Mostly Martha
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Movie Reviews of Mostly Martha
Movie Review: the zest for life and love
Summary: 5 Stars
Written and directed by Sandra Nettelbeck, "Bella Martha", strangely translated as "Mostly Martha", was her first big feature film, and won international awards and delighted many...perhaps mostly women, as it is exquisitely romantic. Martina Gedeck as Martha, the master chef who tries to control her world while it collapses around her, is superb. She has an intense kind of beauty and grace, strong but emotionally fragile, and Gadeck's body language speaks volumes, and lets us see into her heart with a simple gesture of the hand, or a flicker in her eyes. This is one of the best performances I've seen in a very long time.
Her relationship with her 8 year old niece Lina, so well played by Maxime Foreste, is complex, understandable, and very moving, and the chemistry between Martha and Mario, (Sergio Castellitto is perfect in the part) is fabulous, complete opposites attracting. The supporting cast are all excellent, and director Nettelbeck plays Lina's mother in a touching video sequence.
The score by David Darling and Keith Jarrett is marvelous, with delicate sections of Arvo Part's music for one of the most tragic scenes, and includes a bit of Dean Martin's version of "Volare", and the irresistible, simply scrumptious "Via con Me" by Paolo Conte, a song so happy it would make a bear smile. The cinematography by Michael Bertel is also wonderful, with location shots of Hamburg and Italy, and overflowing vistas of delectable food.
I cried, I laughed out loud, and I will always remember this film; it is a small but polished gem.
Total running time is 109 minutes.
Movie Review: Eye Candy for the Senses
Summary: 5 Stars
While there's little to add to Alejandra Vernon's spot-on Amazon review of this movie, there's something to be said for echoing certain of the sentiments she shares in her review and the particular scenes that make this movie sparkle.
I find the movie to be less along the lines of Babette's Feast and Big Night and more evocative of Ang Lee's pitch-perfect "Eat Drink Man Woman". Like "Eat Drink", all of the scenes in Mostly Martha are sensual or sensitive.
The scenes involving kitchen prep and the food preparation reflect the sensuality of food and the intimacy of a team working together in dance-like unison to turnout standout dishes; the freezer-retreat scenes reflect Martha's basic humanness and the need to check in with herself and her intensity; and the interactions between Martha and her niece quietly remind us that no one can expect everything to come naturally and in controllable form: you can be a great chef and that may be instinctual, but other things, including becoming a parent or parent figure, well, they require a certain open-mindedness and willingness to get outside of oneself, all of which Martha manages to do. [And, notably, something she does by slowly-but-surely letting others penetrate the quiet, careful world she had created.]
Mostly Martha is both mortar and pestle: it's the appeal of the simple, sparse, well prepared plate that finds room on the table for the overflowing, messy, yet still outstanding dish that is all about abundance. And that's what this movie is: perfectly balanced, just like the table at which Martha ultimately sits.
Movie Review: Just Finished Falling in Love ...
Summary: 5 Stars
With this movie!! I have never seen a German movie before, and I never thought the language was exactly romantic, but this film changed my mind. There was just enough dialog to help you understand the story, without senseless jabbering. The subtitles were subdued, so you weren't focused on the bottom of the screen. How could you be, when there are some absolutely beautiful actors!!Martina Gedeck is beautiful. Her character was so deep, and she portrayed her with charm and passion. She made me want to become a chef, but that quickly wore off. I particularly liked the scene where she hyperventilated over a messy kitchen.
Sergio Castellitto, while not the handsomest of men, made me fall in love with him the moment Martha walked into the kitchen and he was swooning over Dean Martin's sultry tones. Any man who loves Dean Martin is worth a second look. His ability to break through the barriers of both Martha and Lina was stunning. I never thought soup was sensuous until he served it.
And finally Maxime Foerste. While not the most amazing little girl I've seen, she has the ability to make a shouting match with an adult sound real, and not like a challenge to authority. She's able to play a sad and lonely little girl who comes to grips with her new life without making it a Hallmark moment. Life is not a Hallmark commercial.
I would recommend this movie to anyone who wants a stirred appetite, with a little romance thrown in.
Movie Review: Before You See "No Reservations", Check This Original
Summary: 5 Stars
By this time, many will have flocked to see "No Reservations" with Catherine Zeta-Jones, Aaron Eckhart, and Abigail Breslin. Well, I hope to convince you that it might be better to check out the movie that it was based on. I know that alot of people find subtitled films to be quite laborious. But, you will find that the plot of this German film moves quite nicely without requiring too much attention to the dialogue. In other films, if the movie moves too slowly, then you can forget about following the subtitles. The acting is superb as most foreign produced films go. Alot of the expressions go beyond the strict dialogue between actors. You really feel the pressure and conflict in their thoughts by their interactions with others in the kitchen and at home. By the end of the movie, you really want to find out more. I love how sometimes these foreign films leave the ending a little open-ended so that you can image how it ends up.
The DVD doesn't have too many frills but that's okay. The only frill is the original trailer of the movie. The subtitles are fine except there was a glitch in the middle where there were no subtitles. After a few minutes, there were subtitles but it could just be my copy. Other than that I have no complaints and probably will check out this remake later. However, I would recommend seeing this first before you see the glamorized version from Hollywood.
Movie Review: Such a nice movie! (boycott the remake...)
Summary: 5 Stars
This is one of the very very few true "food movie" masterpieces around, in the same category as Eat Drink Man Woman (which may be my all time favorite) and Babette's Feast. Even as a romantic comedy, this gem is top notch. Wonderfully acted, witty, original, at times funny and at times sad and often... yummy! The two main characters are perfect in their role, and you truly end up caring for them.
This movie is so good that... Hollywood, who is more and more running short of ideas, has decided to copy... and paste it. The remake now in theaters, for all of us who have seen this movie, will surely be a sad disappointment. Just watch the trailer, and see if Zeta-Jones can play this role, or if Eckart can be as good as Castellitto in this role. I do like both Zeta-Jones and Eckart, but it's just sad sad sad that nowadays Hollywood is reduced to recycle beautiful movies putting the usual good looking actors in places that do not belong to them. Let Zeta-Jones act in Zorro, and let folks who want to see Mostly Martha see Mostly Martha and not its lame remake.
My favorite quote from this movie, when Martha point out that there is something wrong with the sugar her shrink has used for a dessert: "can you really tell which sugar I have used???" and Martha replies: "No, but I can tell which one you did NOT use". Ah, wonderful!