Maestro Cheng

Warm, slow story, with Finnish humour and beautiful Lapland landscapes. If you know Finnish mentality and you like it, then this movie is for you. Female actres great role. Film filled my heart with love to Lapland, although I haven't yet been there.

I saw this at a recent film festival, and was refreshed by its compassionate and humane plot and characterisation.

It is set in rural Finland. The female lead runs a struggling restaurant popular with the locals but serving the most bland of food (from our point of view). One day, a mysterious and troubled-seeming Chinese gentleman who also happens to be an experienced chef appears out of nowhere. To cut a long story short, he spices things up and takes over the operation of the lady's restaurant.

But this is only incidental; beneath the superficial plot is a deeply tender and inspiring one about two wounded individuals trying to escape the demons of their past, and falling deeply in love in the process, which is conveyed with rare compassion and affection.

This is that rare thing in cinema: a genuinely wholesome film that is never earnest or sentimental, but genuinely entertaining. It struck me that this is perhaps the first film I have seen in a long time where every single character is likeable, and where I genuinely left the cinema feeling somehow purified. Even the at first insular and seemingly xenophobic restaurant regulars show the deepest magnanimity. It's refreshing, and comes highly recommended.

I lived in Finland briefly, and watching this film made me homesick for my time there. It has an excellent sense of place and effectively evokes both Finnish and Chinese cultures. It's a quiet, thoughtful movie that takes its time. Showing an evolving romance between people from two famously reserved cultures takes special skill, but the tender performances really make it land. There were a couple of places where I felt things could have been heightened a bit, but that may also be because of the culture I'm from. I really enjoyed this, and I'd definitely watch it again.

This is an excellent movie in many ways. The storyline and the way it is filmed is realistic, actors are very talented and the sceneries magnificent. It is a touching film but not in a corny way. The two old men are famous Finnish actors and they play their part so well that it does not even feel like they are acting (more like a documentary). It´s a feel good movie that will make you hungry, especially if you like Chinese cuisine.

I do not often rate movies, and can´t remember ever giving a 9 at Imbd, but this one deserved one.

A quiet story about a budding romance between two loners and the power of food. Nothing special, but charming in its simplicity - this movie doesn't WANT to be special, it just presents the characters (and landscape) in a relaxed, unagitated manner. There's exactly one urgent situation in the film (it concerns the boy) and that gets resolved in about one minute.

Not exactly required viewing, but for a nice evening, you can do worse than give this movie a chance.