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Kitchen Stories More at IMDbPro »Salmer fra kjøkkenet (original title)

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41 reviews in total

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50 out of 50 people found the following review useful:
Swedish kitchen researchers (!) in the nineteen fifties goes to Norway to explore country bachelors use of kitchen area., 1 November 2003

Author: Jan Faxér from Trollhättan, Sweden

The summary of Salmer fra kjokkenet in imdb places the movie in the "feel good" genre. This may be true for UK citizens, however a swede really gets the shivers alongside with incontrollable laughs while watching this movie.

The horror derives from the fact that since the thirties the Swedish politicians seriously have believed that they were able to shape society with reason and logic. Thus in the movie, there is the "Institute of private homes research", the object being to develop the most logically structured kitchen, adapted to the average movements of the "normal" house wife.

This excellent movie made in Norway, the neighbouring country of Sweden - which up to 1905 was submitted in a state union with Sweden - makes a very convincing statement about the "swedish mentality", that is how our welfare state has developed during the past 70 years.

The growing relationship between the aging Norwegian farmer and the archetypical swedish bureaucrat Nilsson. Nilssons job is to observe his delinquent while he is performing the daily chores in the country kitchen, is moving and, I think, quite significant if you're interested in the nature of mankind - one of Nilssons colleagues comes at him with the a priceless line of speach: "How the f**k can one know anything about ones fellow man, if not speaking to him?" It needs to be said - the obeservators are strongly advised not to interfere with their "objects of research".

In other words; at one level of Salmer fra kjokkenet provides you with great laughs, if you recognize the type who's main interest is to grasp control of your behavior, of your life. At another level this is a painful, yes, raw settlement with the swedish "social engineering" so admired by foreigners, at least in the past.

I cannot think of any other movie more worth recommending to somebody who's interested in what mankind really is, and what caricature she can made into.

This is a movie about how to make friends when every other possibility is exhausted, how to talk man to man, when every way of communication i banned by the "authorities".

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46 out of 48 people found the following review useful:
Pure GENIUS!!, 26 April 2004

Author: smakawhat from Washington, DC

How do you make a film… no SELL the idea of a film, whose premise is the following? Take 1950 era Swedish scientists, whose goal is to find men who live alone in the wilderness and study their ‘kitchen habits' at home for the purpose of building a more efficient living space for people. I am sure if any writer walking into Hollywood with that script would be instantly flogged before he even set foot in a studio executive boardroom. A story like this obviously seems to set itself up as a comedy, since the story is so obviously absurd, but what viewers come out with after witnessing this film is the great appreciation and the bonds the characters create. This is a truly touching masterful picture, from a premise that has the most bizarre source that I don't know how anyone could have even come up with. That premise is quite something, since it seems that the idea of studying male behavior in a kitchen in the backwoods of Norway is either going to be a complete disaster or something extremely memorable. Luckily it is the latter of the two. Isak Bjornsson is a scientist out to study a ‘subject' named Folke who lives by himself and has literally no friends. Folke unwittingly is part of this experiment which involves Isak sitting in a giant chair overlooking his living space, as if he was the judge in a tennis match. Also Isak is supposed to follow certain rules set out by his employer. He is not to disturb Folke's living space, nor talk to him. If this isn't a unique bit of Scandinavian humor I don't know what is. If this film were to fall flat or even be just a short funny comedy, it would only fixate on the stupidity of this premise. Somehow a guy who sits in a log cabin miles away from civilization, who can put up with a stuffy repressed scientist whose main purpose is to write excruciating details of a man who literally spends his day doing nothing, is actually quite a funny situation for comedy. Kitchen Stories does not fail in that sense, but the ingeniousness is that Kitchen Stories is smarter than that.

The film suddenly takes the viewer to ask what the real purpose of these 2 men in the movie are and the focus provides and glaring and obvious point. They are essentially both alone in their lives for different reasons and they in a way need each other. But not of course in the sense of a dying love, but in a great sense of male camaraderie and caring that is essential to the idea of a great friendship

Gradually, the bond between scientist and subject breaks down, and both men start evolving a strange set of rules and create a friendship that comes off as the most genuine and heartwarming I've seen on screen since this year started.

As this relationship and some good subplots develop, the comedy takes another turn as Isak tries to hide from his boss ( a man who only ‘dreams' of what the future possibilities of kitchens may look like), that he has engaged his subject in what is obviously, ‘caring' humanity. The nerve!

I loved this film from the moment it started till its tender conclusion. It had only a short run in my area, and even after what must have been several months since I've seen it, I still think about it and a giant smile comes across my face.

It is touching, heartwarming, very funny, and just flat out great. It is the best film I have seen so far this year. If you ever get a chance to see it, go immediately. It shows the perfect beauty of the bond between us all as people, in the most kooky, unique bizarre way. And that in itself… is pure genius

Rating 10 out of 10

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34 out of 35 people found the following review useful:
Close to perfect little movie, 18 March 2004
Author: mpeters-7 from Guelph, Canada

This movie pokes fun, in a very gentle way, at a whole lot of things. At the Swedes and their "Ikea-type" market research, at the Norwegians and their laconic ways, and at the strange ways of humans altogether. This movie manages to be moving without being sentimental or manipulative. What I mean here is that the element of manipulation that is quite obvious in many of the more sophisticated recent "feel good" movies I generally enjoy (you know the ones I mean - Cinema Paradiso, Billy Elliot etc.) is not in evidence here. We are getting at something pretty basic and human with "Kitchen Stories". The movie tracks the unlikely relationship that develops between the Swedish market researcher, sent to observe (and strictly forbidden to interact with the subject of his study) the kitchen ways of his crusty Norwegian bachelor "host". Sounds rather minimal but this is a movie that is as good as a movie can get. Perfect pacing, perfect acting, perfect camera work, perfect story. While the movie can be enjoyed on the tv, as video, I think that it is best seen on a larger screen in a movie theater because the visual impact is strong. You come out of this movie a happier person than went in and that is worth something these days !

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26 out of 32 people found the following review useful:
A thoroughly moving experience, 30 December 2003

Author: tbaybars from Saint Chinian, France

The only lamentable part of this extraordinarily moving film is its title. I went to an art-house cinema in Toulouse to see it, more for Hamer's reputation than the published blurb, still not knowing what to expect. Nothing moves in the film, like the observant Folke on his directorial high chair, we are watching the goings on, monotonous. But, boring? Most certainly not! As the plot develops around the friendship between the subject and the object, we are drawn into a conflict which is essentially outside the boundaries of nations: how can you understand someone without verbal communication, for the sake of scientific research? You can't.

Bureaucratic strictures can lead to disobedience however much the personal cost of that kind of action might be. Folke and Isak forge a friendship in a relatively short time, which might take others years of nurturing. We applaud the rebellious scientist when he dumps his snail-shell caravan to return to Isak's uncomplicated rural dwelling. The most moving closing scene suddenly makes you realise that what seemed to be a static film was, in fact, full of heroic action.

That there are only two IMDb comments on this film demonstrates how exclusionist South Europe and the States are, when third rate trash receives attention of one sort or the other.

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18 out of 19 people found the following review useful:
Celebrates life and friendship, 21 March 2004

Author: Howard Schumann from Vancouver, B.C.

As a result of a study in the 1950s in which efficiency experts at the Home Research Institute observed the kitchen habits of Swedish housewives to come up with a better workspace design, eighteen men are transported in caravans to farms in Norway to observe the cooking habits of Norwegian single men. Kitchen Stories, a quirky comedy co-written by Swedish director Bent Hamer and Norway's Jörgen Bergmark, depicts the relationship between two elderly single men, a relationship in which the observer ends up being the observed. The film is similar, in its deadpan humor and offbeat characters, to the work of Aki Kaurismäki, but without the Finnish director's overbearing self-consciousness.

The scientists wear white lab coats and carry clipboards, seemingly poised for an ET-like invasion. The observers, however, must live outside the homes of their subjects in small trailers and are not allowed to talk, drink, or otherwise interact with their subjects. Some, however, are not willing subjects. One of the scientists, Folke, a Swede (Tomas Norström), draws Isak (Joachim Calmeyer), an antisocial Norwegian farmer used to living in solitude. Isak at first refuses to let Folke into his house, resentful that the horse he was promised in return for his participation turned out to be a figurine. Folke, however, eventually gains access to the kitchen and sits every day perched in his high observation chair, recording Isak's every movement like the Lord High Executioner until Isak decides to take his hot plate up to his bedroom to frustrate his unwelcome guest.

The sly Isak drills a hole through the upstairs bedroom floor and now secretly watches Folke in the kitchen. When they start conversing, each man insists on speaking his own language (not shown by the subtitles) as if to doggedly maintain their separate identities. Gradually they become friends, breaking through the barriers in their life that have imposed a limiting solitude. They begin first by drinking coffee in the morning, sharing a bit of their background, and then celebrating Isak's birthday with cake and bourbon whiskey. Their interaction, of course, is against the rules of the study, and there are consequences for Folke. His life, however, acquires new meaning the more willing he is to take risks and share himself openly. Kitchen Stories is a small film, but one that is warmhearted and thoroughly enjoyable, a work that celebrates the small pleasures in just being alive without trying to be profound or seduce us with blatant emotional appeals.

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15 out of 15 people found the following review useful:
The credibility of documentaries and scientists is on the table here., 5 May 2004
Author: John DeSando (jdesando@columbus.rr.com) from Columbus, Ohio

Having just seen Kaurismaki's dryly-witty `Man Without a Past,' I couldn't believe that director Bent Hamer's `Kitchen Stories' is actually drier and funnier. The Norse/Swedish co-production depicts 1950's Swedes studying bachelors in their kitchens to improve their lives. Swedish scientist Folke, in a high chair like some infantile god, observes Norwegian Isak under the restriction that he must not interact with Isak.

The humor comes from the stereotypical Swede as uptight and organized and the Norwegian as slow but solid. The silliness of the experiment itself is obvious and the restriction ludicrous because of course they will interact, in fact bond, given the loneliness of Norway's winter and the need for humans to be sociable. That the story turns on male bonding is a bonus, especially because neither country is considered a bastion of sociability. When Isak lets Folke listen to the radio on his teeth fillings, I figure the guys are in for some warm nights.

In another way, this film could be as good as it gets for analyzing the effect observers have on their subjects, be it laboratory or media. A question probably unanswerable even today is how much anyone changes under observation. In the case of the central characters in `Kitchen Stories,' the change is considerable, but more so just because of another human being's presence in an otherwise lonely world. The credibility of documentaries and scientists is on the table here.

The minimal dialogue and occasional joke, spiced with subtle racial stereotyping, makes me think of not only Kaurismaki but also Beckett, whose waiting characters sometime talk nonsense, but most of the time profundity under the guise of simplicity. `Kitchen' is a slow but rewarding film that strips life of its pretensions to study more closely the tissue that binds humanity with communication.

Diplomat Dag Hammarskjold in his Markings caught the minimalism of this film: `Friendship needs no words-it is solitude delivered from the anguish of loneliness.'

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10 out of 10 people found the following review useful:
Solitude takes on a new meaning as the observed and observer converge in "Kitchen Stories", 1 March 2004

Author: Ruby Liang (ruby_fff) from sf, usa

The title may not be alluring. In fact, "Kitchen Stories" could be misleading to some that it'd be more of a women movie. Far from it - though it all may have started with the 'dazzling' multi-tetrahedrons of a chart that the self-satisfied scientist boasts of demonstrating findings on women's activity traffic in a kitchen. The snappy music sets me quite at ease in spite of anticipating reading subtitles - the melodic and light drum beats, chorus behind main vocal, sax/trumpet/trombone sounds - it's easy swinging tunes, indeed. The official site from filmsdulosange.fr gives you a feel of the 50's and a sampling of the jingle-like jazzy tune.

"Kitchen Stories" is an absolutely delightful piece. It's about a meticulously organized scientific research in the '50's on studying the kitchen behavior of single Norwegian men by assigned researchers from Sweden, in the name of advancement, of course - to improve kitchen activity efficiency. Sounds awfully dry? How can watching two men watching each other be interesting? Ah, to the genius of director Bent Hamer, who co-wrote and co-produced with Jörgen Bergmark, the film is simple enjoyment and relaxing fun. It's the discerning humor of observing human behavior of all parties involved: neighbor and neighborhood doctor, researcher and target subject, boss man and his boss - it's a film to relish and bemused upon.

Having had graphic arts, any pattern catches my eye. The opening scene - the caravan of the nine trailers each with an interesting form seen at the top of the trailer presented quite an engaging sight. Towards the end, one would realize - ah, it's that indispensable high umpire chair! Truly a well-made film and down to earth charming in all its naturalness - yes, engaging even with all the 'silent,' 'quiet,' 'observing' scenes - within and without the house.

It's also intriguing: what's happening elsewhere/upstairs while Folke Nilsson sat so quietly alone in the dark in that kitchen observation station of Isak's; what's Isak's thinking while he's piping; Grant the neighbor, what's he up to watching without a word in the cold darkness. And in the name of science, we are given insights to the 'body electric' static radio tuning.what am I talking about? Ha, that's another smilingly amusing reason to enjoy "Kitchen Stories." Thanks to the subtitles by Nick Norris, we get steady doses of chuckle and bemusing smiles throughout the film. The two main leads, Joachim Calmeyer as Isak and Tomas Norström as Folke, are fantastically 'wry' in their own self-bemused way, complementing each other's performance.

Not everything's indoors per se, there are impressive snowy landscapes, light of dawn and dead of night scenes by cinematographer Philip Øgaard. There's also a touching side story revolves around a faithful companion of a horse, and an anticipated red horse. It's full of little sprinkles of surprises and details, down to the specific food that Folke likes. Do enjoy this film. Bemused is the word repeatedly reinforced.

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10 out of 10 people found the following review useful:
Gently moving, 21 January 2004

Author: Gordon Ferrier (gferrier) from Edinburgh Scotland

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

I watched this film not knowing quite what to expect other than something that would be different from the usual round of big budget Hollywood pics (and well done UGC Edinburgh for even screening it!). Despite the slow pace of the film I found myself entranced by it, watching the development of the relationship between the two main protagonists. The director was unafraid to let this happen slowly and gently: others might have rushed this and would have produced a lesser film if they had. Terrifically entertaining, moving and optimistic about the power of the human spirit despite the sad ending.

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10 out of 11 people found the following review useful:
A Scandinavian Love Story, 8 March 2004

Author: cestmoi from United States

If William Steig had made a film this would have been it. The tone, the sadness, the warmth, the understanding, the yearning, the apartness, and the awkwardness of human relations are all beautifully and unselfconsciously portrayed here by a fine cast. The Volvo driving lead made me think of Alec Guiness as he carried of this offbeat role so successfully. Shot in a spare but deliberate manner to match the simplicity of the story line, the cinematography underlines the mood of place and people without begging the question. If there is a fault it is the music in three or so instances that played to the handkerchiefs in the balcony. These sunless people know how to play the darkness. Chapeau.

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10 out of 12 people found the following review useful:
The observer is observed!, 24 February 2004

Author: jotix100 from New York

This film was a surprise since we went without any preconceptions, having avoided reading about it beforehand. It is a droll attempt at film making by Bent Hamer, the director, who collaborated on the scenario.

The film presents a story that on its surface seems to be one thing, but deep inside there is an ode to friendship between two different, but stoic Scandinavian men, Isak and Folke, whose lives become entwined as they discover how they are similar, despite of all appearances. The story is set in the bleak and snowy Norwegian winter.

In the end, Folke is a better man by having known Isak, the man who he doesn't understand at the beginning of the story, but who unknown to him, was always looking over him, without the other one knowing it.

The three principals are very well portrayed. This film will resonate with people that find themselves alone at the last stages of their lives, and how they are changed by opening up to perfect strangers who are going through the same thing themselves.

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