theseventhstooge It is has been said that Fatih Akin is known for dark, serious movies and that Soul Kitchen is anomaly. That simply isn't true, Akin has made comedies and all of his movies, even though rather dark, have comedic overtures.But be that as it may, this movie has all of Akin's main collaborators including his brother Cem, Moritz Bleibtreu, Adam Bousdoukos, and Birol Unel. The special features, "Making of" explain that Soul Kitchen was in the works for several years and then Gegen die Wand was released. Gegen die Wand went on to be a major award winning film for Akin and he felt the pressure of having to repeat his success. Soul Kitchen is a more personal story, Adam Bousdoukos owned a Greek (he's Greek-German) restaurant and Fatih worked with him in working on the script. So many of the things that happen in the film are based on Fatih or Adam's experiences. This movie has a serious yet juvenile tone, something that his earlier comedy, "Im Juli" doesn't necessarily have. Soul Kitchen comes the closest to what we Americans would identify with in a comedy. Akin is known for giving very little direction to his actors and actresses, so what you see in Soul Kitchen is often a mix of acting and real life. And since many of the same people appear in multiple Akin films, most of them are familiar with one another and with Akin. The acting in this movie is on par. Adam Bousdoukos is a strong comedic lead that helps bring life to this movie. Moritz Bleibtreu is great as Adam's brother; his range is amazing from Das Experiment, Lola Rennt, Im Juli, and Soul Kitchen to name a few. Then you have Birol Unel, who is magic as the eccentric master chef who brings new life to Soul Kitchen.

Rindiana Likable and fast-moving feel-good tragicomedy which sometimes veers closely toward those annoyingly busy and loud German comedies with their succession of silly and overcooked set-pieces, based on all too well-known clichés.The predictable plot surely breaks no new ground and strains credulity from time to time, but at least it's all in good spirit. The actors find the right balance between comedy stereotyping and character drama and the soundtrack and location work are especially fine.Just like all of Akin's "lighter" pics, this one's easy to digest but doesn't call for a second course.6 out of 10 knife throwing chefs

ilikeallmovies Great movie, fast and fresh, the kind of fun the movies are supposed to be.The characters are real and dynamic, the sites are beautiful, interiors and exteriors, although in industrial area, they feel warm and cozy after some time.The action never loses pace.I am trying to find now other movies from the same director and/or lead actor.It is refreshing in a way Guy Ritchie is, you wait for the next movie because you expect the same feeling.

BOUF Toned down a bit in the sex and drugs area this could probably make a terrific kids film. It's a very obvious, ham-fisted fairy tale, which moves at a cracking pace, and rejoices in cartoon characters, plotting and visuals. That's not to say that kids only like their entertainment ham- fisted, but Soul Kitchen is a very basic romp, in which most of the cast are way over the top, and enjoying themselves enormously - often more than the audience. One of the major problems for me is that Herr Bleibtreu simply isn't funny. And there's too much of him not being funny, and not being - even for an instant - credibly Greek. It's good to see Udo Keir in a minor role, and being commendably restrained (what else could he do - surrounded by all the scenery chewing and eye-popping from his colleagues?) Nevertheless, this is a very well- meant 5 course meal, with lashings of sauce. You may wish that some of the jokes could not have been quite so overcooked, but you'll not leave the cinema bloated.