Soul Kitchen (2009)

74% of critics liked it
(57 reviews)
75% of users liked it
(4,697 ratings)

Celebrated filmmaker Fatih Akin, known for celebrated dramas like HEAD-ON and THE EDGE OF HEAVEN, serves up a delightfully fresh comedy with his latest award-winning film. SOUL KITCHEN is a delicious, free spirited story of food, friends, and rock & roll, winner of the Special Jury Prize and the… More Celebrated filmmaker Fatih Akin, known for celebrated dramas like HEAD-ON and THE EDGE OF HEAVEN, serves up a delightfully fresh comedy with his latest award-winning film. SOUL KITCHEN is a delicious, free spirited story of food, friends, and rock & roll, winner of the Special Jury Prize and the Young Cinema Award for Best Film at the Venice Film Festival, and a smash with audiences at the Toronto and Tribeca film festivals. SOUL KITCHEN film centers on a likable but hopelessly disorganized restauranteur, Zinos (co-screenwriter Adam Bousdoukos) whose cafe is second home to a motley crew of lovable eccentrics. When his girlfriend Nadine up and moves to Shanghai, a love-sick Zinos decides to fly after her, leaving his restaurant in the hands of his unreliable ex-con brother Illias. Both decisions turn out disastrous: Illias gambles away the restaurant to a shady real estate agent, and Zinos finds Nadine with a new lover. If the brothers can stop arguing and get it together, the Soul Kitchen might still have one last chance at staying in business. The mayhem that follows is a hilariously entertaining story of self-realization, set to an irresistibly soulful soundtrack. -- (C)IFC

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Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 1 hr. 39 min.
Directed By: Fatih Akin
Genres: Comedy

In Theaters: Aug 20, 2010 Wide
On DVD: Dec 21, 2010
Studio: IFC Films

Critic Reviews

Derek Elley, Variety
Nicely cast ensembler, centered on a hopelessly disorganized eatery owner and peopled by a weird collection of lovable eccentrics, is pacey entertainment that hardly puts a foot wrong.
J. R. Jones, Chicago Reader
Akin perfectly captures the antic pace, eccentric personalities, and fickle fortunes of the restaurant game, and his vision of the Soul Kitchen as an all-night bacchanal is irresistible.
Ray Bennett, Hollywood Reporter
Tasty concoction about a young man's frenetic struggle to keep his offbeat restaurant going.
Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune
Akin's earlier films were dramas, and he hasn't remade himself as a master of comedy, but even when the gags fall flat the vibe is agreeable.
Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune
Soul Kitchen, which features a soundtrack laden with American soul and R&B standards, was a hit in Europe, and I suspect many American moviegoers will respond to it as well.
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
It's silly, but it feels pretty good.
Chuck Bowen, Slant Magazine
Soul Kitchen is a blend of German/Turkish/American sensibilities, a screwball farce that occasionally knocks you mildly off balance.
John Esther, UR Chicago Magazine
Baked with a lot of lousy music, weak acting, clichéd characters and tropes, 'Soul Kitchen' fails to display any of Akin's talents found in 'Head-On' or 'The Edge of Heaven'
Jeff Meyers, Metro Times (Detroit, MI)
Akin has infused his film with so much goodwill and humanity that you swallow every overcooked twist and turn.
Rob Thomas, Capital Times (Madison, WI)
"Soul Kitchen" is like a restaurant where the vibe is friendly, the music is cool, the people are all interesting, and it's so much fun to hang out at that you easily overlook the fact that the food isn't actually all that good.
Sean Means, Salt Lake Tribune
Director Fatih Akin?s specialty is illuminating the multi-cultural bustle of modern Germany, and here he brings a light touch to Zinos? catastrophic efforts to stay above water.
Chris Barsanti, PopMatters
undercooked
Tim Brayton, Antagony & Ecstasy
A more genial, crowd-pleasing "art" film hasn't been and almost certainly won't be found in American theaters this year.
Kelly Vance, East Bay Express
Looks like a bit of relaxed down time for filmmaker Fatih Akin after the stressed-out cross-culturalism of The Edge of Heaven.
Chris Hewitt (St. Paul), St. Paul Pioneer Press
It's an odd mishmash, but it's funny and the non-stop music sent me to iTunes to do some serious downloading.
Robert W. Butler, Kansas City Star
A funny, sweet and pleasantly goofy exercise in the language of Goethe.
Brian Tallerico, Movie Retriever
A great little character-driven comedy, merely another excellent film from a spectacular director who would be a household name if foreign films got the audience they deserved in this country.
Shawn Levy, Oregonian
There's a breeziness to Soul Kitchen, good performances by Moritz Bleibtreu as Zinos' slippery brother and Birol Unel as his fanatical new chef, and a peppy soundtrack.
John Hartl, Seattle Times
The slapsticky tone of Akin's latest work is more anarchic than heavenly, but the picture has its screwball charms.
Matt Pais, Metromix.com
Nothing wrong with a tone that mixes tough choices and uneasy laughs. Akin, at the cost of well-written relationships or motivations, splits the difference and botches both.

Read all 20 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

Daniel P

A real sleeper, great movie. For Zinos the restauranteur, in his run-down, bland Soul Kitchen in Hamburg's industrial district, things just keep going wrong: his girlfriend, a journalist, leaves for China; his brother gets out of jail and brings his old friends and old ways back… More
A real sleeper, great movie. For Zinos the restauranteur, in his run-down, bland Soul Kitchen in Hamburg's industrial district, things just keep going wrong: his girlfriend, a journalist, leaves for China; his brother gets out of jail and brings his old friends and old ways back in Zinos's life; a chance meeting with an old school chum who's become a real estate developer turns into constant pressure to sell. It's hard to say more without ruining the intrigue, but for most of the movie, Zinos is a punching bag. The film is rarely heavy, and never mean-spirited, though: it just generates honest laughs, in an "Oh come on, what next!?" sort of way. Occasionally, the humour borders on slapstick, but all the jokes come from the plot, and something new is always happening to keep driving the story forward. Add in a great soundtrack (funk and soul, naturally), and you've got the recipe for pure cinematic joy. Highly, highly recommend, it's an excellent film.
Stefanie C

Akin delivers a fresh, light-hearted comedy with his cast of regulars. I would have liked to see more of Birol Unel's intensity, but this was nicely balanced with the introduction of Anna Bederke. The soundtrack well paces the film.
Cynthia S

Super witty, and fun, foreign romp with excellent music direction and a great supporting cast. So if you find yourself pouring over, and desperately sifting through, the recent drivel Hollywood is producing en masse in an attempt to find something acceptable to watch, give this flick… More
Super witty, and fun, foreign romp with excellent music direction and a great supporting cast. So if you find yourself pouring over, and desperately sifting through, the recent drivel Hollywood is producing en masse in an attempt to find something acceptable to watch, give this flick a chance. It's refreshing, not too heavy, and chock full of chuckles!
Alireza M

Since Fatih Akin has chosen a humorous style for story telling in Soul Kitchen,the movie doesnt take itself seriously and it rips your ass with laughter.Considering that we can ignore its shortcomings and characters stupidity.Fatih Akin is a phenomenon.I loved all of his movies except… More
Since Fatih Akin has chosen a humorous style for story telling in Soul Kitchen,the movie doesnt take itself seriously and it rips your ass with laughter.Considering that we can ignore its shortcomings and characters stupidity.Fatih Akin is a phenomenon.I loved all of his movies except his debut and yet in my opinion Edge of Heaven is his best.
Elvira B

Although it isn't laugh-out-loud funny, Fatih Akin (director of the amazing Head On)'s attempt at comedy is fresh and fun and maintains his characteristic visual sensibility. The plot is probably a lot less important than the… More
Although it isn't laugh-out-loud funny, Fatih Akin (director of the amazing Head On)'s attempt at comedy is fresh and fun and maintains his characteristic visual sensibility. The plot is probably a lot less important than the feel of the film: its colors, sounds (as most other reviewers have pointed out, the soundtrack is a standout) and, well, tastes, since it centers on a restaurant in Hamburg and the day-to-day conflicts of those who work in it. As I said, the truth is none of this really matters, because while watching Soul Kitchen you'll most likely be engaged in the melodrama and the vibrant colors... "comedy" is an over-statement: there are funny situations, but the best term I can come up with to describe it is light, which shouldn't be confused with empty or stupid. As for the performances, I think Adam Bousdoukos was miscast as the lead (not necessarily that he gave a bad performance) which brings the film down a little, but all other actors play their roles perfectly. It also helps that Birol Unel has a small but significant part in which he further proves what a versatile actor he is. There are plenty of characters, some of them somewhat weakened by cliché but nevertheless tridimensional and believable. It's a film to be felt, heard, and take easy.
Walter M

In "Soul Kitchen," Zinos(Adam Bousdoukos) owns a restaurant that specializes in serving comfort food in Hamburg. He decides to provide a non-existent job for his brother Illias(Moritz Bleibtreu), so he can be released on parole which works well for him since he has never… More
In "Soul Kitchen," Zinos(Adam Bousdoukos) owns a restaurant that specializes in serving comfort food in Hamburg. He decides to provide a non-existent job for his brother Illias(Moritz Bleibtreu), so he can be released on parole which works well for him since he has never worked a day in his life, anyway. At the same time, Zinos' journalist girlfriend Nadine(Pheline Roggan) has taken a job in Shanghai but they can still talk and do other things via the computer. A virtual relationship might not be all bad for Zinos when he throws out his back trying to move a refrigerator, forcing him into the position of hiring Shayn(Birol Unel), a temperamental chef who just got fired from his previous job and promptly alienates all of Zinos' regulars. White not exactly reinventing the wheel with his latest film "Soul Kitchen," director Fatih Akin still manages to make a pleasant and fun movie with a great soundtrack. And I can accept all of the contrivances, because maybe some things were just meant to happen this way. What is intended with this movie are some statements about an artist's work and his role in society, especially that an artist does not have to be great with every piece of work. That starts with not letting one's personal life interfere with one's professional life. Or is it the other way around? I get confused. Having fun is a key ingredient but never write down to an audience because they may just surprise you and like something that's a little more challenging than they are used to. Now, if we could just work out the morals of using aphrodisiacs, then we would all be set.
Nicolas K

With definitely the best soundtrack I have heard for a long time, this film is pure entertainment. If there was a category for top 10 of feel-good-movies of 2009, this one would be in it!
Daisy M

If by hearing the title, Soul Kitchen, the first thing that crossed my mind was, another Urban comedy, or better said black comedy..But this was not so.The title might be misleading, but not the characters.These were just ordinary people, with lots of cliches in between,but they… More
If by hearing the title, Soul Kitchen, the first thing that crossed my mind was, another Urban comedy, or better said black comedy..But this was not so.The title might be misleading, but not the characters.These were just ordinary people, with lots of cliches in between,but they seemed to have their everyday problems and looking for a way to live with them. I have seen some of Fatih Akin movies, such as Head on, The edge of Heaven and recently Im July, and it might be his first comedy, but not my favorite.It was not offering nothing new and no funny moments. The lead character Adam Bousdoukos was okay in his role but did not add much to the movie in relation to comedy..As the movie progressed, I found it another Fatih Akin drama, forcing me to laugh once in a while.
Ina S

What was first, the soundtrack or the script? Either way, the two are a perfect match. Akin's newest film is pure fun and once again declares the director's love for Hamburg in exquisite glimpses of the city. This is not a complex masterpiece like "Gegen die… More
What was first, the soundtrack or the script? Either way, the two are a perfect match. Akin's newest film is pure fun and once again declares the director's love for Hamburg in exquisite glimpses of the city. This is not a complex masterpiece like "Gegen die Wand/Head-on" or "Auf der anderen Seite/On the edge of heaven" but simply entertainment at its best.