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I’ll
admit that I regularly judge a DVD by its cover. It may not be the right way to go about
selecting a movie to watch—and it doesn’t always work as well as I’d like—but it’s often
just the way things happen. And that’s how I found Bella Martha (or Mostly
Martha in English). The cover compared it to Chocolat, a film that I
absolutely loved—so I figured I couldn’t go wrong with something
similar…
Mostly Martha stars Martina Gedeck as Martha, a
perfectionist whose life revolves around her job. She’s the head chef of a restaurant
where the staff works hard and the customers gush with compliments (and those who dare to
complain are given a severe tongue-lashing by the obstinate head chef). Even in Martha’s
weekly therapy sessions, she talks about nothing but food. And she’s always so busy
cooking that—despite her obviously lonely existence—she has no time for anything
else.
All that changes, however, when Martha’s sister is killed in an
accident, and Martha is left to care for her stubborn eight-year-old niece, Lina (Maxime
Foerste). While Martha is struggling to adjust to taking care of a child, her boss hires
an eccentric new Italian chef, Mario (Sergio Castellitto), whose presence in her kitchen
makes Martha feel all the more threatened. But, together, Lina and Mario teach Martha
that it’s okay to open up and accept others into her life.
Mostly
Martha is a German romantic comedy—though it’s not heavy on the comedy, like many
American romantic comedies. Since it’s basically a chick flick (yes, they do make fluffy
chick flicks in different languages), it’s not a particularly moving film. And it’s
pretty predictable (Martha hates Mario when they meet—can you predict what
happens? I can…). But it’s a good film anyway. The characters are lovable, despite (or
perhaps because of) their quirks—especially Mario. And while the film isn’t as visually
beautiful as Chocolat, there are a number of similarities—including some
breathtakingly sensual scenes (isn’t it amazing how sensual food can be?).
It may not be the perfect film, but if you loved Chocolat—and you
have a penchant for the occasional chick flick—you’ll find that Mostly Martha is
mostly marvelous.
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