Butler's Cinema Scene

“THE TRUFFLE HUNTERS” My rating: A-

84 minutes | MPAA rating: PG-13

Notwithstanding its title, “The Truffle Hunters” imparts relatively little information about the actual process of hunting for those priceless subterranean fungi so beloved of cultured palates.

Turns out that the crusty old men of the Piedmont would prefer not to give away their truffle-hunting secrets in front of the camera. This explains why directors Michael Dweck and Gregory Kershaw rely heavily on extreme long shots of a tiny human figures — and their faithful dogs — rustling through the thick greenery of Italian hillsides.

But if the nuts and bolts of truffle hunting remain mysterious, “The Truffle Hunters” succeeds magnificently in capturing the rhythms of lives spent in the forests, the attitudes and outlooks of old men whose deepest relationships appear to be with the canines on whose sharp noses they rely.

With no narration, graphics or explanation this doc plops us down in the truffle hunters’ world. We see them at home (many of these colorful codgers seem to live as hermits in a largely technology-free setting). We watch them interact with their beloved pets (the pooches have personalities to rival those of their masters).

One fellow passes the time by bashing away on a full drum kit on his porch.

Through overheard conversations we get a sense of today’s truffle industry. Many of the old-timers are dying and taking their secrets with them, refusing to pass on to newcomers the locations of their most productive truffle patches.

At least one veteran has had it with the cutthroat commercialization of the truffle industry. A business that once was conducted with only a handshake is now a high-stakes affair driven by greed; some of the younger hunters have taken to poisoning the dogs of the oldsters, and this wrinkled gent wants no part of it.

Some truffles can sell for as much as $4,000 a pound. We see a truffle auction where the lumpy fungi are displayed on red silk pillows like crown jewels and world-class restauranteurs bid ridiculous sums.

At one point a well-to-do fellow takes his seat in a posh restaurant and slowly savors his breakfast of fried eggs topped with thin shavings of truffle. Nobody explains what truffles taste like, but we assume it must be pretty damn yummy.

Moreover, “The Truffle Hunters” is an intoxicatingly beautiful visual experience. Operating their own cameras, Dweck and Kershaw capture haunting images that suggest Old Master paintings by the likes of Vermeer and De la Tour.

Ultimately “The Truffle Hunters” achieves an almost meditative state of oneness with nature.

It also leaves you ravenously hungry for a dish that most of us have never tasted.

| Robert W. Butler