Album Reviews
Movies
Concert Reviews

Top 10
Resources
Contact Us

Master chefs love their kitchens. The preparation of food is a sacred event. Begin with the right attitude (my way is the only way), tie the apron properly, progress through food preparation and end with if you don't like it, eat somewhere else. Such is the kitchen of Martha in Sandra Nettelbeck's film, Mostly Martha. The Prussian Army wasn’t better directed than Martha’s kitchen. No slackers here, and only one taste counts---Martha's.

Martha (Martina Gedeck strongly resembling actress Helen Hunt) lives a sterile life in her spotless apartment. If customer's don't like her food, she is apt to come out of the kitchen in a rage and insult them, but then she is the second best cook in Hamburg (we never find out who is number one). With the exception of the love of cooking in Lida's (Sibylle Canonica) restaurant, her life is empty. Martha is in therapy and her therapist (August Zimer) can't get her to talk about anything but food. Watching Martha in her element is watching a master at work. Too bad, she can't put together the elements in her life.

Life becomes complicated when Martha's sister dies and Martha assumes care of her eight-year-old niece, Lina (Maxime Foerste) who Lina wants to meet her long-lost father. In the meantime, Martha must contend with her boss hiring a temporary Italian chef (Sergio Castellitto) "…two chefs in one kitchen are like two people driving a car!" It's at this point that the audience is mercilessly hungry. The preparation of food in Martha's kitchen reminds one of all the food films of the past. People handle grief in different ways, and in Mostly Martha, they withdraw from emotions and food, both of which are essential for existence.

Nettlebeck's screenplay gives us characters, but no history about them. When Martha says she learned the love of food and cooking from her father, we want to know, "How and why?" This doesn't come. Neither does the history behind others in the restaurant kitchen such as Lea (Katja Studt) who is pregnant and alone. She must have an interesting story as would Sam (Ulrich Thomsen) Martha's new neighbor who keeps asking her out despite her regular refusals. Then there is the problem of Lina's father and the separation between he and Martha's sister. What happened there?

I sat through Mostly Martha wanting more and not getting it. It is a beautifully shot film (Michael Bertl, BVK), and has a good soundtrack (Manfred Eicher) but this is a two-dimensional approach. I wanted to know why Mario likes Martha despite the shots of Martha’s stern face as she stares at Mario. What was the relationship between Martha and her sister and why Martha is so shut off from life? The list keeps growing. For her first time as a feature-length director, Nesselbeck shows flair in the story and cooking scenes, because when your interest wanes, here comes another meal to prepare. Food saves the day and yet, there isn’t an overweight employee in Lida's restaurant kitchen in this calorie-less film.

Copyright 2002 Marie Asner
Submitted 9/21/02