Soulfood

Just as more citizens are becoming reacquainted with preparing homemade meals, Breaking Glass Pictures brings to DVD (June 2, 2020) an entertaining Indie film about a young aspiring chef - Abe (Noah Schnapp - "Stranger Things") .

Directed and written by accomplished young LA based Brazilian filmmaker Fernando Grostein Andragde, the film tracks Abe's growth as a chef, while he struggles at home to understand his historic religious beliefs held tightly by his half-Israeli and half-Palestinian head strong family members. If the religious aspect of the storyline seems to heavy for quirky drama-comedy, don't worry, it's just a subtext to the journey Abe goes through on his way to becoming a chef and bringing his family together.

Director Grostein Andragde knows his way around a youth oriented film, enabling the audience to experience young Abe's world from his perspective. Unfortunately, he often keeps the camera on situations or scenes too long, leaving the viewer to wonder if he couldn't find away out of the setting. Noah Schnapp is the key to this production, and he holds your attention throughout with those puppy dog eyes and youthful ambition. The competing family members make for a great tug-of-war, and each ensemble members keeps your attention.

Using the old adage "a way to a person (man's) heart is through their stomachs," Abe hones his craft for a big family meal that will "mix" up the various ethnic foods to create one big happy final family dining experience. If only it was that easy!

If you still rent DVD's, make sure to look for this one.

The film certainly has its heart in the right place. The basic idea is for all its intents and purposes charming and addresses an interesting and important topic. However, director Fernando Andrade completely fails to establish the film's premise in a believable way, through which the rest of the movie's story extremely suffers from. All in all, Abe (2020) only ends up as a noncredible feelgood-movie with a wannabe deep message.

Abe:"I'm going to the party!" School kid:"Don't we get enough of you at school?" *Comment gets 7 likes* Me:"This kid is getting bullied all because he likes cooking?!? LMFAO TF"

Good movie but.... Could have probably chosen better actors who could actually pronounce the Arabic and Hebrew properly. The mother Rebecca possibly one of the worst (on screen) mothers ever. Poor kid.

If only the plot-cake had used baking powder instead of baking soda. The movie's editing styles; use of hashtags, memes and montages, may help draw a younger audience to the movie, and especially with its call for unity. However, the plot of the story may feel a little salty to the taste for viewers, due to the constant barrages of never-ending shouting matches between family members which drenches the story with vinegar. A little complements the dish; add too much and you've ruined the taste.

It gets a little cheesy at the end but a nice movie to watch. It could've been more, sure, but good nonetheless.