) is being hounded by loan sharks while Obana’s former flame, celebrity food influencer Linda (Ai Tominaga), is waiting in the wings to deliver her next scathing review.

However, no amount of kitchen-based drama can match the relentless slicing, dicing, mincing and mashing of the French language inflicted throughout this film. Takuya, Suzuki and the rest of the Japanese cast are bested time and again by the linguistic demands of one of humanity’s most beautiful tongues.
What makes this misstep all the more distracting is that it was wholly avoidable. The film’s narrative hangs on the fact that Obana runs a multicultural kitchen in a cosmopolitan city, where Japanese, Korean and English are all spoken freely.
Whenever Obana needs to coach his team he does so in his native tongue, while teammates proactively translate for other members. However, the script repeatedly and needlessly insists that Obana makes long, incoherent speeches in phonetically enunciated French.
Despite these distractions, fans of the series and newcomers alike can delight in the copious delectable culinary creations on display.

Grand Maison Paris builds to a triumphant banquet with mouth-watering gastronomic innovations sure to set stomachs rumbling.
In doing so, the film reinforces the notion that a shared love of food, and recognition of eating as the great healer, unites us all.
Want more articles like this? Follow SCMP Film on Facebook


How films like Backrooms and Exit 8 are turning liminal spaces into a horror trend

Cannes 2026: 10 of the festival’s best movies, from Fjord to Minotaur and All of a Sudden

Cannes 2026: The Samurai and the Prisoner movie review – Kiyoshi Kurosawa back on top form

Cannes 2026: Sheep in the Box movie review – Hirokazu Koreeda tackles grief in sci-fi tale

Asian cinema: Japanese films

Grand Maison Paris movie review: Takuya Kimura goes to France in Japanese TV show spin-off

Takuya Kimura in a still from Grand Maison Paris.

Takuya Kimura and Kyoka Suzuki in a still from Grand Maison Paris (category: IIA, Japanese, French). Co-starring Ok Taec-yeon and directed by Ayuko Tsukahara.

Ai Tominaga as a food influencer in a still from Grand Maison Paris.

A still from Grand Maison Paris.

The Solitary Gourmet movie review: beloved Japanese TV food comedy hits the big screen

Yutaka Matsushige in a still from The Solitary Gourmet (Category I; Japanese).

Joe Odagiri in a still from The Solitary Gourmet.

Yutaka Matsushige in a still from The Solitary Gourmet.

Yutaka Matsushige (left) and Yuki Uchida in a still from The Solitary Gourmet.

Living in Two Worlds movie review: Japanese CODA counterpart suffers from unlikeable lead

Ryo Yoshizawa as Dai, a child of deaf parents in rural Japan, in a still from Living in Two Worlds (category IIA; Japanese). Akiko Oshidari and Akito Imai co-star, while Mipo O directs.

Ryo Yoshizawa (left) and Akiko Oshidari in a still from Living in Two Worlds.

Ryo Yoshizawa (front) and Akiko Oshidari in a still from Living in Two Worlds.

Cells at Work! movie review: hilarious Japanese comedy gets inside the human body

Takeru Satoh (left) and Mei Nagano in a still from Cells at Work!.

Mei Nagano (centre) as Red Blood Cell AE3803 in a still from Cells at Work! (category IIA; Japanese). Hideki Takeuchi’s manga adaptation co-stars Takeru Satoh.

Takeru Satoh as White Blood Cell U-1146 in a still from Cells at Work!

A still from Cells at Work!

Takeshi Kaneshiro, one of the ‘most good-looking’ actors in Hong Kong cinema and star of some of Wong Kar-wai and Peter Chan’s best movies, is a man of mystery

Takeshi Kaneshiro at an interview with the Post in July 2004. Kaneshiro, who debuted as a singer in Taiwan in 1992, has not been seen on the big screen since 2017 – but remains as popular as ever. Photo: SCMP

Takeshi Kaneshiro and Zhou Dongyu in a still from “This Is Not What I Expected” (2017).

Takeshi Kaneshiro and Brigitte Lin in a still from “Chungking Express” (1994). 

Takeshi Kaneshiro and Kyoko Fukada in a still from the drama series “God, Please Give Me More Time” (1998).

(From left) Xu Jinglei, Takeshi Kaneshiro, Andy Lau, Jet Li, Jacky Heung and director Peter Chan promote “The Warlords” at an event in December 2007. Photo: SCMP

Takeshi Kaneshiro in a still from “Perhaps Love” (2005).

Takeshi Kaneshiro and Michele Reis in “Fallen Angels” (1995). Photo: Block 2 Pictures and Jet Tone Contents

Takeshi Kaneshiro in an interview with the Post in December 2006. Photo: SCMP

Lifestyle

Entertainment

Culture

Film & TV

TV show La Grande Maison Tokyo spin-off with Ok Taec-yeon and Kyoka Suzuki a feast for the eyes but not the ears as Kimura butchers French


TV show La Grande Maison Tokyo spin-off with Ok Taec-yeon and Kyoka Suzuki a feast for the eyes but not the ears as Kimura butchers French.


Asian cinema

Film reviews

Cinema

Fame and celebrity

Food and Drinks

What to do in Hong Kong

An assessment or critique of a service, product or creative endeavour.  Film reviews, restaurant reviews, reviews of art exhibitions. (Eg. Crazy Rich Asians: an important film, yes, but a good one?)


Review

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}TV show La Grande Maison Tokyo spin-off with Ok Taec-yeon and Kyoka Suzuki a feast for the eyes but not the ears as Kimura butchers French

TV show La Grande Maison Tokyo spin-off with Ok Taec-yeon and Kyoka Suzuki a feast for the eyes but not the ears as Kimura butchers French