Fish Story & Soul Kitchen
A fish story is:
n. Informal. An implausible, boastful story.
And yes. The world is supposed to go under in 2012 and supposedly the punk song Fish Story will safe the world. But we’re in Tokyo, Japan, and everything is possible. The film takes us back and forth through time between 1975 to 2012 where we meet different people. Slowly a pattern arises and we start to see the connections. But only until the very end do we get the real “aha” experience.
The company consisting of my mother, the boyfriend, the K and yours truly all agreed that is was a good story, told with wit, humor and nostalgia topped up with a twist of judgement day scepticism/belief.
Worth seeing because of the warmth, the absolutely fascinating characters, and the evolving plot.
To generalize I believe the Germans are very good at making films. I haven’t seen one even slightly rubbish German movie so far in my life. Die Welle, Das leben der anderen, Nordwand, Keinohrhasen and now Soul Kitchen. A fun, warm drama with an appealing plot. A worn down restaurant needs to shape up - for both clients and the IRS. The owner hires a recently unemployed gourmet chef for the task while he tries to find out what to do with his girlfriend who just moved to Shanghai. Lots of laugh, fun and music this one.
Worth seeing because of the transformation in atmosphere, the IRS lady and the “just-outta-jail” brother who predictively adds some twist and turns to the story.
