''Soul Kitchen'' is a 2009 German comedy film directed by

Fatih Akın Fatih Akin (, born 25 August 1973) is a Turkish-German film director, screenwriter and producer. His films have won numerous awards and accolades, including the Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival for his film '' Head-On'' (2004), Best Scr ...

, with a screenplay by Akın and Adam Bousdoukos, based on Bousdoukos' story on his own experiences as the owner of a Greek tavern named "Taverna", where Akın was a regular customer.

Plot

Zinos, a Greek restaurant owner, owns Soul Kitchen, a shabby, run-down restaurant providing working-class food in the

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

area, in an old warehouse space. The business is struggling financially, and tax inspectors ask Zinos for payments. Occasionally a

punk rock Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...

band uses the restaurant as practice space, but never pays rental fees. An old sailor, Sokrates, continuously works on his boat at the warehouse but is never able to pay the rent. At a family gathering at an upscale restaurant, Zinos argues with his girlfriend Nadine, a journalist, who is preparing to leave on assignment to

Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...

. During that dinner, the chef, Shayn, is fired. Afterward, Zinos meets an old schoolmate, Thomas Neumann. In spite of their arguments over Nadine's assignment to Shanghai, Zinos and Nadine maintain contact via

Skype Skype () was a proprietary telecommunications application operated by Skype Technologies, a division of Microsoft, best known for IP-based videotelephony, videoconferencing and voice calls. It also had instant messaging, file transfer, ...

. Zinos' brother Illias, a gambler and hustler, is serving a prison sentence, and has "special leave" where he is allowed to leave the prison and go to work. Zinos agrees to hire Illias to work at Soul Kitchen, to the disdain of bartender Lucia. Illias asks Zinos not to tell anyone about his criminal past. Later, Zinos injures his back when trying to move a heavy dishwasher. Zinos meets a physical therapist, Anna, in the course of his recovery. Zinos finds Shayn and hires him as Soul Kitchen's new cook. Shayn insists on changing the menu to a new

haute cuisine ''Haute cuisine'' (; ) or ''grande cuisine'' is a style of cooking characterised by meticulous preparation, elaborate presentation, and the use of high quality ingredients. Typically prepared by highly skilled gourmet chefs, haute cuisine dish ...

menu. This drives away the old clientele and shrinks business to nearly nothing. Gradually, the restaurant's reputation and fortunes turn around, to the point where Zinos can make a tax payment to the authorities. Lucia changes her opinion of Illias and begins to find herself attracted to him. But Zinos, whilst drunk, revealed to Lucia that Illias has a criminal record. Meanwhile, Neumann has designs on purchasing the restaurant property and re-developing the site. He offers to buy Soul Kitchen from Zinos, but Zinos continually refuses. Zinos had hoped to travel to Shanghai to meet Nadine, but the new success of Soul Kitchen causes him to be distracted from maintaining contact with her. To try to reconcile with Nadine, Zinos plans to leave for Shanghai, after he makes Illias manager of Soul Kitchen and gives him full power of attorney. At the

airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial Aviation, air transport. They usually consist of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surf ...

about to leave, Zinos sees Nadine, accompanied by a Chinese man, Mr Han. She has returned following the sudden death of her grandmother. At the funeral, Zinos realizes that Mr. Han is Nadine's new boyfriend. Zinos disrupts the funeral and becomes estranged from Nadine and her family. In Zinos' absence, Illias lost the Soul Kitchen in a poker game to Neumann and signed away the deed. To try to prevent completion of the deal, Zinos, Illias and some accomplices plan to steal the title deed. The theft fails and the brothers are arrested. Zinos is released, but Illias is kept confined. In a final desperate move to try to cure his herniated disc, Anna takes Zinos to a

chiropractor Chiropractic () is a form of alternative medicine concerned with the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of physical disorder, mechanical disorders of the musculoskeletal system, especially of the vertebral column, spine. It is based on sever ...

, Kemal "the Bone Cruncher", whose extreme therapy succeeds. Zinos is despondent at losing both his restaurant and Nadine. Lucia has found employment at another restaurant, and Shayn has apparently left the country altogether. In a sudden twist, however, the tax authorities have arrested and convicted Neumann of tax fraud. Zinos asks Nadine for a loan to bid for Soul Kitchen at the auction, because she is now wealthy from her grandmother's inheritance. Zinos wins the auction and buys the restaurant back. Although in prison, Illias continues his relationship with Lucia. The film ends with the restaurant closed for a "private party" for Zinos and Anna, who is visiting Soul Kitchen for the first time. SoulKitchen

Cast

* Adam Bousdoukos as Zinos Kazantsakis *

Birol Ünel Birol Ünel (18 August 1961 – 3 September 2020) was a Turkish-German actor who played in German and Turkish films, television, and theatrical productions. He was perhaps best known for his role as the alcoholic Cahit Tomruk in Fatih Akin's 200 ...

as Shayn Weiss *

Moritz Bleibtreu Moritz Johann Bleibtreu ( is a German film actor, voice actor, and film director. He has been a successful actor in many movies such as ''Run Lola Run, Das Experiment, The Baader Meinhof Complex'', and Atomised (film), ''Elementary Particles''. ...

as Illias Kazantsakis *

Anna Bederke Anna Bederke (born 1981) is a German actress. She has appeared in more than ten films since 2009. Selected filmography References External links * 1981 births Living people German film actresses Actresses from Hamburg {{Germa ...

as Lucia Faust * Pheline Roggan as Nadine Krüger *

Dorka Gryllus Dorka Gryllus (born 26 December 1972) is a Hungarian film and theatre actress. She is the daughter of , a Hungarian musician, performer and composer, founding member of folk music group Kaláka Kaláka is a folk music group formed in Budapest, ...

as Anna Mondstein *

Wotan Wilke Möhring Wotan Wilke Möhring (born 23 May 1967) is a German actor. Biography Möhring was born in Augustdorf near Detmold and grew up in Herne. His father was an army officer and his mother worked as a teacher. He has a sister and two brothers. O ...

as Thomas Neumann *

Lucas Gregorowicz Lucas Gregorowicz (born 31 August 1976 in London) is a German-Polish actor.Demir Gökgöl as Sokrates *

Udo Kier Udo Kierspe (born 14 October 1944), known professionally as Udo Kier, is a German actor. Known primarily as a character actor, he has appeared in more than 220 films in both leading and supporting roles throughout Europe and the Americas. He has ...

as Herr Jung *

Monica Bleibtreu Monica Bleibtreu (; 4 May 1944 – 13 May 2009) was an Austrian-German actress and screenwriter, best known in the German-speaking world for her film, television and stage roles. Life and career Bleibtreu was born in Vienna, Austria, the daugh ...

as Grandma Krüger * Marc Hosemann as Ziege * Cem Akın as Milli *

Jan Fedder Jan Fedder (; 14 January 1955 – 30 December 2019) was a German actor, born in Hamburg. He was best known for his role as police officer Dirk Matthies in the German television show '' Großstadtrevier''. He was also known for his role as the cr ...

as Herr Meyer * Catrin Striebeck as Frau Schuster *

Uğur Yücel Uğur Yücel (born 26 May 1957) is a Turkish film actor, producer and director. He graduated from the Theater Department of the Istanbul Municipality Conservatory (İstanbul Belediye Konservatuarı Tiyatro Bölümü). He took part in several pl ...

as "Bonebreaker" Kemal * Maria Ketikidou as policewoman * Hendrik von Bültzingslöwen as assistant to Frau Schuster * Julia Wachsmann as Tanja * Maverick Quek as Mr. Han * Markus Imboden as Nadine's father * Gudrun Egner as Nadine's mother * Arne Benzing, Piotr Gregorowicz, Hans Ludwiczak, and Jan Weichsel as Bad Boy Boogiez Band musicians * Peter Jordan as notary

Background

Fatih Akin Fatih Akin (, born 25 August 1973) is a Turkish-German film director, screenwriter and producer. His films have won numerous awards and accolades, including the Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival for his film '' Head-On'' (2004), Best Scre ...

dedicated the film to his brother Cem. According to the filmmaker, "our theme is the relationship between brothers" The film is also dedicated "in memory of"

, the actress who died in 2009 and who has "her last major appearance" in the role of Grandma Nadines. The director also dedicates the film to his hometown of

. Because of its themes, Akin also calls the film, set in Hamburg, a modern Heimat film (Heimatfilm). It's about "Family and friends, about love, trust, and loyalty – and about the fight for home as a place that needs to be protected in an increasingly volatile world." There are numerous well-known actors from Akin's previous productions in the film, such as

('' Im Juli, Solino'')

(''Im Juli, Gegen die Wand''), and Adam Bousdoukos (''Sensin – Du bist es!, Kurz und schmerzlos''). Akins film company calls it a "best-of" cast. The "patron and landmark" for the film, according to the filmmaker, was

Billy Wilder Billy Wilder (; ; born Samuel Wilder; June 22, 1906 – March 27, 2002) was an American filmmaker and screenwriter. His career in Hollywood (film industry), Hollywood spanned five decades, and he is regarded as one of the most brilliant and ver ...

. Akin had hung a poster of him over his desk while working on the comedy. According to ''

Die Welt (, ) is a German national daily newspaper, published as a broadsheet by Axel Springer SE. is the flagship newspaper of the Axel Springer publishing group and it is considered a newspaper of record in Germany. Its leading competitors are the ...

'', director Fatih Akin also supported Hamburg's gang district, which is threatened with destruction, by using around 200 artists in the film. "The planned demolition of the historic district is an example of the city of Hamburg neglecting its heritage. When he advertises his new film ''Soul Kitchen'', he also advertises the monuments of the Hanseatic city," the newspaper reported. The film is the director's first self-produced full-length comedy, following Akin's co-writing of '' Kebab Connection'' (2005). Akin repeatedly emphasized the special difficulty that the genre prepared him for ("comedy is the supreme discipline"). The unusual dishes from the new chef Shayn in ''Soul Kitchen'' are from Isabel Allende's cookbook Aphrodite. A Celebration of the Senses (1997) was also an inspiration. Birol Ünel was coached for the role of the chef by Joern Martens and Hamburg's top chef Ali Güngörmüş. It is thanks to the fact that Ünel read

Arthur Rimbaud Jean Nicolas Arthur Rimbaud (, ; ; 20 October 1854 – 10 November 1891) was a French poet known for his transgressive and surreal themes and for his influence on modern literature and arts, prefiguring surrealism. Born in Charleville, he s ...

while on set that the Rimbaud quote "What cannot be sold will be sold!" was subsequently written into the screenplay. The severe horse fall scene in the film is a recording of the real fall of rider Katharina Werning at a gallop race in Neuss in early 2008. After this fall, she had to temporarily interrupt her career. Lutz, the waiter at ''Soul Kitchen'', has the band the Bad Boy Boogiez, which happens to be the actual band of Lutz's actor,

Lucas Gregorowicz Lucas Gregorowicz (born 31 August 1976 in London) is a German-Polish actor.Frankfurt Book Fair The Frankfurt Book Fair (German: , FBM) is the world's largest trade fair for books, based on the number of publishing companies represented. The five-day annual event in mid-October is held at the Frankfurt Trade Fair grounds in Frankfurt am ...

, which coincided with the film's prequel novel, ''Soul Kitchen''. The first part of the story was created by the previously unknown author Jasmin Ramadan. Juergen Boos underpinned what he called an "experiment" decision:

For me, this film is exciting because it shows how the industries are growing together – blogs, pictures, original sounds, it will be tweeted. In ''Soul Kitchen'' by Fatih Akin, the book and film are created together and influence each other. The great things is that the book, which deals with the beginning of the film, is being published by a literary publisher (...).

''Soul Kitchen'' is the first Fatih Akin film to be released as a radio play with the original voice acting from the film version, with an additional first-person narrator (Zinos, voiced by Adam Bousdoukos). It went on sale at the start of the film's release.

Origins

The film ''Soul Kitchen'' was already planned in 2003/2004 as a direct follow-up project to ''Head On'' (''Gegen die Wand''). Therefore, the first phase of work on the film falls ahead of Akin's international breakthrough as a director. According to Akin, he wanted to try out a new text program on his computer and "started writing without a vision, without an idea (...)." At the time, his friend Adam Bousdoukos had just been dumped by his then-girlfriend and was also having professional problems. At the time, he was the owner of the Greek tavern Sotiris at Barnerstraße 42 in Hamburg-Ottensen and ran the Glam Slam Music Club at Bahrenfelder Straße 237.Christina Tilmann
''Hamburger Heimspiel.''
In: ''Die Zeit'' Nr. 9/2009. Akin took Bousdoukos' life crisis as an opportunity to write down his story: "I just jammed around with the new program. On the very first day I had written 20 script pages. The first version was completed after five days. I gave them to my partner, .. He read it and said, 'Let's make a movie out of this!'" described the director of the first phase of the script. After the

Golden Bear award Golden means made of, or relating to gold. Golden may also refer to: Places United Kingdom *Golden, in the parish of Probus, Cornwall *Golden Cap, Dorset *Golden Square, Soho, London *Golden Valley, a valley on the River Frome in Gloucestershi ...

for ''Head On'', however, he had doubts about the project; it suddenly seemed "not important enough anymore". A "snotty comedy" apparently no longer met his expectations, so he preferred to "put on something more serious, bigger".Gespräch mit Eva Eusterhus auf Welt.de
20 September 2009. In 2004, during the filming of the music documentary film, '' Crossing The Bridge – The Sound of Istanbul'', Akin's plans to cast the comedy with

Hanna Schygulla Hanna Schygulla (; born 25 December 1943) is a German actress and chanson singer associated with the theater and film director Rainer Werner Fassbinder. She first worked for Fassbinder in 1965 and became an active participant in the New German ...

in the role of the band's pianist as the leading actress were revealed. The 2004 Yearbook of the DEFA Foundation Apropos, Film already reported a later scriptwriting phase in the works for the film. It was created as the second part of Akin's planned trilogy about love, death, and the devil. Then the project was finally shelved and even discarded in connection with the film trilogy. In the drama ''

The Edge of Heaven "The Edge of Heaven" is a song by English pop duo Wham!, released on Epic Records in 1986. It was written and produced by George Michael, one half of the duo, and was promoted in advance as Wham!'s farewell single. History With the known desire ...

'' (2007), which was created instead as the second part of the trilogy, Schygulla remained the only actress planned for the film. Between these and other projects (initially without further concrete plans for a film adaptation), ''Soul Kitchen'' was "further developed from time to time on a whim. Whenever we didn't have anything better to do or wanted to distract ourselves, we had a good time with ''Soul Kitchen''," says Akin. According to Akin, however, when Andreas Thiel died shortly before the end of filming ''The Edge of Heaven (Auf der anderen Seite''), his view of the postponed project changed. Thiel always said about ''Soul Kitchen'': "Don't give a shit what people say. Do it anyway!" But it was only after the death of his friend that he was able to take these words to heart. First, Akin planned another western with Bousdoukos; however, after a research trip to America, it became clear that Akin would not be able to produce this western starring his friend. According to the filmmaker, this was the final reason for resuming the ''Soul Kitchen'' project:

At the end of the trip, we sat in a motel in Albuquerque. I said to (Bousdoukos): We won't make it together. I need a budget of 15 million for the film. I can't get that financed with you. I need someone like Johnny Depp for that. Sorry! He asked: And now? So I said: Let's go to Hamburg and do ''Soul Kitchen''.

Actual film work on the comedy took two years, with the goal of completion for the Cannes Film Festival in May 2009, to which the film had already received an invitation. However, due to incomplete post-production, Akin had to cancel participation in the festival. The director told the ''

Hamburger Abendblatt ''Hamburger Abendblatt'' () is a German daily newspaper in Hamburg belonging to the Funke Mediengruppe, publishing Monday to Saturday. The paper focuses on news in Hamburg and its surrounds, and produces regional supplements with news from Norde ...

'' (''Hamburg Evening Newspaper'') that Jan Delay only wanted to decide after a preview whether one of his songs could be used in the film that he thought was already ready for Cannes. After seeing the film, the musician said: "I don't think you're done yet. The film doesn't have the right groove yet." Akin then began extensive post-production and partly re-shot scenes. Due to the international success of ''The Edge of Heaven'', Akin had to turn down offers to shoot in Hollywood in order to make the film. His main actor, Moritz Bleibtreu, even decided not to play in Quentin Tarantino's Inglorious Bastards (2009) because he had already been promised a role in ''Soul Kitchen''. Akin filed a lawsuit in early 2010 against Alexander Wallasch, who claimed to have seen "striking similarities" between his debut novel ''Hotel Monopol'' and ''Soul Kitchen''. Wallasch lost, so an injunction against him remained in place.

Filming location

The filming locations of ''Soul Kitchen'' are places in

Hamburg-Wilhelmsburg Wilhelmsburg () () is a quarter (''Stadtteil'') of Hamburg, Germany within the borough (''Bezirk'') of Hamburg-Mitte. It is situated on several islands between the Northern and Southern branches of the Elbe river (''Norderelbe'' and ''Süderelbe'' ...

that have potential to be affected by change. They reflect an overarching theme of the film, the ''Soul Kitchen''s waitstaff's struggle against gentrification. For example, the film "the Mandarin Casino, formerly the Mojo Club, on the Reeperbahn, the Astrastube on the Sternbrücke, or a club in the Karstadt branch where Akin once bought his first record". The ''Soul Kitchen'' restaurant was created for the film in a factory building on Industriestraße in Hamburg-Wilhelmsburg. Since June 18, 2010, the hall has been used for a variety of music and cultural events. In addition, the "beautiful and touristy sides of the Hanseatic metropolis with the Speicherstadt, Elbe and Alster" can also be seen in the film. The cemetery scene was filmed at the Riensberg Cemetery in

Bremen Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (, ), is the capital of the States of Germany, German state of the Bremen (state), Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (), a two-city-state consisting of the c ...

. The prison scenes were filmed in the Bremen correctional facility.

Soundtrack

Michael Giltz (''

The Huffington Post ''HuffPost'' (''The Huffington Post'' until 2017, itself often abbreviated as ''HPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and covers p ...

'') called the soundtrack of the film "a blast". It contains different versions of the song "

La Paloma "La Paloma", "The Dove" in English, is a popular Spanish song that has been produced and reinterpreted in diverse cultures, settings, arrangements, and recordings over the last 140 years. The song was written by the Spanish Basques, Basque comp ...

", which is played "live" in the ''Soul Kitchen''. Also, in the film the audience can hear songs by

Quincy Jones Quincy Delight Jones Jr. (March 14, 1933 – November 3, 2024) was an American record producer, composer, arranger, conductor, trumpeter, and bandleader. Over the course of his seven-decade career, he received List of awards and nominations re ...

Kool & The Gang Kool & the Gang is an American Rhythm and blues, R&B, soul music, soul, and funk band formed in Jersey City, New Jersey, in 1964. Its founding members include brothers Robert "Kool" Bell and Ronald Bell (musician), Ronald Bell (also known as " ...

the Isley Brothers The Isley Brothers ( ) are an American soul group originally from Cincinnati, Ohio, that began as a vocal trio consisting of the brothers O'Kelly Isley Jr., Rudolph Isley and Ronald Isley in the 1950s. With a career spanning over seven decades, ...

Mongo Santamaría Ramón "Mongo" Santamaría Rodríguez (April 7, 1917 – February 1, 2003) was a Cuban percussionist and bandleader who spent most of his career in the United States. Primarily a conga drummer, Santamaría was a leading figure in the pachanga an ...

Markos Vamvakaris Markos Vamvakaris (; 10 May 1905 – 8 February 1972), was a Greek musician of ''rebetiko'', universally referred to by ''rebetiko'' writers and fans simply by his first name, Markos. The great significance of Vamvakaris for the rebetiko is als ...

, and

Jan Delay Jan Phillip Eißfeldt (born 25 August 1976), known professionally as Jan Delay, is a German rapper and singer whose stylistic range includes mainly hip hop, reggae, dub and funk. An accomplished solo artist, he became known to the public as ...

. The film ends with

Louis Armstrong Louis Daniel Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971), nicknamed "Satchmo", "Satch", and "Pops", was an American trumpeter and vocalist. He was among the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades and several era ...

's cover of "The Creator Has a Master Plan".

Hans Albers Hans Philipp August Albers (22 September 1891 – 24 July 1960), also known by his nickname “der blonde Hans” (The Blond Hans), was a German actor and singer. He was the biggest male movie star in Germany between 1930 and 1960 and one of the m ...

is represented with the hit song "Das letzte Hemd hat leider keine Taschen" (The Last Shirt Unfortunately has no Pockets). The song " Soul Kitchen" by

the Doors The Doors were an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1965, comprising vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, guitarist Robby Krieger and drummer John Densmore. They were among the most influential and controversial rock acts ...

was originally intended to be played in a scene, but the rights to the track were ultimately too expensive for the filmmaker, so he exchanged it for a song by

Curtis Mayfield Curtis Lee Mayfield (June 3, 1942 – December 26, 1999) was an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. Dubbed the " Gentle Genius", he is considered one of the most influential musicians of soul and socially conscious Afric ...

. The rights to an older song by Prince, the main character's absolute favorite musician in the ''Soul Kitchen'' novel, could not be acquired for the film due to long-standing differences between

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...

and

Warner Brothers Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...

. A soundtrack was released on CD by

Universal Music Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as Universal Music Group or Universal Music) is a Dutch– American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum ...

and in the first week of 2010 was the second highest new entry in the German album charts behind the ''

Avatar Avatar (, ; ) is a concept within Hinduism that in Sanskrit literally means . It signifies the material appearance or incarnation of a powerful deity, or spirit on Earth. The relative verb to "alight, to make one's appearance" is sometimes u ...

'' soundtrack. The double album, which was released in several countries, was in the top three of the general sales charts in Greece.

Reception

Festival reception

At the "convincing" (dpa) world premiere with an international audience in Venice, there was roaring laughter and applause. The ''

Süddeutsche Zeitung The ''Süddeutsche Zeitung'' (; ), published in Munich, Bavaria, is one of the largest and most influential daily newspapers in Germany. The tone of ''SZ'' is mainly described as centre-left, liberal, social-liberal, progressive-liberal, and ...

'' (''The South-German Newspaper'') stated: "The real heartbreaker of the festival is (...) the German competition entry." Akin's film was "so funny and touching that the audience in Venice was over the moon." The film later won the second most important prize at the festival. Fatih Akin said: "We shot a comedy with local Hamburg color. If Italians and Americans also jump on it, the main goal has apparently been achieved." The film's humor was also well received at the press screenings the night before; Katja Nicodemus from SWR noticed that the reactions from the Italian press were even better than the German ones. ''Soul Kitchen'' was also "very well received" at the American premiere at the following Toronto International Film Festival. But with the city's "open, multicultural audience", there was no reason to expect anything else. In Germany, the film was first shown in 2009 as the opening film of the

Hamburg Film Festival FILMFEST HAMBURG is an international film festival in Hamburg, the third-largest of its kind in Germany (after Berlin and Munich). It shows national and international feature and documentary films in eleven sections. The range of the program stret ...

, in line with the main theme of pulsating metropolises. Albert Wiederspiel said before the screening: "What could be nicer for a film festival director than to open with such a film!" In fact, "never (...) has an opening film been so celebrated" in the Hanseatic city like this one. The ''

'' reported at least "30 times (...) an enthusiastic applause, always collective laughter". The film festival already has experienced many spectacular openings, but what happened (...) in the Cinemaxx set new standards. ''Soul Kitchen'' ran in three halls, but even the almost 1700 seats were hardly enough to offer space to all those who had gotten hold of one of the coveted invitations. Long before the start, it was impossible to get into Cinemaxx 1 and 3 even with a ticket, and there were some audience members sitting on the narrow steps of the theater. At about the same time, it became known that ''Soul Kitchen'' had been nominated for the North German Film Prize and would also be shown at the Nordic Film Days in Lübeck in 2009. In 2009, the film had already received several international awards. Further international nominations followed in 2010, some of which were for important film prizes (see Awards section). As of September 2009, the film was screened in festivals in Italy, Canada, Japan, Belgium, Brazil, Greece, and France. In December, the film started regularly screening in Greece, Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. Further screenings followed at international film festivals and, until July 2011, there were regular screenings in Turkey, Italy, Russia, Kazakhstan, France, Belgium, Brazil, Spain, Slovenia, Portugal, Australia, the Netherlands, Israel, Romania, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Hungary, Sweden, Estonia, Poland, Japan, Argentina, and Hong Kong.Starttermine für Soul Kitchen
,

IMDb IMDb, historically known as the Internet Movie Database, is an online database of information related to films, television series, podcasts, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and biograp ...

. A theatrical release in the USA was negotiated, but was only shown in New York at festivals.

Reviews

Derek Elley from ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' saw in the film a "love letter to the place (Hamburg) and its people" with partly "explosive comedy", tightly staged and edited. Mark Olsen (''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'') called ''Soul Kitchen'' "a rollicking comedy". Michael Giltz of ''

'' also called Akin one of the best directors by far of the time and hoped that this "light" comedy, which gives "much cause for celebration", will now reach "the wider audience kindeserves. The film was very well received in the United States, earning very positive reviews from American film critics, both for the story and the film's production. The film was also well received by the American audiences. Peter Zander of ''Die Welt'' described the work, which Akin identified as a "dirty heimat film", simply as "indulgence". A "colorful, eloquent tone (...) that can't find an end to all the gags, relaxed funny" rules in ''Soul Kitchen'' for Christina Tilmann from the ''

Berliner Tagesspiegel (meaning ''The Daily Mirror'') is a German daily newspaper. It has regional correspondent offices in Washington, D.C., and Potsdam. It is the only major newspaper in the capital to have increased its circulation, now 148,000, since reunification ...

''. In her estimation, however, the film is "by no means as weird and evil as it wants to be". For Anke Westphal from the ''

Berliner Zeitung The ''Berliner Zeitung'' (; ) is a daily newspaper based in Berlin, Germany. Founded in East Germany in 1945, it is the only East German paper to achieve national prominence since Reunification of Germany, reunification. It is published by Berl ...

'', on the other hand, the comedy "bursts with energy". A "big, colorful, swinging comedy mess full of temper tantrums" left the review "in tears". The German Press Agency reported that "good actors, humor bordering on the grotesque, and some situational comedy (...) make up the charm of ''Soul Kitchen'', even if it "at times drifts into slapstick". Cristina Nord from the ''

Taz Taz or TAZ may refer to: Geography *Taz (river), a river in western Siberia, Russia *Taz Estuary, the estuary of the river Taz in Russia People * Taz people, an ethnic group in Russia ** Taz language, a form of Northeastern Mandarin spoken by ...

'' found the film "rough around the edges", although she found occasional "admirable nonsense" in it. Frank Olbert from the ''

Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger The ''Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger'' (KStA) is a German daily newspaper published in Cologne, and has the largest circulation in the Cologne–Bonn Metropolitan Region. ''Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger'' has a base of over 100 contributing editors and a wide ...

'', on the other hand, warned against considering ''Soul Kitchen'' only as a feel-good piece because "that would mean reducing it. ''Soul Kitchen'' is a gentle homage to a place and its visitors, it's a heimat film with Germans, Greeks, and Turks." "Having to say goodbye to the film brings a nice dash of melancholy." Above all, however, it is also a "fantastic actor's film." The review of the ''

Frankfurter Rundschau The ''Frankfurter Rundschau'' (''FR'') is a German daily newspaper, based in Frankfurt am Main. The ''Rundschaus editorial stance is social liberal. It holds that "independence, social justice and fairness" underlie its journalism. In Post-wa ...

'' particularly emphasized Birol Ünel, who makes himself "unforgettable as a kind of samurai of the art of cooking" in his scenes. The screenplay compares Daniel Kothenschulte "with a mixed bag: there is a little trump card in every scene. The jokes in the dialogue are not fake, but rather develop naturally from the characters and the situations they get into. The

3sat 3sat (, ''Dreisat'') is a free-to-air German-language public service television channel. It is a generalist channel with a cultural focus and is jointly operated by public broadcasters from Germany ( ZDF, ARD), Austria ( ORF) and Switzerlan ...

program Kinokino called ''Soul Kitchen'' a "totally unpretentious masterpiece" that was "simply great" and agreed with the filmmaker: "a heimat film!", as did ttt – tiel, thesen, temperamente on ARD, where a satisfied reviewer added: "I experienced what I want to experience on a nice evening at the movies. I cried, I sympathized, I was sad, I laughed a lot. So a great film. Perhaps the most beautiful and best film by Fatih Akin".

Audience reception

Akin at the presentation of ''Soul Kitchen'' in Vienna (2009). ''Soul Kitchen'' was not only well received by the trade press and the festival audience. In Germany, Akin's comedy had by far the most successful theatrical release ever in terms of admissions. Already on the first weekend, 160,000 people saw the film. At the end of the first week, ''Soul Kitchen'' was number 5 in the German cinema charts. . After ten days, more than half a million people had seen the film. The film was also in the top ten in the Swiss and Austrian cinema charts. Prior to this, Akin had been touring the German-speaking world with the lead cast throughout December to promote his upcoming comedy. On the so-called Soul-Kitchen-Cinema-Tour, the film was presented in up to three cities a day. In other countries like Italy and Greece, the film later was successfully shown in theaters.

Festivals (selection)

2009 to 2010

* Internationale Filmfestspiele von Venedig 2009 *

Toronto International Film Festival The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the most prestigious and largest publicly attended film festivals in the world. Founded in 1976, the festival takes place every year in early September. The organi ...

* Deutsches Filmfestival in Tokyo * Gent International Film Festival *

São Paulo International Film Festival The São Paulo International Film Festival (), also known internationally as Mostra, is an annual film festival held in the city of São Paulo, Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South Ame ...

Thessaloniki International Film Festival The Thessaloniki International Film Festival (TIFF) is a film festival held every November in Thessaloniki, Greece. It is organized by the Thessaloniki Film Festival under the auspices of the Greek Ministry of Culture. It features internationa ...

Les Arcs Film Festival Les Arcs Film Festival is an annual European film festival held every December in Les Arcs in the French Alps. Profile Les Arcs was co-founded in 2009 by Pierre-Emmanuel Fleurantin (CEO), Guillaume Calop (general manager), and Jérémy Zelnik ...

* Transilvanian International Film Festival (Cluj, 2010)

Awards

*''Soul Kitchen'' received an invitation to compete at the 2009

Venice Film Festival The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival (, "International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art of the Venice Biennale") is an annual film festival held in Venice, Italy. It is the world's oldest film festival and one of the ...

, where Akin's film competed for the Gold Lion. In the end, the film won the Silver Lion for the "Grand Jury Prize", the second most important award in the competition. * In Venice, ''Soul Kitchen'' was also given the " Young Cinema Award" by an international audience jury. * "Art Cinema Award" from the International Association of Artistic Theaters (C.I.C.A.E.) at the

2009. * Inclusion in the shortlist for the best international literary adaptation at the Frankfurt Book Fair 2009. * North German Film Award 2009 in the category "Best Screenplay" * third place in the Kulturnews Awards 2009 (category: Best Book) for the Book Before the Film. * Nominations for the German Film Critics' Prize: Rainer Klausman (camera), Andrew Bird (editing). * Nominations for the

German Film Award The German Film Award (), also known as Lola after its prize statuette, is the national film award of Germany. It is presented at an annual ceremony honouring cinematic achievements in the Cinema of Germany, German film industry. Besides being ...

2010 in the categories Best Film and Editing. * Nomination for the

David di Donatello The David di Donatello Awards, named after Donatello's ''David (Donatello, bronze), David'', a symbolic statue of the Italian Renaissance, are film awards given out each year by the ''Accademia del Cinema Italiano'' (the Academy of Italian Cin ...

2010 as best film from an EU country. * Nomination for the

European Film Awards The European Film Awards (or European Film Academy Awards) have been presented annually since 1988 by the European Film Academy to recognize excellence in European cinematic achievements. The awards are given in 19 categories, of which the mos ...

2010 as best film. * North German Film Award 2010 in the category "Best Feature Film".

The "Book Before the Film"

Similar to Akin's previous work ''The Edge of Heaven'', the film promotes a book by a German author. However, Jasmin Ramadan's novel ''Soul Kitchen'', published by Blumenbar, has just as little basis for the film as Selim Özdogan's novel ''The Blacksmith's Daughter'' in ''The Edge of Heaven'', so it is not a "book based on the film" in the traditional sense. According to the blurbs, Ramadan's book is "the book before the film" and "the first part of the story". In fact, it was released on September 10, 2009, months before the German theatrical release of the comedy planned for Christmas 2009 and tells only the story before it, the one "between the coming of age and the road movie". Ramadan's debut novel has received widespread critical acclaim. There was also an audio book released.

References

External links

* * *
''Soul Kitchen''
at

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

*
Mekado Murphy, "A Kitchen, and Filmmaker, With Soul". ''New York Times'', ArtsBeat blog, 23 April 2010.
{{Authority control 2009 films 2009 comedy films German comedy films 2000s German-language films Films directed by Fatih Akin Films set in Hamburg Films set in restaurants Venice Grand Jury Prize winners 2000s German films German-language comedy films