Educational Media Reviews Online

Whether you love the taste of caviar and can’t get enough of it, or you hate it and wonder what all the fuss is about, this film is worth viewing. In its short running time, it manages to fit in where caviar comes from (sturgeon), a little bit of history, why it is so expensive, and the environmental impact of harvesting.

Some of the visual beauty of this film comes from lush shots of the caviar being spooned out of a container or displayed, contributing to the tagline of the film: “the most decadent documentary ever made.” In addition, old black and white film clips, scenes from an old color documentary and from movies and TV shows offer variety.

Several experts provide authoritative voices about aspects of caviar—a caviar historian from Philadelphia, a fishmonger from Chicago, a caviar fisherman from Happy Valley, North Carolina. And, just for fun, a caviar eating contest in Moscow.

Keep watching through the credits, which feature these scenes: how Melania Trump used caviar with her baby, caviar wrestling, and a news story about caviar in a morgue. If this all sounds rather quirky, it is, and adds to the film’s enjoyment.

Caviar Dreams will be useful in culinary classes or any class where food/food history/food sustainability are discussed. Public libraries will definitely want to consider it for their collections, too.