Trattoria

Great family drama played against the cut throat world of the high end SF restaurant world. Director inter cuts interviews with actual SF chefs (a la Linklater w/Bernie) talking about the tension/joys of the biz. This doc conceit actually amplifes the fictional father-son dynamic which lifts the veil of the food service industry to show how the it can both unite and tear apart the personal lives of the chefs. Food shots are awesome and show the craft/time pressure involved with churning out high end food night after night. Afterwards you will want you to either go out to eat someplace special or cook something lavish at home ... think Eat Drink Man Woman or Big Night

TRATTORIA is an enjoyable father/son story set in the culinary world of San Francisco. Though the theme is well worn, writer/director Jason Wolos, does a nice job setting the tale in the highly competitive San Francisco food scene. Inter-spliced footage of local celebrity chefs (Traci Des Jardins, Elizabeth Falkner, etc.) talking directly into the camera effectively give testimony to the all consuming nature of the restaurant business and credence to the distance and animosity between the father, Chef Sal Sartini (Tony Denison) and his estranged son, Vince (John Patrick Amedori). Equally validated is Chef Sal's reluctance to teach Vince his trade as to succeed, one must dedicate their life to the kitchen and little else. Where cooking has been the only vehicle for Chef Sal to express his emotions, the ending feels overly emotional and effusive. However, TRATTORIA will surely please fans of competitive cooking shows (TOP CHEF, CHOPPED, etc.), and is ultimately like a home cooked meal - warm and inviting.

Gorgeously shot in San Francisco TRATTORIA captured me immediately with its opening scene in a gleaming new restaurant kitchen, where the first characters to make their entrance are spectacularly prepared Italian dishes and jewel-hued wines. Warm and enticing, aromatic and savory, food and wine are the touchstones of this tale of food, family, love and obsession. The stakes are set early on, after Cinquecento's opening night. Workaholic chef, Sal Sartini (Tony Denison) eagerly scans the Top 100 list and, not seeing his restaurant's name on it, says through a Corleone-esque grimace, "I gotta get on that list." Toss in an angry young man, Sal's estranged son, Vince, (John Patrick Amedori), Sal's elegantly voluptuous, sharp-tongued wife and hostess with the mostest, Cecilia (Lisa Rotundi), a slow-burning love affair, a fearsome food critic, and an Italian nonna and you have got a recipe that sizzles and satisfies. And where would great food be without equally sensuous ambiance? The film features a tangy, poignant soundtrack from local gypsy jazz favorite, Gaucho, whose music is made for food and love. TRATTORIA serves up both, with generosity and gusto. Also on the table with director/writer Jason Wolos's well-balanced cast are documentary clips of local celebrity chefs, to fine effect. (Elizabeth Falkner's assessment of the kitchen theatre reveals that even an apparent cakewalk is rife with drama.) What can I say? I married a Frenchman who won me in minutes with his casually stupendous moules marinière and a pleat-crisp Sauvignon Blanc, served on our lower Pacific Heights fire escape, the fog making its stealthy way eastward. By the age of two, both our children knew the difference between food made with love, and the other kind. As Sal says, "Food, wine, cooking – it connects people. It's all about people." Who could ask for more?

Excellent cast, story and direction. Totally relatable coming from a culinary background. The interactions with the staff in the movie were spot on as was the personal relationships.

There are no surprises in this, everything pretty much goes by the boilerplate structure of a film of this nature. Still, it was pleasant and a couple of the actors stood out, the two young protagonist in particular.

Imagine how many little films like this you could make with the budget from some piece of garbage like Dead-drool 2. Forget that, just the marketing budget for that ultra-violent sociopathic abomination would be enough to keep an army of small film makers in business for a few years.