In the sweltering back kitchen of a Times Square restaurant, undocumented cook Pedro is caught between mounting pressures at work and a complicated romance with waitress Julia. When money goes missing, suspicion spreads, igniting tensions that threaten to upend the fragile hopes of the staff.

Starring Rooney Mara, Alonso Ruizpalacios’s ebullient vision of a bustling Times Square kitchen underlines the resilience of employees all too aware of cycles of exploitation. Powdery monochrome cinematography evokes dreaming, while spectacular forays into allegory let humanity shine through.