La cocina

Unpopular opinion: not every movie needs a 2.5-hour runtime. "La Cocina" (who I've been wanting to watch since its "Sundance" premiere) is a perfect example of this, feeling unnecessarily drawn out and lacking depth. While the film has its strengths-like its exploration of multiculturalism in a Manhattan restaurant-too much of it feels disjointed and unfocused. The narrative tries to juggle too many elements, resulting in a plot that feels messy and uneven. At times, it almost feels like it would have worked better as a play rather than a movie.

That said, there are parts of "La Cocina" that truly stand out. The multicultural dynamics in the restaurant setting are fascinating, and I wish they had been explored more deeply. The cinematography is stunning, especially with its black-and-white visuals that add a striking, artistic flair. But despite these highlights, the film's ambition ultimately outweighs its execution, leaving it feeling more like a missed opportunity than a compelling watch.

La Cocina (2024) is a black-and-white, thriller-adjacent drama set in the kitchen of a New York restaurant on a particularly stressful day in which the lunch rush is amplified by an investigation into a missing $800 dollars suspected to have been stolen from the tills the night before. Although it bounces around between the various members of staff, initially beginning with a fresh-faced immigrant fumbling her way around the city in an effort to locate a man she knew as a child and ask him for a job, it soon more-or-less lands on Pedro, a three-year kitchen veteran with clear anger management issues and a desire to work long enough to get his Green Card, and Julia, a no-nonsense waitress with anxiety issues and an urgent desire to get an abortion. The feature essentially depicts a difficult day in the life of its characters as they navigate their work and their personal lives while trying not to slip up and sacrifice their chance at the coveted American dream. Thematically, it's all about the immigrant experience and the way in which America views non-citizens as a means to an end, dangling the carrot of citizenship and acceptance as a way to encourage work within the capitalist nightmare that robs almost everyone of their individuality. While this is an interesting angle to explore and the affair occasionally does so with poignance, the overall experience struggles to marry its subtext with its setting and often feels as though it's trying to say so much that it ends up not really saying anything in particular. Having said that, it's still a well-written and keenly observed slice of fiction that feels naturalistic in its every aspect. It does sort of lose its way as it heads into its increasingly erratic and stereotypically explosive finale, but its earlier moments of comparative subtlety work really well and there are some sequences that are almost transcendent in their high-intensity urgency. A ten-minute apparent oner (which is actually at least two shots stitched together) is incredibly impressive, an immersive and suspenseful real-time presentation of an exceptionally stressful lunch rush that genuinely puts you on the edge of your seat. Elsewhere, the filmmaking is confident and considered, with often beautiful framing and an ability to make the mundane both strikingly cinematic and remarkably real all at the same time. The performances are grounded and nuanced, making each and every character feel as true-to-life as possible and enhancing the impact of even the story's most tangential moments so that everything feels as though it matters even if some of it technically doesn't. The cinematography is often striking, the writing is often poetic, and the production design is consistently delightfully unobtrusive. The piece has a fly-on-the-wall feel, a naturalistic aesthetic that enhances the impact of its purposefully messy and - I suppose - unfulfilling plotting. It looks really unique, a whole world unto itself, and its artistic elements are as necessary as its narrative ones. It's a really cohesive picture and it often works brilliantly. What holds me back from liking it more is the fact that it gets a bit too loose in the second half of its second act, before it becomes a bit too conventionally 'big' in its final third and then stops just shy of doing something truly out there that it might as well have done fully considering how heavily it alludes to it. It also doesn't compound its themes quite as well as it could have. Still, this is a really solid effort that doesn't quite feel like anything else I've seen so far this year. It's really good.

Within the bustling confines of a Times Square eatery, a tumultuous ensemble of primarily immigrant cooks, waitstaff, and management struggle to navigate the frenzied lunch rush. This film is punctuated by intense, stress-inducing long-takes reminiscent of 'The Bear' and Barantini's 'Boiling Point', yet its narrative arc diverges significantly. Rather than focusing on the grind of preparing great food in a fancy restaurant, the story delves into the arduous journey of immigrants striving to survive. The ensemble cast delivers compelling performances, with Raúl Briones, stunning, and Rooney Mara powerful portrayals. The cinematography is breathtaking, capturing the essence of the narrative in an orchestrated chaos. A movie full of heart and heartbreak, it left a mark in the audience at the Berlinale film festival today.

This is the first film by this incredible director that I've watched, and in the last 20 minutes of the movie, I found myself unable to stop the tears from flowing. As I sat in the cinema seat, I felt every emotion he was conveying. It was truly a masterpiece.

Two days later, I find myself still thinking about the movie. I might even dare to say that it has touched something deep within me, something that had been quietly waiting for me to discover. I look forward to exploring more of Alonso's films soon, and I truly believe I will enjoy them as well.

I Can only say that I highly recommend this movie to anyone seeking a genuine glimpse into the real world.

The movie is trying to immerse the audience into the microcosm of a major restaurant kitchen in New York. Great acting by many of the cast. However, 3 hours are too long for getting the story across. Some elements don't make sense at all and some characters are not getting the focus they deserve. Overall the topic of diverse cultures by migrants and their personal dreams of life are a crucial topic. I would have wished to allow this in a form that would focus on few and with a deeper vertical story line. Raul and Rooney Mara are amazing in their performances. We watched it at the world premiere and the audience was very receptive to the premiere.