Soul Kitchen

With films like Against the Wall, Crossing the Bridge and The Edge of Heaven, Faith Akin has set a high aesthetic bar at which his newest work inevitably stumbles. Which is not to say that the film is a failure by any means, simply that it must be judged as a minor work in this impressive directors oeuvre.

Set in Hamburg's seedy demi-monde, the film relates the fortunes of the Soul Kitchen restaurant and its unhappy-go-lucky proprietor, with a protein-rich narrative arc from wretched normality through multiple adversities to a slightly more hopeful normality. And while the restaurant moves up-scale gastronomically the story remains comfort food throughout, providing plenty of opportunities for comic set pieces and tragi-comic misunderstandings.

What we end up with is a patchwork of scenes, connected by a narrative strand that connects property speculation, prostitution, drugs and music. None of it quite makes sense, but this is a film ruled by the heart and not the head. What it lacks in precision it makes up for in warmth.

In general the performances are impressive, and the unavoidable Moritz Bleibtreu (who seems to be compulsory casting in any German film worth its salt) is particularly engaging as the protagonist's jailbird brother, constantly swinging his prayer beads as hustles.

The film's lightness of touch is perhaps its saving grace: the music complements the story without dominating; food and cookery play a subordinate, if enjoyable role, but never do we get too bogged down in the niceties of nouvelle cuisine. And this must be the first major film in which Skype plays such a major role. Product placement perhaps but very realistically done.

Another enjoyable aspect is the way in which the interplay of cultures - Greek, Turkish, German, whatever - is handled in a no-nonsense workmanlike way. Perhaps it takes a German of Turkish extraction to do this. My feeling is that other German directors would be more sheepish in their handling of these issues.

In conclusion I'd say that the film is good, not great, and shows that Faith Akin can also make a gentle, feel-good comedy without compromising his higher aesthetic achievements.

You could be excused, if by hearing the title, you'd thought this is yet another "urban" comedy, starring Martin Lawrence or Ice Cube or Queen Latifah. It ain't so. While the title might be misleading (in quite a few ways), the characters in this aren't. You have finely structured people (with a cliché here and there), who seem to have their everyday problems and find a way to live with them.

Our main character has quite a few struggles to go through this movie, some of them come "back" at him (no pun intended). And while quite a few things are more than cliché (the brother and what he does towards the end, is borderline believable, even with the setup through the movie), it has quite a few nice touches to it. All in all, a warm comedy, that goes more for the heart than the brain. A nice change of pace by Faith Akin and a movie, whose flaws shouldn't hinder you enjoying it.

The reason I picked this up was that I had read/heard somewhere that this had inspired the movie 'Ustad Hotel' in 'malayalam' which I had enjoyed.

Having seen excellent movies like The Trap/Troubled Water/L' Infante recently, I was not extremely impressed by this one but at the same time the movie is young and lovable.

There are some original humor sequences.You may like the movie a whole lot or the movie may not touch you at all - depending on your frame of mind while you watch this.

I liked the main protagonist of the movie. The back ache that he carries through out movie somehow aches your back as well while you watch the movie!. He goes easy on various people - letting his employees practice music in his dying restaurant , letting his tenant stay off rent , letting his brother run the business etc.That is how the main protagonist has been built.

The movie is filled with short easy sequences - a nice watch.

This movie was a "delicious" movie with a "soul".l recommend this movie to everyone who would like to go to the movies just for having a 1,5 hour of fun and who needs some hope about life. This movie was the best and funniest movie of Faith Akin, l think he will be a world famous director in a couple years if he keeps to continue. The favorite three of Faith Akin (Adam Bousdoukus,Moritz Blibtreu and Birol Unel)were great again.l would like to also mention about Anna Bederke's performance, l think she was also acting great and she will be a famous movie star soon. The only thing which l can criticize is the ending of the movie, it was in compliance with the scenario however l felt that the ending was incomplete and carelessly done. The jokes and the movie itself were great and clever.l recommend this movie to everyone who would like to watch something different and delicious in the cinema.

Director Faith Akin is often called one of the most important contemporary German directors to have emerged in recent years. Soul Kitchen is Akin' highly anticipated first attempt at a genuine comedy. So far Akin has been has been more involved in the fields of drama and romance. In a recent interview he revealed he was curious to explore a more varied range of film genres which sounds like an interesting plan. In venice this year, the film was celebrated by the audiences and scored the special jury price.

The story revolves around a restaurant/club called Soul Kitchen and the troublesome life of its respectful owner Zinos. He has to overcome many struggles involving his girlfriend, his brother and the authorities. The film is set in the heart of the diverse northern German city of Hamburg, the home turf of the two scribes Faith Akin and Adam Bousdoukos.

The makers of the film call it a new take on the idea of the "Heimatfilm" - a rather preconceived loose genre which basically defines a film to have been made in the makers home country and dealing with issues relating to home and identity.

Akin described how he studied classical sketches by Charlie Chaplin and also looked at his method of working. A simple "joke" that comes off easy and natural on screen had been reworked over and over. For some of the scenes Akin admittedly said he had to shoot 30 takes before it felt right. This made him doubt his own abilities but in the end let him grow as a filmmaker and as an individual.

The result is a stellar solid performance by the entire cast. Many jokes and payoffs will unfortunately and without a doubt get lost in translation but still the timing and heartblood of the actors will still capture anyone's attention.

Akin makes use of a couple of his "regulars": Adam Bousdoukos, Moritz Bleibtreu and the great Birol Ünel but also introduces fresh unknown blood with the two female leads Lucia Faust and Nadine Krüger.

Having just seen another film recently I noticed myself how well this film is balanced out in comparison. There is a rhythm, a beat or a harmony. The soundtrack and editing allow the plot to flow organically and let the narrative play out smoothly. Interestingly Akin once mentioned that since "Gegen die Wand" (Head On, 2004) he is inspired by the songs used in his films in a visual way and sets out a soundtrack before the filming is finished.

The film marks Akin's first shot at wider levels of improvisation. Normally, he said in an interview with a German radio station, he has the script all planned out in detail; all the actors know what their dialogues are and maybe one or two things get changed, with feedback from the people on set but this time a lot of things were left undone on purpose to grow naturally out of the situations.

What I personally enjoyed a lot about Soul Kitchen is the way in which the film addresses its urban environment. Akin took a chance to shoot in a wide range of locations, many of which such the club "Mojo" have since closed down. It attempts to capture the spirit of the city at a point in time and successfully tells an emotional, personal story.

Recommended to anyone with a passion for fresh, clever and funny stories of life and the city.