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.

Faith Akin, the director, presents a beautiful Hamburg, creates again diverse and strong characters, in a film that returns him to the genre of comedy, and all of these surrounded with an amazing soundtrack. I enjoyed very much this film, the scenography and music is lovely, I could laugh a lot, which is not very common in the recent Akin films such as Gegen die Wand or The Edge of Heaven, which were exquisite, but in a more dramatic and touching way. This film is somehow a return to the soul of much more than a kitchen. Is a sight into the soul of music, food, purpose in life and people indeed. I highly recommend this film, especially for those who, like me, had a great time seeing Im Juli, some years ago.

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..

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.

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.