Direction: Ofir Raul Graizer
Year: 2017
Duration: 104 min.
Country: Israel, Alemania
Cast: Tim Kalkhof, Sarah Adler, Zohar Shtrauss, Roy Miller, Stephanie Stremler, Tagel Eliyahu, David Koren, Sagi Shemesh, Gal Gonen, Tamir Ben Yehuda, Sandra Sadeh, Eliezer Shimon, Iyad Msalma
Film script : Ofir Raul Graizer
Genre: Drama.
Music Dominique Charpentier
Photography : Omri Aloni
Producer: Coproducción Israel-Alemania; Film Base Berlin, Laila Films
Distributor in Spain : Karma Films
Premiere in Spain: June 15, 2018
Original version: in German, English and Hebrew subtitles in Spanish.
SYNOPSIS
Thomas, a talented pastry chef from Berlin, has an affair with Oren, a young Israeli who frequently visits the city on business. When Oren is killed in a car accident in Israel, Thomas travels to Jerusalem in search of answers. Under a false identity, he sneaks into the life of Anat, his lover’s widow, who runs a small kosher cafe in the center of the city. Thomas starts working for her making cakes and other sweets that bring the boring local back to life, but he soon finds himself involved in Anat’s life in a very different way than expected, so, to protect the truth, he will have to prolong his life. lying to a point of no return.
THE CRITICISM
“Sweet, delicate, tender, intimate and welcoming, but without giving up the complaint and the harshness of everyday reality”
Israeli chef Ofir Raul Graizer proves with this simple drama co-produced with Germany that you don’t need exotic ingredients to complete a good dish. In his debut, he breaks the clichés of romantic and culinary cinema. The kitchen has more weight than in “MasterChef”, but instead moderates the “show”. Food ecstasy is not abused, a typical resource of the genre to link scenes and enter through the eyes. Neither the love shots, nor the riskiest, ever break the harmony.
It is surprising that a professional chef outperforms more experienced filmmakers by uniting both worlds and calibrating the rhythm of the story, a leisurely journey (from Berlin to Jerusalem) that does not slow down. He even knows how to convey feelings and reflections without voiceovers, repetitions, or wasting time.
Not to spoil any surprises, suffice it to say that after an early riser in the script, the German pastry chef launches into his obsession in a way that could be sickening. Good taste once again dodges all puddles with exemplary precision and Graizer does not even slip on the most demanding tiles, such as soft religious criticism. The heart, on a slow fire, wins the game with some interpreters at their point.
The emotional and experiential intensity rises in tone with a firm hand, while clearly clearing up what is important and what is superfluous in the lives of some characters in search of the springs that help them find the keys to their existence.
Story built soberly without embellishments of any kind to portray unusual love experiences.
Next screening: February 3, 2022
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