Sinus_Felina

For a young indie work it has very nice production: good camera, music, sound and labels - and a good horror feel to it. A lot of thought and work has obviously been put in and it shows in rounded and consistent storytelling. The main actors also take their work very seriously, which is well, because sloppy acting would turn the horror into comedy, but there's little of that here and nothing amongst the main actors.

It still has a little "film school" about it, in that all the people in it is about the same age (both the patients and the doctors) and the tale is basically one of teenage campfire glee, but that is more charming than distracting.

If these young film makers keep it up with this high standard, we can look forward to many good times in our home entertainment centers (= sofas).

The two main actors are doing excellent work as the immature Jan Thomas and the grief-stricken Agnes, and the organ music is truly powerful. These are the good parts.

The bad sides are that the plot is thin, the manuscript uses dubious techniques to get us intrigued and the pacing runs like syrup.

The writer, Harald Rosenløw-Eeg is a YA-writer and I think this shows here. The plot deals with morality like typical Norwegian social-realism: the kind of YA-fiction a teacher would recommend. (The kids prefer books about star struck lovers and epic sword-fights, but that's another story).

The big problem with the manuscript, in my eyes, is that it delivers the story like it's a crime mystery when in reality it is a heavy character-driven drama. Gradually revealing twist after twist works well in Poirot-style-not-too-realistic-plots, but here it just leaves a sour taste when it is contrasted by the deep-felt character development.

The pacing is slow, slow, slow and many of the scenes seems overstated. It could have made a truly great short-film though.

The Chef is an intense psycho drama - with emphasis on psycho. It's not action packed and you have to give it some time and attention, but if you let yourself go with the ship's - and the movie's - pounding engine and claustrophobic atmosphere, you will be rewarded.

The movie gives you Martin Von Lindhé's perspective on his first journey as second cook on a cargo ship. The narrow universe the freighter provides gives the more experienced and high ranking crew members a great upper-hand on the two newcomers: Martin and Sundsvall. There are secrets, pasts, loves and hates to steer clear of, and the two teenagers soon get caught in a web they can't easily disentangle from.

The main characters are wonderfully played and I imagine that the actors have had great fun with their rather chewy roles. The chef himself is menacing, yet faceted, and both the teenagers and the other crew members follow up beautifully.

The telling of the story is not straight forward and the dialog is somewhat indirect, which adds to the claustrophobic setting, but also demands attention from the viewer. The events we see unfold continuously get lighted from new angles as we get more insight into the characters motivations. This rather quiet and convoluted drama could have been frustrating to watch if the story wasn't well rounded off: happily the ending gives a satisfying catharsis after all the suspense.

Don't bring popcorn, this film goes better with a small amount of expensive liquor.