Customer Reviews

Mostly Martha [VHS]

5 star:		(79)
4 star:		(24)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

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.

I have a common complaint that great European films are often killed by brain-dead U.S. marketing campaigns - usally these are excellent light dramas absurdly cast as screwball comedies. The most egregious example is "East is East," in which an outstanding film bears absolutely zero correlation to the description of it on a stupefyingly dumb U.S.-issued VHS coverbox.

"Mostly Martha" suffers from some of that. This is an excellent movie - a feel good piece without pandering. Martina Gedeck's outstanding portrayal of "Martha" is well worth your money. This got buried quickly in the U.S. because I felt like it was marketed to highlight the 'screwball' relationship between Martha and Mario...of course, their relationship is anything but & comprises only one-third of the story or so.

I urge you to pick this up when it becomes available on DVD - you're in for a real treat.

"Food is a great passion of mine, and I think it is one of the best visual and most sensual metaphors life has to offer." ~Sandra Nettelbeck, German Director

Martha (Marina Gedeck) is a sexy chef living her life in a very organized fashion. She is single, doesn't have any children and seems to have found the perfect job. As a chef, she takes great pride in her creations and is even willing to confront customers who question her cooking skills, especially if they involve a discussion of how Duck Foie Gras should be cooked. As a perfectionist, she refuses to accept that anything could be wrong with her world, her gourmet cooking or her opinions on food preparation.

What Martha is really lacking is an ability to open up her heart and allow love to flow to those around her. She has a passion for cooking, but not for life. While she seems to take pleasure in her cooking, she doesn't seem to have a sense of humor about her world. Restaurant manager, Frida (Sibylle Canonica), insists that she go to therapy and yet, she rarely deals with her inner world, she is more concerned about recipes. She leaves her therapist (August Zirner) rather confused as he can't figure out why she is in therapy. Even when her sister is in an accident, she deals with the pain by thinking about a Lobster's death.

When an accident leaves her eight-year-old niece, Lina (Maxine Foerste), in need of care, Martha's heart starts to open to the world. Together Lina and Martha take a journey to healing that is not without conflict. Martha not only accepts Lina into her home, she also vows to find Lina's father. I like the way the director doesn't spoon feed the audience, there are often items you don't fully understand until much later in the movie.

Taking on these new responsibilities and dealing with her own sense of loss leaves Martha unable to work for a short period of time. During this time, the restaurant manager hires an eccentric Italian chef. Mario (Sergio Castellitto) is just perfect in this role and introduces a conflict Martha is not equipped to deal with on any level. I loved his sense of humor, the way he played Italian songs in the kitchen and how he inspired frivolity and a joy for life in everyone around him.

While Marina Gedeck adds a sexy beauty to this movie, Sergio Castellitto adds warmth and romance. Martha really becomes like a little piece of chocolate melting in his mouth. If you can imagine how frosty she is at first and then how Mario makes her feel when he finally kisses her.

Some of Martha's facial expressions had me laughing because she is so serious amidst the utter comedy of various situations. I think I could relate to her near "panic attack" when she saw what happened to her own kitchen when Mario comes over to make dinner. That is my favorite scene besides the amazing kissing scene and the picnic scene. There is so much to love in this movie!

"Mostly Martha" is one of those unforgettable "foodie" movies you could watch three times in a row because it makes your world feel sane, calm and comforting. It was shot on locations in and around Hamburg, Germany and in some beautiful locations in Italy. The soundtrack takes this story to new levels and there is an element of intimacy that runs through the entire movie. This movie is thoughtful, romantic and there are wonderful scenes of delicious gourmet cooking.

If you enjoy this movie, you might enjoy other "foodie" movies like:

Scent of Green Papaya - Exotic cooking
Eat Drink Man Woman - Chef Theme
Simply Irresistible - Chef Theme
My Big Fat Greek Wedding - restaurant theme
Chocolat -Chocolate, need we say more?
Babette's Feast - A cold, dreary world warmed by an amazing dinner
Tortilla Soup - Family & Fun, this is a version of Eat Drink Man Woman, chef theme

~The Rebecca Review

This is the story of a beautiful, obcessive gourmet chef who is a master in the kitchen, but struggles with human relationships, whether with a complaining restaurant customer. an exhuberant Italian chef who adores her, or her 8 year old niece. The photography alone is worth seeing this movie, from the food preparation shots to her psychiatrist's minimalist office. The warmth and main interest come from Gedick's performance, which is subtle and beautifully arresting. She is a consummate actress and I wish she would make American films! Obviously difficulties in being a new parent (her niece comes to live with her after Martha's sister dies)and being loved by a passionate but patient man (The Italian chef) arise. But it works out naturally and we see Martha grow from the difficulties and become
an even more beautiful and whole woman. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS.

This is much, much more than another great food movie--although it's definitely got some wonderful food happening. What's impressive here is the directorial restraint--the audience is allowed to decide for themselves what Martha's background might have been to see her into adulthood so detached from people that her entire life has become her career. The kitchen is where Martha lives; it is her dominion. The food she produces (unlike her life) is flawless. Beyond the confines of the restaurant, things are random, uncontrollable; nothing coalesces the way her perfect recipes do.
With the arrival of her orphaned niece into her life and a second (Italian) chef at the restaurant, life, in spite of Martha's best efforts, begins to leak in around the edges of her fiercely maintained control--of herself and of her kitchen. There are moments of great yet gentle humor and moments of confused pain as emotions begin to grow in Martha--visibly an alien experience.
This is a wise film, filled with insight and humor; the soundtrack is wonderful and the resolution is immensely satisfying.
Not to be missed. Most highly recommended.

This film was wonderfully done. Moving, beautifully shot and acted, the story was thoroughly enjoyed, but the DVD has a serious flaw for those unable to follow german dialog. The English subtitling often fails. It isn't merely a problem of words lost in translation, but the entire translation going missing. Frequently, lines and lines of major dialog went by with absolutely no translation ever appearing as subtitles. Sprechen Sie keine Deutsch und vielen interessantes weissen sie nicht! Thankfully we could make out most of the untranslated dialog, but the authoring effort for the subtitles was well subpar. I'd still recommend the film, but more is lost than usual in translation.

I just saw this today and wonder why in the world this didn't get a wider US release. It's a charming little movie with wonderful acting that deserves a bigger audience. It's not really a classic, but it's better than 95% of what's been in theaters this year.

Martina Gedeck, who plays Martha, is great actress who I'd love to see more of. Her performance is very lifelike, Martha's actions always seem like those of real person. Though she can be very stubborn, we really feel for her.

Maxime Foerste, as Lina, gives one of greatest performances by a child I have ever seen. Again, very lifelike and touching.

Segio Castellitto's Italian cook Mario is more of a stereotype, reminding one of Jean Reno in one of his lighter roles. I think this mostly a writing problem, and Castellitto does a very good job with what's he's given.

Overall, I highly recommend you watch this movie (assuming you can find it).

Martha needs to exert control on her life. We all do. What makes us sad about her, is that she limits her life to the only thing she can perfectly master, which is cooking. She could feel, she could hear, she could cry out, she could love. But she doesn't. Or does she? What do you think?!

This movie is about two basic issues: significant others' role in healing psychological wounds and different approaches to perfection, the creative one versus the controlling one. I'm not completely satisfied about how the movie deals with the first of these issues. I think in real life things don't go so straight. Love doesn't cure, although it may be a big source of energy for that strength that you must basically have already in yourself. About the second issue, I like the comparison between the two cooking styles, but still I feel much more could have been said or shown.

Being Italian, what strikes me most in this movie is that it can be read as a love declaration to my country's culture, food, music and humanity. The two Italian men, far from being machos or mafia-bosses, truly represent the good natured, caring personality of many of my compatriots. I really appreciate the director's attention not to fall into stereotypes, and it impressed me that many little sentences were left in Italian, without any kind of translation, as if everybody knew their meaning.

If you enjoyed the main actor's performance, you might also like "Il Grande Cocomero" (The Great Pumpkin), by Francesca Achibugi, where Sergio Castellitto plays the role of a psychologist, dealing with a bunch of unforgettable kids.
If you've been loving the songs that are played over and over through the movie and you made the firm decision to look for that CDs whenever you'll have time, here are some clues:
- "It's wonderful", by Paolo Conte
- "Attenti al lupo", by Lucio Dalla
- the much loved "Volare", by Domenico Modugno

After watching recent hyper-energy German films like "Run Lola Run" and "The Bandits" (not to be confused with Bruno's) it is almost unbelievable that "Mostly Martha," tender and affectionate film, comes from Germany. Though "Martha" is as predictable as any light-weight romantic drama in Hollywood, and you will not see red-haired Lola running wildly on the streets of Berlin, you will still be enchanted by the film as well.

Martha is, according to her employer's words, "the second best" chef in Hamburg, Germany; she carefully prepares every details in "her" kitchen. She always cooks her food perfectly, and she is proud of that. But perhaps too careful because when she goes to the therapist, all she talks about is about cuisines.

Then an orphaned girl Lina, daughter of her sister, lands at her door, but because of the recent shock she received, Lina closes her heart, refusing to eat anything. Moreover, another uninvited person barges into her life: an Italian chef Mario, who is newly hired in "her" kitchen, and he likes to sing along with a tape of Dean Martin song.

Does Martha come to like them? understanding that there's another way of life? You know the answer for sure. But the predictable plot does not mean that "Mostly Martha" is mostly uninteresting. Not at all. Martha's complex relations with Lina is a credible one, and Martina Gedeck's fine performance as her greatly helps. You may say that the images of Italian male Mario is not surprising at all -- fun-loving and outgoing -- rather clithe; but Sergio Castellitto, a famous Italian actor (in "The Great Pumpkin" and "The Star Maker") is engaging enough for us to sustain our interest in those characters. Ultimately, the film is about this person Martha, and as far as that goes, the film is excellent.

The contrast between cold Germany and warm Italy is no news (and actually, the northern part of Italy is very cold in winter). However, just like the film's quirky music, the borderline gradually melts away, and you will find a very warm place in this German city, and Martha's heart. And the images you have about those German people might undergo a little change, too.

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.