Vashirdfel Simply A Masterpiece

Micransix Crappy film

AnhartLinkin This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

Scarlet The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

SimonJack This is a marvelous film with a wonderful story filmed mostly in Germany, and in German and Italian languages. English subtitles make it easy to follow this drama and comedy romance. What does Martha Klein know about raising children? She barely has been an aunt – just seeing her sister and niece, Lina, occasionally. Martha is a master chef. She's the "second best" chef in Hamburg, Germany, according to her boss, Frida, who owns Lido. That's the gourmet restaurant in Hamburg, where Martha rules supreme in the kitchen. But, Martha is short not only on parenting skills. She is a high-strung perfectionist whose interpersonal skills are almost nil. After Martha's repeated instances of scenes she creates with customers, Frida requires her to see a therapist. She is obsessed with food mastery, and her sessions turn into humorous diversions about food. Her life enters a new phase when she learns that her sister and niece were in a car wreck, and her sister was killed. Now, she has nine-year old Lina to care for. The young girl understandably is in shock, and Martha's stern, firm ways do nothing to help her. After returning to work, she is furious to learn that Frida has hired an Italian sous chef, Mario, to replace the pregnant Lea who is about to give birth. Mario is an easygoing, chipper character who wins the hearts of the kitchen staff except Martha. She dislikes him and thinks he may be a threat to her job. Martha has been unable to find a babysitter for Lina, so she takes her to work with her. The girl doesn't eat, even though Martha has made gourmet meals for the two of them at home. Finally, in the kitchen, with Mario's bright demeanor and lively banter and music, Lina eats a plate of spaghetti that Mario places near her. In time the girl takes to Mario, and Martha begins to melt. More happens over time, with Mario cooking a meal for the three of them at Martha's apartment. Toward the end, Martha locates Lina's father who has his own family in Italy. He and his wife welcome Lina into their family. But Martha soon misses her niece. She and Mario have become close and he convinces her to move to Italy to be near Lina. On their drive down, Martha says she has reservations about moving, and Mario says something like, "Oh sure! Why would you want to leave Hamburg where it rains all the time to go to sunny Italy?"All of the cast for this film are superb. Most are German actors. Martina Gedeck plays Martha, Sibylle Canonica is Frida, Katja Studt is Lea, August Zirner is Martha's therapist and Maxime Foerste plays niece Lina. Italian actor Sergio Castellitto plays Mario. An interesting aspect of this movie is that Castellitto didn't speak any German, and Gedeck didn't understand Italian. So they shot the film with each speaking their own language. Then Castellitto's lines were dubbed in German for the finished film by Frank Glaubrecht. The humor and warmth of this story are endearing. It's a wonderful film that the whole family should enjoy.

DICK STEEL The kitchen makes for a good setting for movies. There's wonderful food, chefs with personality, and a rat... wait, that's Ratatouille, Pixar's latest offering which unfortunately won't be shown here until the end of next month. On the other hand, a trailer for a romantic comedy seemed to have caught my eye. Also set in a kitchen, it stars Catherine Zeta Jones and Aaron Eckhart opposite each other as chefs who don't get along but ultimately fall in love, you know, the usual opposites attract formula, in No Reservations.But I was surprised that it was actually based on a German movie called Mostly Martha back in 2001, based on a pickup at the library, and reading through the synopsis, it just couldn't be more coincidental as that. Hollywood has been poaching remake rights to a host of movies in Asia, from horror like Shutter, to crime thrillers like Confession of Pain, to Korean romantic comedies like My Sassy Girl and the likes. And of course, remakes and adaptations of movies from the European continent too. I wonder how much more original stories can Tinseltown spin on its own, without resorting to cannibalizing from others.Written and directed by Sandra Nettelbeck, Mostly Martha is not your typical romantic comedy, contrary to what the Hollywood remake would suggest (from the trailers so far). The premise is of course similar. Martha Klein (Martina Gedeck) is the head chef for a restaurant, a to the book, no nonsense, proud chef at that. She has a rigid lifestyle, and finds herself so high strung that on her employer's advice, reluctantly checks herself in for therapy. Her niece Lina (Maxime Foerste) drops into her life one day, and both find it difficult to adapt to one another, with Lina at first glance being your typical stubborn, bratty child. And things become worse when Martha has to face up to competition in her own kitchen, with the arrival of Italian chef Mario (Sergio Castellitto), a man whose laissez-faire style just drives her nuts.If Hollywood were to take the script from here, it would make it a simple, expected romantic tangle between Martha and Mario, in which the trailer for No Reservations seem to suggest. But Mostly Martha is more than that. It's deeper, more subtle, has negligible snarky remarks passing off as comedy, and doesn't turn the kid into a precocious cutesy tot. It's steers towards powerful drama territory, with each scene beautifully shot, minimal dialogue which just catches your attention span, and subtle philosophical ideas tossed into the whole works. It examines the relationships between all characters in a very engaging manner, and doesn't neglect any of the main leads.What emerges is a classy movie, with interesting reminders on life and living life. I particularly liked how fine dining gets weaved into the narrative, be it the preparation, or the properties, or just to decorate the set. Don't watch this on an empty stomach, please! What I found true is its account that unlike food, there is no recipe to life which you can follow step by step to a T, based on fixed parameters which if followed accurately, will bring out that flavour in the end result. Life can't be run that way, and certainly there is no recipe or formula on how to lead a successful life, having success defined by one's values.My advise would be, given that Hollywood has adopted key scenes in its own release, and signs do seem to point No Reservations towards a true blue romantic comedy, if you'd like, watch the Hollywood version, but please comeback to the original source material, and you'll understand why Hollywood wanted to remake this, and for you to experience the actual, rich storyline that Mostly Martha (or its German title Bella Martha) is actually all about.

Don Andrews I don't know how this poignant drama got dubbed a "comedy,' except for the situational humor: this movie has no "gags" and it needs none.Although the movie doesn't account for how Martha got the way she was; so different than her sister, it sure provides us with a delightful account of her evolution! The lighting, camera angles and facial expressions reinforce a very authentic script.The movie flirts a little with cultural clichés (Martha the Teutonic chef vs Mario the effusive Italian who wears his feelings on his sleeve) but never goes over the top. This movie did make me feel good, but I don't feel like i've been manipulated or tricked into it!I'd like to buy the DVD. It's definitely a movie I'll watch again.

MartinHafer This film is an excellent psychological study of a VERY controlled and emotionally constricted woman who uses food, believe it or not, as a way of avoiding intimacy. She is a superb chef who is incredibly precise and demanding concerning her cooking because she is so uncomfortable with people. However, into her tightly controlled world comes chaos in the form of her niece--whose mother was just killed in an auto accident. Not surprisingly, she has a hard time relating to this child and I was thrilled that her transformation to a whole person took time and wasn't achieved in a Hollywood-style way. Instead, this little girl (who was not overly cute or fake--thank goodness) and a new chef at her restaurant (who was completely unlike her) influence Martha in a way that is believable and satisfying.By the way, while not quite as good as The Big Night (which came out the same year) or Babette's feast, this movie is VERY reminiscent of them--elevating food to a true work of art.