Soul Kitchen

Soul Kitchen / Soul Kitchen (Soul Kitchen). DE (c) 2009 Corazón International. P: Fatih Akin, Ann-Kristin Homann, Klaus Maeck. D: Fatih Akin. SC: Fatih Akin, Adam Bousdoukos. DP: Rainer Klausmann - negative: 35 mm - digital intermediate - released on 35 mm - Fujicolor - 1,85:1. PD: Tamo Kunz. The music track is a pop compilation score (see soundtrack album title list after the jump break). COST: Katrin Aschendorf. S: Andreas Hildebrandt. ED: Andrew Bird. LOC: Hamburg-Wilhelmsburg. CAST: Adam Bousdoukos (Zinos Kazantsakis), Moritz Bleibtreu (Illias Kazantsakis), Birol Ünel (Shayn Weiss), Anna Bederke (Lucia Faust), Pheline Roggan (Nadine Krüger), Lukas Gregorowicz (Lutz), Dorka Gryllus (Anna Mondstein), Wotan Wilke Möhring (Thomas Neumann), Demir Gökgöl (Sokrates), Monica Bleibtreu (Nadine's grandmother), Udo Kier (Mr. Jung).102 min. A Future Film release with Finnish / Swedish subtitles by Janne Staffans. Viewed at Kino Tapiola, Espoo Ciné Press Conference, 10 August 2010.

Espoo's Kino Tapiola, built in 1955 and reconstructed during the last two years, was opened to the press. The cinema experience was a pleasure with the lobby, the seats, and the screening: they have both D-Cinema with 3-D and 35 mm twin projection.

I liked Fatih Akin's previous feature film Auf der anderen Seite very much. Soul Kitchen is a departure to comedy and entertainment. It can be compared with films such as Big Night (Stanley Tucci) and Bella Martha (Sandra Nettelbeck). It is completely different and personal, yet it is rather quality light entertainment than a deeply gripping movie such as Auf der anderen Seite. It is the rise-and fall-and rise story of a rundown restaurant called Soul Kitchen in the Wilhelmsburg neighbourhood in Hamburg.

Although there has been a digital intermediate, the image had a grungy and juicy sensuality like in photochemical film.

The soundtrack, as in Auf der anderen Seite, is a pleasure, this time mixing Greek music with soul. The special theme is "La paloma", played in many versions. At least since Helmut Käutner's Grosse Freiheit Nr. 7 (1944) "La paloma" has been associated with the city of Hamburg, maybe because the Mexican habanera had become a sailors' favourite song.

Soundtrack listing after jump break


SOUL KITCHEN SOUNDTRACK ALBUM
1. Rated X / Kool & The Gang 4:03
2. Hicky Burr / Quincy Jones 4:05
3. I Don't Know / Ruth Brown 2:51
4. Brown Bag / Boogaloo Joe Jones 5:04
5. We Got More Soul / Dyke and the Blazers 2:43
6. Get The Money / Mongo Santamaria 3:26
7. Don't Do It / Syl Johnson 2:45
8. Get Down / Curtis Mayfield 5:45
9. To Sxoleio / The Olympians 2:33
10. I Want To Be Your Man / Zapp & Roger 4:08
11. The Creator Has A Master Plan / Louis Armstrong 4:08
12. It's Your Thing / The Isley Brothers 2:47
13. DiskoJan / Delay 4:35

1. Walking In Dub / Burning Spear 2:27
2. Soundhaudegen / Sillywalks Movement 3:45
3. Fragosiriani / Locomondo 3:18
4. Manolis O Hasiklis / Shantel 3:45
5. Mission Of Love / Love Ravers 3:49
6. Sing Song Girl / Er France 2:59
7. Moon Shayn / Bad Boy Boogiez 3:36
8. Arcilla / Steven Pfeffer 4:38
9. To Blues Tou Paliokaravou / Pavlos Sidiropoulos 4:37
10. Steve's La Paloma / Steve Baker 1:25
11. Sisters Keepers Dub / Turtle Bay Country Club 3:31
12. Gang & Gaebe / Broke But Busy 3:54
13. Das letzte Hemd hat leider keine Taschen / Hans Albers 2:13