Barcelona makes a star turn

Pons has balanced very nicely the elements in the film, the strange threesome in Barcelona, the anguish of Paul and the New York sequence.

18 year-old Paul, Kevin Bishop, is a music student in San Francisco who is assigned as page-turner for renowned international pianist Richard Kennington, Paul Rhys. After the concert Richard suggests a drink but Paul`s mother Pamela, Juliet Stevenson, is hovering in the wings and gushingly sweeps him away. Some months later trying to escape the failure of her marriage Pamela takes Paul to Barcelona where Richard has just finished a concert tour. Paul approaches Richard at his hotel and the two begin a passionate affair. Things get complicated when Pamela, unaware of her son`s involvement, is included in their outings. Food of Love was a labour of love for Spanish director Ventura Pons who for many years had read and loved the work of American writer David Leavitt. The film is based on his novel, The Page Turner. Pons has balanced very nicely the elements in the film, the strange threesome in Barcelona, the anguish of Paul and the New York sequence where we get to know Richard`s agent Joseph, Allan Corduner, and where Paul discovers some hard truths about life. It`s a fine performance from young Kevin Bishop. Juliet Stevenson irritates mildly partly because of the way she handles an already overbearing role. The real star of the film though is the city of Barcelona, Pons` home town.