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.
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.