Synopsis: Young German-Greek restaurant owner Zinos is down on his luck. His girlfriend Nadine has moved to Shanghai, his Soul Kitchen customers are boycotting the new gourmet chef, and heâs having back trouble! Things start looking up when the hip crowd embraces his revamped culinary concept, but that doesnât mend Zinosâ broken heart. He decides to fly to China for Nadine, leaving the restaurant in the hands of his unreliable ex-con brother Illias. Both decisions turn out disastrous: Illias gambles away the restaurant to a shady real estate agent and Nadine has found a new lover! But brothers Zinos and Illias might still have one last chance to get Soul Kitchen back if they can stop arguing and work together as a team.
Note: Film is presented in German and Greek with English subtitles.
Release Date: August 20, 2010 MPAA Rating: PG-13
Genre(s): Comedy,
Film Review
Production
Set in Hamburg, Germany, Soul Kitchen is a comedy of errors centered around Zinos, a small-time restaurant owner who has seen better days. His girlfriend is moving to Shanghai, his restaurant performing below expectations, and his parolee brother causes him the occasional amount of grief. To make matters worse, he injures his back causing a herniated disc, making it impossible for him to cook. Adding to the already full plate he has is a childhood friend who is set on purchasing the land the restaurant sits upon and he will stop at nothing to make it his own. Poor Zinos, he just cannot seem to catch a break. Thankfully this adds up to a great amount of comedy for the viewer as we watch him stumble through the multiple trials put in front of him.
The solution to having no chef is the hiring of a crazy gypsy chef who can throw a knife faster than you can blink. So long to the frozen, fried food of Soul Kitchen’s past and hello to fancier fare that brings people in by the droves. Add live music and a DJ to the mix and Zinos finally looks to have succeeded in his work life. But this is not a film about the achievement, it is about the unexpected pitfalls along the way and with each success Zinos encounters something new crops up to put an end to the happy ever after scenario.
Soul Kitchen is what may be referred to as a playful jaunt of a film. It has heart and soul throughout and never falters in entertaining the viewer. Zinos, as well as the rest of the misfit cast, are developed enough to where we care about their goings on and futures but even in the most dire of situations the tone always remains light. This is a comedy, focusing on the humor that comes with bad situations as well as the greatness that occurs when people come together to make successes happen. Zinos may be a tragic hero but it is his good soul that keeps the viewer happily engaged with him throughout the film.
This film was screened at the Reykjavik International Film Festival, 2010, and was originally posted in the Frame of Mind section of FilmFracture.
Cast and Crew
- Director(s): Fatih AkinKlaus Maeck
- Producer(s): Fatih AkinAdam Bousdoukos
- Screenwriter(s): Adam Bousdoukos (Zinos)Moritz Bleibtreu (Illias)Birol Unel (Shayn Weiss)
- Story: Anna Bederke (Lucia)
- Cast: Pheline Roggan (Nadine)Lukas Gregorowicz (Lutz)Dorka Gryllus (Anna) Andrew BirdRainer KlausmannTamo Kunz
- Editor(s):
- Cinematographer:
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- Music Score:
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- Country Of Origin: Germany