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| Movie Review: Soul Kitchen Alternate Title: He's Not Heavy...
Story: Once in a while a film
comes along that should have turned out as a groaner but under the always
brilliant direction of Fatih Akin it turned out to
be a winner. I left the theater with a big smile on my face (and that
is rare). The film takes place in Hamburg, Germany. A rag
tag bunch of thirty-something's fill the screen with quirkiness, likeability
and fun. Disorganized restaurateur Zinos, has turned a ramshackle warehouse
into a sort of German greasy diner that caters to truckers and locals.
He calls his place 'Soul Kitchen.' Through a series of unrelated incidents
the diner turns into the next trendy restaurant and cash starts to flow.
Like a good recipe this film throws in a dash
of ingredients that include a shady brother, a wacky chef, a villainous
realtor, a devoted artist/waitress, a curmudgeon, a long distance relationship,
an alternative healer and more. Yes, there are lots of characters but
they are all given exactly the right amount of screen time to make the
recipe complete. To add to this already fun film there is a terrific
soundtrack and some wonderful cooking scenes. How Zinos goes from rags to riches and back again
is madcap, fun and delightful. The film was written by Fatih.Akin and
Adam Bousdoukos. It is in German and Greek, with English subtitles. Check out the trailer here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ua86x-J4ubA Acting: Adam Bousdoukos as Zinos Kazantsakis is perfect.
He is also the co-writer. Moritz Bleibtreu as wayward
brother Illias Kazantsakis is wonderful. The supporting cast are terrific
including: Birol Ünel (Shayn Weiss), Anna
Bederke (Lucia Faust), Pheline Roggan (Nadine
Krüger), Lucas Gregorowicz (Lutz) and Wotan
Wilke Möhring (Thomas Neumann). Trivia: Edge of Heaven http://judylobo.wordpress.com/2008/06/26/movie-review-edge-of-heaven/
was my favorite film of 2008 and was directed by Fatih Akin. Check out
the review above.
Predilection: I like Fatih Akin's films.
Critters: None
Food: A gastronomic delight.
Sex Spectrum: A few very funny sex scenes. An aphrodisiac
is added to one of the desserts.
Blatant Product Placement: Apple, Skype
Soundtrack: Soulfully terrific.
Opening Titles: All titles at the end. Some nice
graphics are used in the end titles.
Theater Audience: About ten other happy film goers.
Weather: It seems to rain a lot in Hamburg.
Sappy Factor: 0
Quirky Meter: 0
Squirm Scale: 0
Drift Factor: I was attentive throughout
Predictability Level: High
Tissue Usage: 0
Oscar Worthy: It could be an entry in the foreign
film division.
Big Screen or Rental: If you can find it on the big
screen go for it - otherwise it would be a fine rental.
Length: 100 minutes.
LOBO HOWLS: 8
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