★ 7 / 10
“Zinos” (Adam Bousdoukos) runs his Greek equivalent of
CinemaSerf
“Zinos” (Adam Bousdoukos) runs his Greek equivalent of a greasy spoon in Hamburg, doing OK until his girlfriend “Nadine” (Pheline Roggen) takes a job in China…
“Zinos” (Adam Bousdoukos) runs his Greek equivalent of a greasy spoon in Hamburg, doing OK until his girlfriend “Nadine” (Pheline Roggen) takes a job in China which brings things in his life into a sharper focus. First things first, he can’t cook. Add to that he has an herniated disc in his back and needs surgery that he can’t really afford; his wayward brother “Illias” (Moritz Bleibtreu) is in and out (on a daily basis) of prison; the tax man is after him and there is a local businessman (Udo Kier) who wants the site for himself. Bluntly, “Zinos” is at his wits end so he advertises for a cook. Instead, he gets interest from “Weiss” (Birol Ünel) who is rather more of a chef and determines to up the standard of the menu. That doesn’t go down so well with the punters, but it does help him reach out to new, better-heeled, ones and soon the business is proving to be quite a success. Thing is, though, he is pining for his gal and so rather foolishly gives a power of attorney to his brother and decides to head to Shanghai. Needless to say, “Illias” proves to be anything but a safe pair of hands and so now there’s a real risk that our hapless restauranteur could end up with little more than the clothes he stands up in. Aside from a really engaging effort from Bousdoukos, this benefits from a surprising lack of in-your-face predictability. Of course, we know that his successful plain sailing can’t go on for long - there’d be no plot, but the quirky fashion in which his problems are crafted and then played out does raise a smile quite often. Partly because it is funny, but also because some of the scenarios are relatable too. Ünel is also on good form as the typically curmudgeonly kitchen perfectionist, Bleibtreu presents us with a sibling that any one of us would have happily disowned at birth and Kier only has to look at the camera to imbue his character with a degree of tea-time menace. It’s a quickly paced comedy that builds well around a couple of more substantial characterisations, some bumpy romance and just an hint of living life to the full (or fool) and it makes for an enjoyable ninety minutes.
★ 8 / 10
'Life is what happens to you while you are busy making other plans.'
gradyharp
Faith Akin is best known for his dark, serious films ('Head On', 'The Edge of Heaven', 'Short Sharp Shock', 'Crossing the Bridge: The Sounds of Istanbul', etc)…
Faith Akin is best known for his dark, serious films ('Head On', 'The Edge of Heaven', 'Short Sharp Shock', 'Crossing the Bridge: The Sounds of Istanbul', etc) so it is somewhat surprising to find he has such a deft touch for comedy. SOUL KITCHEN languished for a while before Akin decided that 'life is not only about pain and introspection', and so he turned his rather formidable talents to creating this new film - a comedy about food, family and gentrification. He co-wrote the script with star Adam Bousdoukos in a manner that mirrors his other works: people from other countries (Akin is Turkish raised in Germany, Bousdoukos is Greek raised in Germany) can assimilate without losing the unique treasured aspects of their ethnicity.
The setting is Hamburg where Zinos (Adam Bousdoukos) owns a grungy but popular with the locals restaurant, Soul Kitchen, serving quickly prepared frozen foods to a gastronomically unsophisticated clientele. Zinos is also a romantic, struggling with his conflict to join his journalist girlfriend Nadine (Pheline Roggan) who wants Zinos to accompany her to her latest living assignment in Shanghai, but being afraid to leave his beloved restaurant. Zinos decides to stay in Hamburg -opening the door for other factors to enter Zinos' life: he encounters a fired chef Shayn (Birol Ünel) whose cranky disposition can't hide the fact that he is a brilliant chef in need of work (Zinos hires him!), an old friend Thomas Neumann (Wotan Wilke Möhring) who has become a real estate entrepreneur want to buy Zinos' old building, Zinos' ne're-do-well brother Illias (Moritz Bleibtreu) is in prison but can get leaves if Zinos with be his patron for a work-release program, a new crowd of jazz music lovers and partygoers flood the premises, etc. All of these ingredients, including the staff of the restaurant Lucia (Anna Bederke), funky old Sokrates (Demir Gökgöl), and Lutz (Lukas Gregorowicz), blend together to produce harrowing but hilarious results. In the end the transformations of Soul Kitchen emphasize the importance of family and living a dream, and the despite the many pratfalls Zinos encounters, the changes all come out in the wash for the better.
This cast manages to exude a love for life that makes the move soar above others, despite the usual at times crude jokes and situations. It just bubbles, and a fine part of that effervescence is from the music score.
Grady Harp
73%
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