Toscana

Frankly, a film full of stereotypes... all these Italians being over friendly, messy, and generally in need on Northern European guidance. And then, for a culinary film, to have Parmesan cheese in Tuscany.... Just not acceptable! Also let down by the very poor English dubbing.

As the opening credits eventually rolled, I was expecting a variation on the 'Love is all you need' theme, especially when Zeuten turned out to be the actor who played the son in that charming film, but this story just didn't hang together. The central romantic story of Theo and Sophia was implausible, and devoid of any believable chemistry between the actors. There were too many contrived moments, when one quietly thought 'yeah, right....you're kidding me', and occasional allusions to some past relationship problem with the chef's father, never made tangible or clear, It's a pity, with the beauty of the setting, and a potentially appealing cast. Promising ingredients, poorly assembled. Disappointing.

This multilingual film doesn't deliver on its promise. The story is supposed to be full of drama but the actors don't quite capture it even if they tried. They simply don't rise to the occasion.

The saving grace? Idyllic Tuscan countryside which is a feast for the eyes rendered in soft palette.

I recommend seeing the movie. Seing Anders Matthesen in more serious roles is always fascinating but I think he does a great job. The storyline is a bit generic and not much new is brought to the table, but it is great still. Its a bit more heavy than your typical romance of this type, which is what makes it better than other movies of the same type.

I liked three things about this movie: the food; the gorgeous landscapes of Toscana; and Cristiana dell'Anna, who was so memorable in Gomorra, and who still managed to tug at my heart in this venture. Unfortunately the script fell far short of the photography and the cast, and that ruined things for me.

There are no surprises after the first 15 minutes. If you've ever seen a movie about a chef, or any rom-com whatsoever, you know what's coming next.

A better story and more plausible characters would have helped a lot, but as written, neither Theo nor Sophia made any sense to me. I hope Cristiana dell'Anna gets better parts in better movies very soon!