a SIFF 2010 review
Robust Soul Kitchen a Delectable Dish
After his longtime girlfriend Nadine (Pheline Roggan) flies off to Shanghai to work as a newspaper correspondent, German-Greek Zinos (Adam Bousdoukos) is left to wonder if running his urban restaurant Soul Kitchen is going to be enough for him. He loves his place, and while he longs to make it better (as well as a bit more upscale) the thought of not being with Nadine has him pondering whether now is the time to give it up and move with her to China.
Adam Bousdoukos and Moritz Bleibtreu in Soul Kitchen © IFC Films
It doesn’t help that he’s thrown out his back, that his new chef Shayn’s (Birol Ünel) delicious if unusual cuisine is driving his deep-fried loving clientele away or that his ne'er-do-well brother Illias (Moritz Bleibtreu) is harping at him for a fake job so he can get out of prison early. It also doesn’t make things easier when a woman from the tax office (Catrin Striebeck) takes his stereo system as a down-payment towards his unpaid debts or his former fiend turned real estate shark Neumann (Wotan Wilke Möhring) is harping at him to sell.
But life is funny, and sometimes things have a way of working themselves out in the most unusual of ways. Shayn finds a way to keep his irritating egocentrism in check and comes up with a menu people actually like, his waiter Lutz’s (Lucas Gregorowicz) rock band proves to be a crowd-pleasing draw and his waitress Lucia (Anna Bederke) has fallen in love with Illias. Suddenly Soul Kitchen is the hottest spot in town, and while Nadine and China still beckon Zinos isn’t at all sure if still wants to go.
I love that Soul Kitchen is such a wildly eccentric change of pace for acclaimed director Fatih Akin. Light years away in both tone and style from The Edge of Heaven or Head-On, this ensemble comedy is a fresh and funny winner that secretly packs a surprising emotional punch. It is a story of friendship, family, faith and food, and while it doesn’t go in any directions that are new or different the film is still a hugely enjoyable frolic almost impossible not to adore.
Not that it is quite as confident or as self-assured as many of the director’s previous works. Where his grasp of light comedy is somewhat extraordinary, the movie’s forays into slapstick feel forced and uncomfortable. Some third act bits of nonsense seem more suited to a Peter Sellers Pink Panther adventure than they do this, a whole sequence inside an office building stopping momentum so cold I worried Akin wouldn't be able to get it heated back up to boiling again.
While he doesn’t quite make it he does manage to raise the temperature back to such a happy heat I was more than pleased to watch this foodie melodrama play itself out. The interpersonal dynamics Akin and fellow screenwriter Adam Bousdoukos manage to craft are all wonderful, everyone in the cast creating a familial atmosphere that’s energetic and appealing. Watching Zinos navigate through his world was a joy, and while the conclusion wasn’t unexpected it still came from a place of such hearty honesty it still managed to move me to quiet tears all the same.
I don’t remember Bousdoukos very well even though he had a major role in Head-On, but to say I won’t forget the actor after watching him in this would be an understatement. Even when the script forces him to act like a nincompoop there is something about his performance that held me captivated. Zinos is the kind of guy I felt like I knew back during my school days, made me believe he would be someone I’d adore hanging out with for hours on end. Bousdoukos dominates the film to such an extent it becomes impossible to imagine the role or the picture without him, the actor handling all that’s asked of him with effortless grace.
Akin is a talented filmmaker. The Edge of Heaven is a bona fide masterpiece and one of the best things I’ve seen these past few years. While Soul Kitchen doesn’t make it to that plateau it is still a strong, warm-hearted comedy confection that’s a tasty as it is fulfilling. It shows the director stretching himself and trying to do something new, and while his confidence isn’t quite where it usually is he still manages to cook up one heck of a delicious dish worthy of a second helping.
Film Rating: êêê (out of 4)
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