First I want to say I was a bit nervous going to watch it because I am uncomfortable with gay sex scenes (there's 2 very brief scenes...wasn't too bad). The story is beautifully told and you do forget that Thomas is fully aware that Oren is married, that Oren is cheating on his wife, and that Thomas basically lied to Oren's family about who he is (although it appeared that maybe Oren's mother knew who Thomas was when no one else did which I wish they showed more of). The last 10 minutes could be interpreted in a few ways: 1. Oren is upset and sadden that he was discovered since he ended up falling in love with the widow (I don't think this is it) 2. Oren is upset and sadden that he was discovered since he felt for the first time to be a part of a family 3. Oren is upset and sadden that he was discovered since being with Oren's widow, family, and city made him feel like Oren was still alive (this is what I think he was feeling)In any case it ends with Oren's widow traveling to Berlin seeing Thomas leaving the bakery (he doesn't see her). This could imply different things such as: 1. She simply wanted to see where her husband's secret life originated from 2. She wanted to speak to Thomas 3. She just wanted cake (I LOLed in the theater when an elderly man said that loudly to his wife...he said something like "Well, maybe she just missed his cake!")Oren is frequently seen in flashbacks however you learn more about him upon his death...Thomas goes to his locker at the gym and finds condoms (could imply Oren was having an affair with someone in Israel or that he just hid his condoms in there before he sees Thomas), swim shorts, and a towel in it...Oren loved or deeply cared for Thomas as his widow finds a box with every receipt that Oren saved from his outings with Thomas, along with lists in Thomas's writing...Oren was going to leave his wife and son to be with Thomas (according to his widow), or maybe Oren had someone else in Germany?This is also one of those movies where one simple thing would have completely changed the outcome...Oren could have just left the box of his secret life in the gym locker as his identity wasn't discovered until Oren's widow found Oren's secret phone and heard Thomas's messages (that's another thing...Oren could have password protected his phone or voicemail!).In any case the character of Oren was truly a fascinating character to learn more about based on what he left behind. I also found myself sympathizing with Thomas despite him knowingly having an affair with a married man, and basically lying to Oren's family about his identity and why he was there. There was something truly sad about him and his life in the sense that baking and Oren was his life and that later baking and being a part of Oren's family gave him life through Oren's actual life.

A magnificent film. for the precise manner to build the emotions. for the art of detail. for impeccable performances. for gestures, silence and the breath of words. a film mixing in splendid manner the grace, the sensitivity, the clash of civilisations and the love stories. a graceful film. like the taste of a slice of Black Forest cake or the taste of cinnamon cookies. for me it was a revelation. because it is more than a good/beautiful film. it is more than a complex and almost mystic love story. it is more than a masterpiece. it is exactly the film who you need it.Sarah Adler , givind the salted gestures, words and emotions of her character. Tim Kalkhof creating a character of Romanticism in pure sense. the cooking becoming sensual and magic. all being absolutely perfect. delicate. convincing. and the package for the best gift. short, a graceful film.

I have just watched this movie today as part of London Film Festival. I loved it. It has such an incredible depth. Acting was amazing. It brought tears to my eyes, still I tremendously enjoyed it. Storytelling, depth of characters, score, locations everything beautifully fit with each other. I can't believe this is the first movie of the director. I am already a big fan and will look for more of his films in the future.

Tomas (Tim Kalkhof) works in a Berlin bakery (and from the looks of him, samples a lot of its wares - he would not be out of place on the attacking forward line-up of a rugby team). He is having an affair with Oren, an Israeli family man who visits Berlin once a month on business. Oren's visits unexpectedly stop and Tomas discovers he has been killed in an accident. Driven to find out about his late lover's family life, Tomas visits Jerusalem and - without her knowing who he really is - befriends Oren's wife Anat (Sarah Adler), even taking a job in her café, where his talent for baking soon prompts an increase in profits (even though, as a non-Jew in a kosher establishment, he is forbidden from operating the oven). Complications arise when Anat develops romantic feelings for the strong and mysterious German.This is a quiet film, with few major characters, minimal emotional outbursts and - beyond that huge, massive secret Tomas is keeping from Anat - few major plot developments (which is not to say there are not any eye-opening moments - while I normally find non-nude sex scenes disappointing, Tomas and Anat's initial coupling in the café kitchen - clothed and filmed from the shoulders up - is scorchingly erotic).For most of the film, Kalkhof shows little emotion, which makes the scene where he starts sobbing all the more effecting - he carries it off well. Adler is convincing as the woman getting used to premature widowhood and the responsibilities and opportunities it brings. I particularly liked Zohar Shtrauss as Anat's world-weary relative looking out for what he determines are her best interests.Despite the huge deception at the heart of it, this is a lovely romantic film which I shall definitely watch again. One criticism, though: in an era when a British television programme about people making cakes in a tent can be sold around the world to huge success, director Ofir Raul Graizer does not make enough of the baking scenes. Kalkhof has a pleasant face, but when he was at work in the kitchen I would have preferred fewer close-ups of it and more of what was going on in the mixing bowl!