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Soul Kitchen

Germany

2009

99 Min
Color
1.85:1
Greek, German
  • Currently 3.5/5 Stars.
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DIR Fatih Akin

PROD Klaus Maeck, Fatih Akin

SCR Fatih Akin, Adam Bousdoukos

DP Rainer Klausmann

CAST Adam Bousdoukos, Moritz Bleibtreu, Birol Ünel, Anna Bederke, Pheline Roggan, Lukas Gregorowicz, Dorka Gryllus, Wotan Wilke Möhring, Demir Gökgöl, Monica Bleibtreu, Jan Fedder, Peter Lohmeyer, Udo Kier

ED Andrew Bird

PROD DES Tamo Kunz

SOUND Andreas Hildebrandt

Toronto (Special Presentation), Venice (Competition): Special Jury Prize, São Paulo, Tribeca (Spotlight), San Francisco (World Cinema), Transilvania (Opening Film)

Synopsis

From the director of Head-On comes the story of a young 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 he’s having back trouble. Things start looking up when the hip crowd embraces his revamped culinary concept, but that doesn’t mend Zinos’ broken heart. He decides to fly to China for Nadine, leaving the restaurant in the hands of his unreliable ex-con brother Illias. —tiff.net

Director

Original

Fatih Akin

Fatih Akin was born in 1973 in Hamburg of Turkish parentage. He began studying Visual Communications at Hamburg’s College of Fine Arts in 1994. His collaboration with Wüste Film also dates from this time. In 1995, he wrote and directed his first short feature, Sensin – You’re The One! (Sensin – Du Bist Es!), which received the Audience Award at the Hamburg International Short Film Festival. His second short film, Weed (Getuerkt, 1996), received several national and international festival prizes. His first full length feature film, Short Sharp Shock (Kurz Und Schmerzlos, 1998) won the Bronze Leopard at Locarno and the Bavarian Film Award (Best Young Director) in 1998. His other films include: In July (Im Juli, 2000), Wir Haben Vergessen Zurueckzukehren (2001), Solino (2002), the Berlinale Golden Bear-winner and winner of the German and European Film Awards Head-On (Gegen Die Wand, 2003), and Crossing the Bridge – The Sound of Istanbul (2005). —World Cinema Foundation read more

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janveneziani

28Jan12

S2

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Amani

10Jan12

It was definitely a change from all of the hard dramas of Akin that I'd previously seen in my German Cinema class. It started off strong and ended strong. The film was enjoyable on all fronts: acting, cinematography, editing directing. Bleibtreu was a superb as usual. Wish the chef Sharyn, got more screen time, as well as other minor characters who were well-executed. Like to see it adapted to TV.

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Daniel S.

12Nov11

As we all know it, food is federative. In American movies, like in Stanley Tucci's Big Night for instance, culinary delights serve more as a way to abolish social classes differences or to fulfill the ever vivacious American dream. But Fatih Akin is a German, of Turkish parentage, living in Europe so he uses this theme differently and emphasizes the power of food in the fight against racism or xenophobia. Isn't the Greek Zinos' backache finally cured by a Turkish (Greece and Turkey still have a big problem to solve) physical therapist ? Enjoyable.

Charles Deckert likes this

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Grasshopper

24Aug11

Comfort food film! It delivers what it promises: broad comedy, a touching moment or two, late-70s soul. Get into the right mood, people! Zinos needs a hug!

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Articles

Our roundup of essays and articles on this film.
W184

"Soul Kitchen," "The Tillman Story," "Altiplano," More

By David Hudson on August 20, 2010

No film review will be read more eagerly this week than Scott Foundas's piece for the cover of the September/October issue of Film Comment

read article
W184

Tribeca Film Festival 2010

By David Hudson on April 21, 2010

Few events raise questions as to what films festivals are, really, what they're for, who they're for and what they could and should be

read article
W184

The Auteurs Daily: Venice and Toronto. Soul Kitchen

By David Hudson on September 14, 2009

  Fatih Akin's Soul Kitchen won the Special Jury Prize in Venice and screens today, tomorrow and Saturday in Toronto. "So over-the

read article
W184

The Auteurs Daily: Venice. Lions

By David Hudson on September 12, 2009

  The Venezia 66 Jury, headed up by Ang Lee, has awarded the Golden Lion to Samuel Maoz's Lebanon; here's the roundup of reviews so

read article
W184

The Auteurs Daily: Anticipation

By David Hudson on August 31, 2009

  Last day of August, and not a moment too soon. While others sort out the implications of Disney's acquisition of Marvel (have at

read article

SOUL KITCHEN Review

By Twitchfilm.com on May 17, 2011
[Today is the strongest release day of the year and so we are taking the opportunity to pull our reviews of new release titles back up to the top of the stack. Soul Kitchen has a single screen in Toronto……
→ read on Twitchfilm.com

SOUL KITCHEN Review

By Twitchfilm.com on May 17, 2011
[Our thanks to Michel Thein for the following review.]Considering Fatih Akin’s catalog of films, one might not think that he could write and direct a comedy that wouldn’t  feel bleak like Head-on or excessively
→ read on Twitchfilm.com

TIFF 09: SOUL KITCHEN Review

By Twitchfilm.com on May 17, 2011
Opening to funkadelic beats and high gloss cinematography, Soul Kitchen may confuse fans of German/Turkish director Fatih Akin, who is perhaps best known for the energetic and raw drama Head On (Gegen
→ read on Twitchfilm.com

Fatih Akin Finds His Comic Timing With SOUL KITCHEN

By Twitchfilm.com on April 30, 2011
Turko-German director Fatih Akin must surely be one of the most diverse talents currently working in Germany.  He blew our minds with the hard edged, cathartic drama of Head On before moving on to the
→ read on Twitchfilm.com

TIFF 09: SOUL KITCHEN Review

By Twitchfilm.net on July 17, 2010
Opening to funkadelic beats and high gloss cinematography, Soul Kitchen may confuse fans of German/Turkish director Fatih Akin, who is perhaps best known for the energetic and raw drama Head On (Gegen
→ read on Twitchfilm.net

Fatih Akin Finds His Comic Timing With SOUL KITCHEN

By Twitchfilm.net on July 17, 2010
Turko-German director Fatih Akin must surely be one of the most diverse talents currently working in Germany.  He blew our minds with the hard edged, cathartic drama of Head On before moving on to the
→ read on Twitchfilm.net

SOUL KITCHEN Review

By Twitchfilm.net on July 17, 2010
[Our thanks to Michel Thein for the following review.]Considering Fatih Akin’s catalog of films, one might not think that he could write and direct a comedy that wouldn’t  feel bleak like Head-on or excessively
→ read on Twitchfilm.net

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Reviews

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A cliché-ridden comedy which harkens back to a lighter time...

By Mutt on July 2, 2010

Controversial German-Turkish filmmaker Fatih Akin (“The Edge of Heaven” & “Head-On”) re-teams with actor turned screen-writer Adam Bousdoukos for this fun little feature which won Special Jury…  read review

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