Soul Kitchen

It very rare these times to see a comedy that is not slapstick -funny (trying to extort in some ways the laughter from the audiences) but truly funny in a way that is sweet and charming. I will not talk about the director's previous work because this is a completely new genre for him, and in any case this is not an overall overview of his films. This one stands alone as an example for some people in Hollywood. It is not funny because it exploits some racial stereotypes (no mousaka here) but because it creates a subtle caricature of situations that many of us have experienced (i.e. the one with the tax collectors). The script is very smart and full of reversals of fate that keep the spectators on their toes, the main characters are interesting and the acting wonderful... And because no one mentioned the soundtrack...It is truly unique..Too bad that many of the songs are in Greek and the deeper meaning of the lyrics and their connection to the plot is lost in translation. A must see film for everyone that wants to see a feel-good movie with an actual plot..

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 frothy, light, slightly shapeless but endearing comedy is further proof of the protean nature of Akin's amazing talents.

While nowhere near as good a film as his great, dark comedy-drama 'Head On' or his complex. philosophical 'The Edge of Heaven', I appreciate that Akin seems more interested in exploring different genres and stories than creating a signature style.

This is the kind of comedy that makes you smile more than laugh, and is stronger on character and acting than on comic set pieces, but even the jokes that don't work aren't annoying.

A shaggy, likable young Greek man living in Germany tries to start his own restaurant, juggling his ex-con brother, his out-of town girlfriend, his slightly insane chef, and a rival who wants to take over his space. It's not an 'important' film, but it captures something wonderful about being young and trying to find your place in the world.

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.

Faith Akin is best known for his dark, serious films ('Head On', 'The Edge of Heaven', 'Short Sharp Shock', 'Crossing the Bridge: The Sounds of Istanbul', etc) so it is somewhat surprising to find he has such a deft touch for comedy. SOUL KITCHEN languished for a while before Akin decided that 'life is not only about pain and introspection', and so he turned his rather formidable talents to creating this new film - a comedy about food, family and gentrification. He co-wrote the script with star Adam Bousdoukos in a manner that mirrors his other works: people from other countries (Akin is Turkish raised in Germany, Bousdoukos is Greek raised in Germany) can assimilate without losing the unique treasured aspects of their ethnicity.

The setting is Hamburg where Zinos (Adam Bousdoukos) owns a grungy but popular with the locals restaurant, Soul Kitchen, serving quickly prepared frozen foods to a gastronomically unsophisticated clientele. Zinos is also a romantic, struggling with his conflict to join his journalist girlfriend Nadine (Pheline Roggan) who wants Zinos to accompany her to her latest living assignment in Shanghai, but being afraid to leave his beloved restaurant. Zinos decides to stay in Hamburg -opening the door for other factors to enter Zinos' life: he encounters a fired chef Shayn (Birol Ünel) whose cranky disposition can't hide the fact that he is a brilliant chef in need of work (Zinos hires him!), an old friend Thomas Neumann (Wotan Wilke Möhring) who has become a real estate entrepreneur want to buy Zinos' old building, Zinos' ne're-do-well brother Illias (Moritz Bleibtreu) is in prison but can get leaves if Zinos with be his patron for a work-release program, a new crowd of jazz music lovers and partygoers flood the premises, etc. All of these ingredients, including the staff of the restaurant Lucia (Anna Bederke), funky old Sokrates (Demir Gökgöl), and Lutz (Lukas Gregorowicz), blend together to produce harrowing but hilarious results. In the end the transformations of Soul Kitchen emphasize the importance of family and living a dream, and the despite the many pratfalls Zinos encounters, the changes all come out in the wash for the better.

This cast manages to exude a love for life that makes the move soar above others, despite the usual at times crude jokes and situations. It just bubbles, and a fine part of that effervescence is from the music score.

Grady Harp