Step Up to the Plate (Entre Les Bras - La cuisine en heritage)

Ah, when bad titles happen to fine movies. Were I to release a documentary about the gastronomical ingenuity of Michel and Sébastian Bras, I’d like to think I’d call it anything but “Step Up to the Plate,” because all most North Americans will think when they see that title is baseball. In French, the movie is called “Entre les Bras” — “Between the Brases” — and that really gets at the essence of the movie (although I concede that some people will see the original title and think undergarments). Anyway, the movie patiently watches as Michel attempts to retire from Bras, the chic family restaurant in the southern hamlet of Laguiole, France, that he’s placing in the hands of his son Sébastian. The movie’s patient in the way of “El Bulli: Cooking in Progress” or “Jiro Dreams of Sushi.” That’s where culinary nonfiction is now — sleepy, observant. And, for the most part, that’s OK.