Director Fatih Akin has delivered some interesting variety in his filmography. The only common denominator, in the films I have seen from him anyway, is the level of quality. If you have seen and enjoyed one film from him then I encourage you to check out more. Soul Kitchen is a comedy drama that wanders through some very familiar territory with enough enjoyable quirks and twists to avoid feeling stale.
Adam Bousdoukos plays Zinos, a young man about to have a very bad time of things. Zinos is in charge of a struggling restaurant, his girlfriend is heading to Shanghai for a while, his brother seems intent on ruffling feathers as he “helps” at the restaurant, there’s a new chef making a menu that the regulars don’t find appealing, and a back injury to top everything off. With odds stacked against him, and deadlines set by both the local environmental health officers and representatives of the tax office, Zinos finds himself staring into quite an abyss. But there may be glimpses of light.
Co-written by Akin and Bousdoukos, this is a satisfying viewing experience that places extra obstacles in between central characters and their potential happiness, but also wants everyone to have a third act that will lead to people ultimately smiling and happy, even if it’s a bittersweet resolution for some. The titular restaurant is a cool and vibrant place, and we get to see it effectively transform and realise its full potential as Zinos steers through some incredible choppy waters.
Bousdoukos is good in the lead role, happy to be as helpless and shambolic as he needs to be before he manages to fully screw his head on. Moritz Bleibtreu is also very good as the brother who may end up doing more harm than good, and there are very enjoyable performances from Pheline Roggan, Anna Bederke, Birol Ünel, and Wotan Wilke Möhring. You even get a cameo appearance from Udo Kier, always a welcome addition, even if he is delivering one of his more sane and staid turns.
Akin and Bousdoukos work well together, using the characters as links in a circuit that energises the material, and the visuals are accompanied by a soundtrack that features some cracking tunes, including a couple of classic tracks that you would expect to enjoy hearing played in any premises named Soul Kitchen.
8/10
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