Film
What's on at the cinema plus reviews of the latest movie and DVD releases
Bookmark this pageKitchen Stories (2003)
Director: Bent Hamer
Movie review
From Time Out Film Guide
It's the early 1950s, and Sweden's Home Research Institute, having created the perfect kitchen for the national housewife, sets its sights on the Norwegian bachelor. The plan is simple: an inspector installs himself on a stepladder in the volunteer's kitchen and for weeks logs all movement and business in the room. While the scheme's originator flies back and forth across Scandinavia, ever more debauched and remote from research, an officious manager loses control of the exercise as inspectors drink themselves out of a job or, more likely, break the code of silence and distance which the task demands; conversations, even friendships ensue, none more poignant than that between the initially taciturn and suspicious farmer Isak (Calmeyer) and his intended overseer Folke (Norström). This is wonderfully warm hearted and entertaining cinema from one of Norway's most distinctive talents. Striking camerawork and design, pitch-perfect playing and writer/director Hamer's acute eye for the revealing detail all add up to a pantry full of enjoyment and often absurdist subversion.Author: GE
User reviews of this film
-
- herman said...
- Posted on Sep 19 2009 22:25 I was expecting a lot on the theme of how sciene works, the subjectivity of the observer etc, and was very disappointed in the contents of the film. Nicely done, but nothing to remember.
- Report as inappropriate
-
- Patrick Beare said...
- Posted on Nov 12 2008 20:27 Lovely film. I remember seeing it at the ICA and enjoying it immensely.
- Report as inappropriate
Cast & crew
Director: Bent Hamer
Producer: Bent Hamer
Cast: Joachim Calmeyer, Tomas Norström, Reine Brynolfsson, Bjørn Floberg, Sverre Anker Ousdal, Lennart Jähkel, Leif Andrée, Gard Eidsvold, Trond Brænne, Bjørn Jenseg full cast
Genre(s): Comedy
Duration: 95 mins
Most popular on this site
Top Stories
Has David Cronenberg turned tame?
Has director David Cronenberg veered too far from his radical and bloody roots with new film 'A Dangerous Method'?
The 10 worst date movies
Just in time for Valentine's Day, we present ten of the least romantic films ever made
Where to watch this year's Oscar-nominated films
Find out where to watch 2012's Oscar-nominated films in London cinemas
10 unlikely badboy biopics
Featuring Phil Collins, Jeremy Clarkson, Nick Clegg, David Starkey and a host of other unlikely subjects
Interview: Sean Durkin on 'Martha Marcy May Marlene'
The first-time director of the brilliant new thriller discusses religious cults and robot boxing
Pop-up cinema for Valentine's Day
Side-step romantic clichés with some alternative Valentine’s viewing
What do you think?
Post your review now