''Kitchen Stories'' ( no, Salmer fra Kjøkkenet) is a

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...

Norwegian film Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe *Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway *Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including the ...

Bent Hamer Bent Hamer (born 18 December 1956) is a film director, writer and producer, born in Sandefjord, Norway in 1956. Biography Hamer studied film theory and literature at the University of Stockholm and the Stockholm Film School. In addition to his fe ...

, director of ''

Eggs Humans and human ancestors have scavenged and eaten animal eggs for millions of years. Humans in Southeast Asia had domesticated chickens and harvested their eggs for food by 1,500 BCE. The most widely consumed eggs are those of fowl, especial ...

'' and '' O' Horten.''

Plot

Swedish efficiency researchers come to Norway to study Norwegian men, in an effort to help optimize their use of their kitchens. Folke Nilsson (

Tomas Norström Stig Tomas Norström (23 May 1956 – 3 October 2021) was a Swedish actor and film director. He also recorded audiobooks, among them J. R. R. Tolkien's works. Norström studied at the Swedish National Academy of Mime and Acting until 1981, tog ...

) is assigned to study the habits of Isak Bjørvik (

Joachim Calmeyer Kåre Joachim Calmeyer (23 June 1931 – 26 December 2016) was a Norwegian actor. He was born in Oslo, and grew up in Horten and Tromsø. He was the brother of jazz musician Ola and journalist Bengt Calmeyer. He made his stage debut at Rogaland ...

). By the rules of the research institute, Folke has to sit on an umpire's chair in Isak's kitchen and observe him from there, but never talk to him. Isak volunteered for the program with the promise of a horse, but he only receives a

dala horse A Dalecarlian horse or Dala horse (; Swedish: ''Dalahäst'') is a traditional carved, painted wooden statue of a horse originating in the Swedish province of Dalarna (Dalecarlia). In the old days the Dalecarlian horse was mostly used as a t ...

, a little painted wooden statue. Isak stops using his kitchen and observes Folke through a hole in the ceiling instead. The two lonely men, observer and observed, slowly overcome the initial Norwegian-Swede and subject-observer distrust and become

friend Friendship is a relationship of mutual affection between people. It is a stronger form of interpersonal bond than an "acquaintance" or an "association", such as a classmate, neighbor, coworker, or colleague. In some cultures, the concept of ...

s. Isak's friend Grant visits him often. Grant is a concentration camp survivor and feels Folke is stealing his friend. The friendship between Folke and Isak costs Folke his job during an inspection. He is forced to leave and drive up to the Swedish border, but then he returns, only to find Isak has died of a broken heart. Folke, now alone, occupies Isak's home and takes up Isak's friendship with Grant.

Inspiration for the film

Bent Hamer was amused after perusing

post-World War II The aftermath of World War II was the beginning of a new era started in late 1945 (when World War II ended) for all countries involved, defined by the decline of all colonial empires and simultaneous rise of two superpowers; the Soviet Union (US ...

research books on the efficiency of the Swedish

housewife A housewife (also known as a homemaker or a stay-at-home mother/mom/mum) is a woman whose role is running or managing her family's home—housekeeping, which includes caring for her children; cleaning and maintaining the home; making, buying an ...

, and pondered on the idea of research being done on

men A man is an adult male human. Prior to adulthood, a male human is referred to as a boy (a male child or adolescent). Like most other male mammals, a man's genome usually inherits an X chromosome from the mother and a Y chrom ...

. This led him to make the film ''Kitchen Stories'' with Swedish researchers and a Norwegian man as the main character.

Cast

as Isak Bjørvik, the man in the kitchen *

as Folke Nilsson, the Swedish researcher *

Bjørn Floberg Bjørn Floberg (born 12 September 1947) is a Norwegian actor of film, television and theatre. He is particularly noted for playing unsympathetic authority figures, but he has also had success playing other types of roles. Career Theatre Flob ...

as Grant, the friend of Isak *

Reine Brynolfsson Reine Claes-Göran Brynolfsson (born 15 January 1953) is a Swedish actor. He was born in Gothenburg Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capita ...

as Malmberg *

Sverre Anker Ousdal Sverre Anker Ousdal (born 18 July 1944) is a Norwegian actor born in Flekkefjord, Norway. Biography Ousdal made his debut in 1965 at Den Nationale Scene in Bergen. He worked at the Oslo Nye Teater between 1967 and 1970, and is since 1970 part ...

as Dr. Jack Zac. Benjaminsen, Swedish researcher *

Leif Andrée Leif Allan Andrée (born Leif Allan Johansson 29 January 1958 in Stockholm) is a Swedish actor. Andrée has been engaged at Teater Galeasen, Riksteatern, Chinateatern, Stockholm City Theatre and Unga Riks. Films *''Kvinnorna på taket'' (1 ...

as Dr. Ljungberg, Swedish researcher * Gard B. Eidsvold ground crew *

Lennart Jähkel Carl Gustav Lennart Jähkel (born 27 September 1956) is a Swedish actor. He is active at the Stockholm City Theatre, where he participated in several plays. Filmography Films *1991 - '' Infödingen'' *1992 - '' Nordexpressen'' *1992 - '' ...

as Green *

Trond Brænne Trond Brænne (31 July 1953 – 16 March 2013) was a Norwegian actor, author and radio personality, best known for his many theater and television roles. He was also a decorated writer of children's songs and literature. Personal life Bræ ...

as spokesman *

Bjørn Jenseg Bjorn (English, Dutch), Björn (Swedish, Icelandic, Dutch, and German), Bjørn (Danish, Faroese and Norwegian), Beorn (Old English) or, rarely, Bjôrn, Biorn, or Latinized Biornus, Brum (Portuguese), is a Scandinavian male given name, or less oft ...

as caretaker *

Jan Gunnar Røise Jan Gunnar Røise (born 24 September 1975) is a Norwegian actor. He was born in Eidsvoll, and took his education at the Norwegian National Academy of Theatre. He made his stage debut in 2000 at the National Theatre, and has been employed there ...

as assistant caretaker *

Karin Lunden Karin may refer to: *Karin (given name), a feminine name Fiction * ''Karin'' (manga) or ''Chibi Vampire'', a Japanese media franchise *Karin Hanazono, title character of the manga and anime ''Kamichama Karin'' *Karin Kurosaki, a character in ''Bl ...

as female corporate assistant

Awards

* Best Film, Amanda Award, Norway 2003 * Best Director,

Copenhagen International Film Festival Copenhagen International Film Festival (CIFF) was a film festival held annually in Copenhagen, Denmark from 2003 to 2008. The main prize, the Golden Swan, was awarded for Best Film, Best Director, Best Actress, Best Actor, Best Script and Best Cinem ...

2003 * Best Director,

São Paulo International Film Festival The São Paulo International Film Festival ( pt, Mostra Internacional de Cinema de São Paulo), also known internationally as Mostra, is an annual film festival held in the city of São Paulo, Brazil. A non-profit event, the festival is organized ...

2003 *

FIPRESCI Prize The International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI, short for Fédération Internationale de la PRESse CInématographique) is an association of national organizations of professional film critics and film journalists from around the world fo ...

Tromsø International Film Festival The Tromsø International Film Festival (TIFF) is an annual film festival held during the third week of January in Tromsø, Norway. The inaugural Tromsø International Film Festival was held in 1991. TIFF has 5 screening venues, including one ...

2003

External links

* {{Bent Hamer 2003 films 2003 comedy-drama films Films directed by Bent Hamer 2000s Norwegian-language films Swedish-language films Films set in the 1950s Norwegian-Swedish films Norwegian comedy-drama films Swedish comedy-drama films Norway–Sweden relations 2000s Swedish films