Soul Kitchen

"Soul Kitchen" is a restaurant in Hamburg, in what seems to be a poor area , with a quite bohemian, varied clientele and a warm and unpretentious decoration.

The owner Zinos, a young man of Greek origins, sometimes is the chef. Although he is neither good at business nor at the culinary arts, he is a noble guy, who takes care of his stuff and cares for his people. It is also the central character in the film, and it won’t be difficult to appreciate him and adopt his point of view with which he faces the troubles he will have to overcome.

The times are indeed difficult and they will get even more complicated when his girlfriend, a journalist, is sent as a correspondent to Shanghai; his brother ,an inmate, asks for a fictitious job to get out of jail during the day; a real estate agent gets interested in his property; and the Treasury charges him with growing debts.

To even make things worse, our hero hurts his back while trying to lift a white refrigerator. In the process, a parade of secondary characters and scenarios will show up through different stages and regions of the city, which will stage occasionally but playing a significant role.

As for comedy, the adventures and misadventures of "Soul Kitchen" flow without major upheavals; sometimes creating comical situations, especially  in those with the participation of Birol Ünel, who certainly gives soul to the film.

The followers of the director Fatih Akin may find it useful to know that the humor of this film contains much sympathy but little spark, sometimes leaving the feeling of using cliché characters such as the beautiful blond girl, the unruly but loyal brother, the grumpy old man who has a good heart, or the frigid lady who discovers her eroticism.

In "Soul Kitchen" you will find very elegant scenes, shootings of great visual beauty, astonishing decorations and of course an amazing soundtrack.

This is the work of a filmmaker in full pursuit and fulfillment of his own creativity.

Director: Fatih Akin

Writers: Fatih Akin (screenplay), Adam Bousdoukos (screenplay)

Stars: Adam Bousdoukos, Moritz Bleibtreu and Birol Ünel