It is has been said that Fatih Akin is known for dark, serious movies and that Soul Kitchen is anomaly. That simply isn't true, Akin has made comedies and all of his movies, even though rather dark, have comedic overtures.
But be that as it may, this movie has all of Akin's main collaborators including his brother Cem, Moritz Bleibtreu, Adam Bousdoukos, and Birol Unel. The special features, "Making of" explain that Soul Kitchen was in the works for several years and then Gegen die Wand was released. Gegen die Wand went on to be a major award winning film for Akin and he felt the pressure of having to repeat his success.
Soul Kitchen is a more personal story, Adam Bousdoukos owned a Greek (he's Greek-German) restaurant and Fatih worked with him in working on the script. So many of the things that happen in the film are based on Fatih or Adam's experiences. This movie has a serious yet juvenile tone, something that his earlier comedy, "Im Juli" doesn't necessarily have. Soul Kitchen comes the closest to what we Americans would identify with in a comedy.
Akin is known for giving very little direction to his actors and actresses, so what you see in Soul Kitchen is often a mix of acting and real life. And since many of the same people appear in multiple Akin films, most of them are familiar with one another and with Akin.
The acting in this movie is on par. Adam Bousdoukos is a strong comedic lead that helps bring life to this movie. Moritz Bleibtreu is great as Adam's brother; his range is amazing from Das Experiment, Lola Rennt, Im Juli, and Soul Kitchen to name a few. Then you have Birol Unel, who is magic as the eccentric master chef who brings new life to Soul Kitchen.
But be that as it may, this movie has all of Akin's main collaborators including his brother Cem, Moritz Bleibtreu, Adam Bousdoukos, and Birol Unel. The special features, "Making of" explain that Soul Kitchen was in the works for several years and then Gegen die Wand was released. Gegen die Wand went on to be a major award winning film for Akin and he felt the pressure of having to repeat his success.
Soul Kitchen is a more personal story, Adam Bousdoukos owned a Greek (he's Greek-German) restaurant and Fatih worked with him in working on the script. So many of the things that happen in the film are based on Fatih or Adam's experiences. This movie has a serious yet juvenile tone, something that his earlier comedy, "Im Juli" doesn't necessarily have. Soul Kitchen comes the closest to what we Americans would identify with in a comedy.
Akin is known for giving very little direction to his actors and actresses, so what you see in Soul Kitchen is often a mix of acting and real life. And since many of the same people appear in multiple Akin films, most of them are familiar with one another and with Akin.
The acting in this movie is on par. Adam Bousdoukos is a strong comedic lead that helps bring life to this movie. Moritz Bleibtreu is great as Adam's brother; his range is amazing from Das Experiment, Lola Rennt, Im Juli, and Soul Kitchen to name a few. Then you have Birol Unel, who is magic as the eccentric master chef who brings new life to Soul Kitchen.