Greek-German Zinos Kazantsakis operates the rundown working-class Wilhelmsburg restaurant Soul Kitchen. He has money struggles. Sokrates works on his boat in the adjacent storage but never seems to pay Zinos rent. During a family dinner at a high-class restaurant, he sees arrogant chef Shayn getting fired and hires him on the spot. His girlfriend Nadine leaves for China and later he decides to go to her. His convict brother Illias gets leave from prison and convinces Zinos to sign off on work release. Zinos hurts his back trying to move in a replacement dishwasher. With no health insurance, he gets help from physical therapist Anna. Tax collectors confiscate his sound system. Shayn changes the menu driving away the regulars. Former classmate and sleazy developer Thomas Neumann wants to buy the restaurant and secretly calls in the health department. New customers love the food and soon it becomes a gastronomical success. Waitress Lucia hates Illias until she finds out that he's a bad boy criminal. He's a degenerate gambler but Zinos gives him power of attorney.The story is a bit rambling with a lot of turns. It's got a jazzy rocking feel. It works well enough. It's got its fun. The jam-packed story may work even better as a TV show. As for the food porn aspect, the most memorable scene is Shayn taking apart fish sticks and french fries to create a high-class plate.

This is my second review for a film on IMDb. I'm writing only when I like a film very much. And, I'm writing only when I'm inspired to write something original, not just to recount again and again the plot, as do so many here on IMDb... This film is successful in all respects, great script, great cinematography, great everything. The actors, all simply compete against each other by their natural talent. The music is just fantastic. Being an actor myself, I would gladly like to film with Faith Akin, he's simply a guy who knows his job. Several years ago I watched HEAD-ON. Recently I saw also THE CUT, another masterpiece signed Faith Akin, so I know what I'm saying. 10 out of 10.

Yes, top marks for this astonishing German (yes!) film, that is set in the industrial suburbs of a German city, featuring the beat-up soup kitchen run by the lead in an old factory, who cooks out of packages for local rough-necks. His brother turns up, on parole from prison, and asks for a do-nothing job. That's the beginning of the riot this movie turns into, as the cafe becomes a top attraction, with hordes of dancers, a DJ and a great (very moody) cook supplying gourmet dishes. Sadly, the lead's tall, gorgeous girl-friend's work takes her to Shanghai and he attempts to follow. Meanwhile his "friend", a property developer, cheats his brother out of the restaurant he is minding. It's an action-packed story, completely devoid of violence, with some funny sex: altogether a charming picture that freshens you right up. Strongly recommended.

Toned down a bit in the sex and drugs area this could probably make a terrific kids film. It's a very obvious, ham-fisted fairy tale, which moves at a cracking pace, and rejoices in cartoon characters, plotting and visuals. That's not to say that kids only like their entertainment ham- fisted, but Soul Kitchen is a very basic romp, in which most of the cast are way over the top, and enjoying themselves enormously - often more than the audience. One of the major problems for me is that Herr Bleibtreu simply isn't funny. And there's too much of him not being funny, and not being - even for an instant - credibly Greek. It's good to see Udo Keir in a minor role, and being commendably restrained (what else could he do - surrounded by all the scenery chewing and eye-popping from his colleagues?) Nevertheless, this is a very well- meant 5 course meal, with lashings of sauce. You may wish that some of the jokes could not have been quite so overcooked, but you'll not leave the cinema bloated.