Joining a new team is always challenging. However, if that team is made up of people who share your same passion, the entry process will be more bearable. Yes, this has already been said countless times. And yes, it has already been shown many times in the cinema. But it has hardly been done as in the kitchen brigadea film whose greatest virtue is that it converts numerous trite formulas into a perfectly well-defined narrative that is credible at all times and that reminds us that with our actions we can change the lives of those around us.
In this feel good movie, center is Cathy Marie (Audrey Lamy). She is the sous-chef in an acclaimed and prestigious restaurant. After a lawsuit with the owner of the place, the protagonist is fired from her and is forced to look for a new job, so she arrives at a shelter for migrants who have to stay in France to avoid being deported to their respective nations. The pay is decent and Cathy can sleep there, so she takes the job.
There’s no need to go into detail about what happens next because it’s basically nothing new. Suffice to say, to the beat of upbeat melodies, the star teaches youngsters the magic of cooking. At first she reluctantly accepts her position, and by the end she has changed her outlook on life. Everyone happy.
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However, what is remarkable about the film is how, despite having such a “textbook” narrative structure, it succeeds in its goal of shaking our guts and at the same time making us crack a smile. The director, Louis-Julien Petit, does everything he can to prevent the whole from being perceived as tedious and hackneyed, starting with the way he molds his characters, making them react to what happens to them without so much drama. Although that does not mean that the script (written by Petit himself together with Liza Benguigui-Duquesne and Sophie Bensadoun) forgets to give them conflicts that humanize them.
Actually yes the kitchen brigade turns out to be round is thanks to the fact that under its commercial manufacture it dares to smuggle something that is rarely seen these days: a story of friendship led by people who show their feelings without a filter, an issue that fits perfectly with the minimalist production design (by Arnaud Bounlort and Cécile Deleu).
But this beautiful naturalness is also approached from the narrative. The complicated past of the protagonists and their feelings are treated at all times and an exploration of their feelings as migrants is made, but without falling into the excess of moral lessons. Cathy doesn’t want to work at the shelter, but not because she’s unwilling to deal with the lives of the residents. No one here changes as a result of culture shock. The fact that they all come from countries with different cultures is not a resource used to build optimism. That is taken for granted and therefore refreshing for the formula. We are all different, although we can do the same. There is no room for discrimination of any kind. Do you have the motivation to do something? You are in the group!
In that sense, the film triumphs, since it does not use its conventions for the usual. So much so that even food is not important. Come on, there are only two scenes dedicated to showing the art of creating a saucer. What is really meant is that the capabilities of all the people who make up a team should be appreciated. Opening the doors of a new reality to someone else should be the most normal thing in the world. But you have to keep them open. They should never be closed.
Due to the health crisis caused by COVID-19, at Cine PREMIERE we recommend that you review the necessary health measures with the health authorities (especially the General Guidelines for the mitigation and prevention of COVID-19 in closed public spaces) before going to the cinema to watch a movie.
Jose Roberto Landaverde Film buff and music lover. I am fascinated by writing, listening, reading and commenting on everything related to the seventh art. I am a fan of Rocky and Back to the Future and of course one day I will climb the “Philly Steps” and drive a DeLorean. Faithful believer that the cinema is the best teleportation machine, and also that we can all see ourselves represented on the big screen. Constantly, like Scott Pilgrim, I ask myself: “Does bread make you fat?”