Soul Kitchen (2009)

Director:

Fatih Akin

Writers:

Fatih Akin (screenplay)
Adam Bousdoukos (screenplay)

Release Date:

17 December 2009 (Greece)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Tagline:

"Leben ist, was passiert, waehrend du dabei bist, andere Plaene zu machen" (Life is what happens to you while you are busy making other plans.)

Plot:

In Hamburg, German-Greek chef Zinos unknowingly disturbs the peace in his locals-only restaurant by hiring a more talented chef.

Plot Keywords:

Chef | Death Of Grandmother | Prison | Greek | Poker

Awards:

3 wins & 9 nominations

Cast

Adam Bousdoukos	...	Zinos Kazantsakis
Moritz Bleibtreu	...	Illias Kazantsakis
Pheline Roggan	...	Nadine Krüger
Anna Bederke	...	Lucia Faust
Birol Ünel	...	Shayn Weiss
Dorka Gryllus	...	Anna Mondstein
Wotan Wilke Möhring	...	Thomas Neumann
Lucas Gregorowicz	...	Lutz
Demir Gökgöl	...	Sokrates
Cem Akin	...	Milli
Marc Hosemann	...	Ziege
Catrin Striebeck	...	Frau Schuster vom Finanzamt
Ugur Yücel	...	Knochenbrecher
Udo Kier	...	Herr Jung
Monica Bleibtreu	...	Nadines Großmutter
Bernd Gajkowski	...	Trucker
Herma Koehn	...	Gast
Julia Wachsmann	...	Tanja
Markus Imboden	...	Vater Nadine
Gudrun Egner	...	Mutter Nadine
Gustav-Peter Wöhler	...	Nörgelgast
Zarah Jane McKenzie	...	Kellnerin
Peter Lohmeyer	...	Restaurantbesitzer
Senol Ugurlu	...	Häftling (as Senol 'Shayn' Ugurlu)
Francesco Fiannaca	...	JVA Beamter
Hendrik von Bültzingslöwen	...	Assistent von Frau Schuster
Simon Goerts	...	Tschako (as Simon Görts)
Jan Fedder	...	Meyer
Arne Benzing	...	Bad Boy Boogiez
Piotr Gregorowicz	...	Bad Boy Boogiez
Hans Ludwiczak	...	Bad Boy Boogiez
Jan Weichsel	...	Bad Boy Boogiez
Bülent Celebi	...	Ali Davidson
Philipp Baltus	...	DJ
Peter Jordan	...	Notar
Wolfgang Schumacher	...	Dr. Schlecht
Maverick Quek	...	Han
Fritz Renzo Heinze	...	Pfarrer
Joana Adu-Gyamfi	...	Apothekerin
Till Hooster	...	Polizist (as Till Huster)
Maria Ketikidou	...	Kommissarin
Klaus Maeck	...	Deutscher im Wartezimmer
Torsten Lemke	...	Patient
Salman Kurtulan	...	Türke im Wartezimmer
Ernest Hausmann	...	Afrikaner im Wartezimmer
Lars Rudolph	...	Richter im Amtsgericht
Emek Kavukcuoglu	...	Junger Makler
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Jan Karpinski	...	Restaurantbesucher (uncredited)
Torben Karstens	...	Angry Customer (uncredited)
Inna Knaus	...	Prostituierte (uncredited)
Thomas Schunke	...	Dancer (uncredited)
Mischuhin Zolot	...	Dancer (uncredited)

Directed by
Fatih Akin

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Fatih Akin		screenplay
Adam Bousdoukos		screenplay

Produced by
Fatih Akin	....	producer
Paolo Colombo	....	co-producer
Alberto Fanni	....	co-producer
Ann-Kristin Homann	....	producer
Klaus Maeck	....	producer
Christian Springer	....	line producer
Fabienne Vonier	....	co-producer
Jeanette Würl	....	producer: NDR
Flaminio Zadra	....	co-producer

Cinematography by
Rainer Klausmann

Film Editing by
Andrew Bird

Casting by
Monique Akin

Production Design by
Tamo Kunz

Art Direction by
Seth Turner

Costume Design by
Katrin Aschendorf

Makeup Department
Nicola Faas	....	key makeup artist
Maike Heinlein	....	key makeup artist

Production Management
Andrea Bockelmann	....	production manager
Florian Bothe	....	set manager
Tarik Erpinar	....	unit manager
Jürgen Sitzer	....	unit manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Cecile Heisler	....	assistant director (as Cecilie Heisler-Zigulla)

Art Department
Doga Cigsar	....	assistant property master
Gonda Hinrichs	....	construction coordinator
Maythe Stavermann	....	graphic designer
Beate ter Schüren	....	property master: outdoor

Sound Department
Richard Borowski	....	sound re-recording mixer
Sascha Heiny	....	adr recordist
Andreas Hildebrandt	....	supervising sound editor
Kai Lüde	....	sound mixer
Jörn Martens	....	boom operator
Carsten Richter	....	foley artist
Kuen-Il Song	....	sound editor
Markus Stemler	....	foley editor
Kai Storck	....	dialogue editor
Hanse Warns	....	foley mixer

Special Effects by
Norbert Skodock	....	special effects

Visual Effects by
Thomas Diesselhorst	....	digital artist
Dirk Frischmuth	....	Flyeranimation
Frank Hellmann	....	digital intermediate supervisor
Markus 'Maggi' Selchow	....	visual effects

Stunts
Uwe Mansshardt	....	stunts
Ronnie Paul	....	stunt coordinator
Axel Wagener	....	stunts

Camera and Electrical Department
Matthias Bode	....	grip
Miriam Fassbender	....	assistant camera
Torsten Lemke	....	gaffer
Astrid Miegel	....	assistant camera
Carsten Scharrmann	....	key grip
Donat Schilling	....	steadicam operator
Gordon A. Timpen	....	still photographer

Editorial Department
Ronney Afortu	....	colorist
Julia Drache	....	assistant editor

Music Department
Pia Hoffmann	....	music supervisor

Other crew
Jörn Martens	....	food stylist (as Joern Martens)

Thanks
Ali Akendiz	....	thanks
Cem Akin	....	dedicatee (as My Brother Cem)
Monica Bleibtreu	....	in memory of
Chris Bousdoukos	....	thanks
Timo Bousdoukos	....	thanks
Kai Erickson	....	thanks
Richard Klubeck	....	thanks
Michéle Knaup	....	thanks
Feridun Koc	....	thanks
Nadine Köhler	....	thanks
Sherman Langhoff	....	thanks
Denis Moschitto	....	thanks
Mustafa Pancar	....	thanks
Anna Renckstorf	....	thanks
Suzan Sekerci	....	thanks
Rabea Wachsmann	....	thanks
Uta Winterhof	....	thanks
Linda Zappe	....	thanks

Production Companies

• Corazón International
• Dorje Film
• Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR)
• Pyramide Productions

Distributors

• First Distributors (2010) (Hong Kong) (all media)
• Alfa Films (2011) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• Bitters End (2011) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Cinéart (2010) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• IFC Films (2010) (USA) (theatrical) (subtitled)
• Mongrel Media (2010) (Canada) (theatrical)
• Monopole-Pathé (2009) (Switzerland) (theatrical)
• Pandora Filmproduktion (2009) (Germany) (theatrical)
• Pyramide Distribution (2010) (France) (theatrical)
• Atalanta Filmes (2010) (Portugal) (all media)
• BIM Distribuzione (2009) (Italy) (all media)
• Cinéart (2010) (Benelux) (all media)
• Film1 (2011) (Netherlands) (TV) (limited)
• Imovision (2010) (Brazil) (all media)
• Kam & Ronson Enterprise Co (2011) (Hong Kong) (DVD)
• Kam & Ronson Enterprise Co (2011) (Hong Kong) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• Mongrel Media (2010) (Canada) (DVD)
• Odeon (2009) (Greece) (all media)
• Transeuropa Video Entertainment (TVE) (2011) (Argentina) (DVD)
• Twin Pics (2010) (Netherlands) (DVD)

Special Effects

• Optical Art (colour grading)
• Optical Art (film recording)
• Optical Art (film scanning)
• Optical Art (titles)
• Optical Art (visual effects)

Other Companies

• AGM Productions  French dubbing
• CamCruiser Hamburg  camera car and remote camera systems provided by
• Mecon Media Concept  extras payroll
• Milan Records  soundtrack
• Tonstudio Hanse Warns  foley stage

Also Known As:

Runtime:

99 min

Country:

Germany

Language:

German | Greek

Color:

Color (Fujicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Argentina:13 | Germany:12 (f) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | Portugal:M/16 | Canada:G (Québec) | Singapore:M18 | Australia:MA | Sweden:7 | South Korea:18

Filming Locations:

Bremen, Germany

Company:

Corazón International

Trivia:

There is a restaurant named "Soul Kitchen" in Al Khobar, Saudi Arabia.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Maltin on Movies: The Romantics (#1.6)" (2010)

Soundtrack:

La Paloma

Soul Kitchen - food for one's spirit

Director Faith Akin is often called one of the most important contemporary German directors to have emerged in recent years. Soul Kitchen is Akin' highly anticipated first attempt at a genuine comedy. So far Akin has been has been more involved in the fields of drama and romance. In a recent interview he revealed he was curious to explore a more varied range of film genres which sounds like an interesting plan. In venice this year, the film was celebrated by the audiences and scored the special jury price.

The story revolves around a restaurant/club called Soul Kitchen and the troublesome life of its respectful owner Zinos. He has to overcome many struggles involving his girlfriend, his brother and the authorities. The film is set in the heart of the diverse northern German city of Hamburg, the home turf of the two scribes Faith Akin and Adam Bousdoukos.

The makers of the film call it a new take on the idea of the "Heimatfilm" - a rather preconceived loose genre which basically defines a film to have been made in the makers home country and dealing with issues relating to home and identity.

Akin described how he studied classical sketches by Charlie Chaplin and also looked at his method of working. A simple "joke" that comes off easy and natural on screen had been reworked over and over. For some of the scenes Akin admittedly said he had to shoot 30 takes before it felt right. This made him doubt his own abilities but in the end let him grow as a filmmaker and as an individual.

The result is a stellar solid performance by the entire cast. Many jokes and payoffs will unfortunately and without a doubt get lost in translation but still the timing and heartblood of the actors will still capture anyone's attention.

Akin makes use of a couple of his "regulars": Adam Bousdoukos, Moritz Bleibtreu and the great Birol Ünel but also introduces fresh unknown blood with the two female leads Lucia Faust and Nadine Krüger.

Having just seen another film recently I noticed myself how well this film is balanced out in comparison. There is a rhythm, a beat or a harmony. The soundtrack and editing allow the plot to flow organically and let the narrative play out smoothly. Interestingly Akin once mentioned that since "Gegen die Wand" (Head On, 2004) he is inspired by the songs used in his films in a visual way and sets out a soundtrack before the filming is finished.

The film marks Akin's first shot at wider levels of improvisation. Normally, he said in an interview with a German radio station, he has the script all planned out in detail; all the actors know what their dialogues are and maybe one or two things get changed, with feedback from the people on set but this time a lot of things were left undone on purpose to grow naturally out of the situations.

What I personally enjoyed a lot about Soul Kitchen is the way in which the film addresses its urban environment. Akin took a chance to shoot in a wide range of locations, many of which such the club "Mojo" have since closed down. It attempts to capture the spirit of the city at a point in time and successfully tells an emotional, personal story.

Recommended to anyone with a passion for fresh, clever and funny stories of life and the city.