Starring: Martina Gedeck, Sergio Castellitto, Maxine Foerste
Director: and writer Sandra Nettlebeck.
Rated: PG
(German with English subtitles.)
MOSTLY Martha is the first of several films due out in the next few months that will be focused in the kitchen.
Martha (Martina Gedeck) is ‘the second best chef in Hamburg’. It’s just as well she is so good because Martha is given to histrionics if there is a complaint from a diner about her food.
She lives for her work and her kitchen is ruthlessly efficient, but lifeless. Her kitchen staff admire, rather than love her. Her boss pays for her to see a psychiatrist to deal with ‘anger management issues’.
When her sister is killed in a car accident, her niece Lina (Maxine Foerste) comes to live with her. While Martha searches for Lina’s father, the owner of the restaurant brings in another sous chef, Mario (Sergio Castellitto). His kitchen is full of life and colour. When Martha returns to work she resents Mario, all the changes he has made and the affection he elicits from the staff and even from Lina. Eventually she falls under his culinary and personal spell as well.
While this is familiar territory, Sandra Nettlebeck adds enough sugar and spice to make it a very tasty offering. The choreography of the kitchen scenes is very assured and convincing. Nettlebeck uses the hands of real chefs for all the close-ups in the cooking scenes and so all eagle-eyed foodies will be pleased.
Mostly Martha is centred on fidelity, love and commitment and is good family fare. It also has plenty to say about a child’s reactions to grief and Maxine Foerste gives a particularly fine performance as the orphaned Lina.
One warning: Make sure you eat before you go and see this enjoyable film because if you go hungry you will famished at the end.
