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 This is much, much more than another great food movie--although it's definitely got some wonderful food happening. What's impressive here is the directorial restraint--the audience is allowed to decide for themselves what Martha's background might have been to see her into adulthood so detached from people that her entire life has become her career. The kitchen is where Martha lives; it is her dominion. The food she produces (unlike her life) is flawless. Beyond the confines of the restaurant, things are random, uncontrollable; nothing coalesces the way her perfect recipes do.With the arrival of her orphaned niece into her life and a second (Italian) chef at the restaurant, life, in spite of Martha's best efforts, begins to leak in around the edges of her fiercely maintained control--of herself and of her kitchen. There are moments of great yet gentle humor and moments of confused pain as emotions begin to grow in Martha--visibly an alien experience. This is a wise film, filled with insight and humor; the soundtrack is wonderful and the resolution is immensely satisfying. Not to be missed. Most highly recommended.
Instead I went to the movies. Even we art house habitues need our escapist entertainment, and I had heard good things about "Mostly Martha"--a German import about a perfectionist chef in Hannover, whose ordered world is turned upside down by the introduction into her life of her eight-year old orphaned niece...and a warm, life affirming Italian sous-chef who has a life lesson or two of his own to offer. If this sounds like formula, well, it is. But it works. The script (in German with good English subtitles) is intelligent, the acting way above average, and the cinematography is impressive. Martina Gedeck is just about perfect in the title role. She's a bit reminiscent, in appearance and affect, of the American television actress Kelli Williams ("The Practice") but with sharper features and a somewhat frostier demeanor. Of course, the hearts of beautiful but frosty heroines in the movies are bound to melt...and with a two-sided assault (adorable kid and irresistable Italian suitor) this particular ice princess doesn't stand a chance. The old German yen for renewal in sunny Italy--a kind of Sehnsucht that dates back at least to Goethe and his contemporaries--gets played out here as well, with a light touch, of course. I hadn't heard anything of writer/director Sandra Nettelbeck before. She appears to have directed shorts and German TV films. If this is indeed her first full length feature, it's a promising start.
Martina Gedeck is beautiful. Her character was so deep, and she portrayed her with charm and passion. She made me want to become a chef, but that quickly wore off. I particularly liked the scene where she hyperventilated over a messy kitchen. Sergio Castellitto, while not the handsomest of men, made me fall in love with him the moment Martha walked into the kitchen and he was swooning over Dean Martin's sultry tones. Any man who loves Dean Martin is worth a second look. His ability to break through the barriers of both Martha and Lina was stunning. I never thought soup was sensuous until he served it. And finally Maxime Foerste. While not the most amazing little girl I've seen, she has the ability to make a shouting match with an adult sound real, and not like a challenge to authority. She's able to play a sad and lonely little girl who comes to grips with her new life without making it a Hallmark moment. Life is not a Hallmark commercial. I would recommend this movie to anyone who wants a stirred appetite, with a little romance thrown in.
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On September 11, 2002, I caught this movie after attending an ecumenical memorial service for the victims of last year's attacks on the WTC and the Pentagon. I couldn't face watching any more talking heads on TV "re-analyzing" that horrible event or debating war with Iraq or whatever might occupy their febrile minds on such a tragic anniversary.
