Soul Kitchen
IFC Films | Release Date: August 20, 2010 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
76
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 20 Critic Reviews
Positive:
19
Mixed:
1
Negative:
0
Watch Now
Stream On

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
90
The New York TimesStephen Holden
Its insistent zaniness makes Soul Kitchen very different in spirit from Mr. Akin's two previous films, "Head-On" and "The Edge of Heaven," which established him as a major European filmmaker. Seriously silly, it evokes the same high-spirited, pan-European multiculturalism in which people of all ages and backgrounds blithely traverse national borders as they aggressively pursue their destinies. Read full review
90
Chicago ReaderJ.R. Jones
Akin perfectly captures the antic pace, eccentric personalities, and fickle fortunes of the restaurant game, and his vision of the Soul Kitchen as an all-night bacchanal is irresistible. Read full review
85
MovielineStephanie Zacharek
This is a picture whose dance steps are determined by any number of mishaps and misfortunes; like the dance floor of a great club on a good night, it's gorgeous, unruly and exhilarating all at once. Read full review
83
The A.V. ClubScott Tobias
Soul Kitchen plays everything big and loud-and sometimes too doggedly conventional-but it's the rare example of a crowd-pleaser made without cynicism or calculation. Read full review
80
SlateDana Stevens
Soul Kitchen is sprawling, undisciplined, raucous, occasionally crass-and so full of life you forgive it everything. Read full review
80
Time OutJoshua Rothkopf
His (Fatih Akin) new movie, an occasionally shouty comedy, is easily his most fun. Read full review
80
The New YorkerAnthony Lane
Not to warm to this movie would be churlish, and foodies will drool on demand. Read full review
80
Wall Street JournalJoe Morgenstern
Who knew this German-born Turkish filmmaker could perpetrate a delirious farce-in German and Greek with good English subtitles-that doesn't flag for a single one of its 99 minutes? Read full review
80
Los Angeles TimesKenneth Turan
There's no denying that Soul Kitchen is a film that delights in contrivance and improbability, but it does so with such a big-hearted sense of fun that it is hard not to be swept away. Read full review
75
Boston GlobeWesley Morris
This is a party, and you're either having a good time or wondering when Akin is going to get down to business. But for an hour and a half, fun is the business. Read full review
75
Philadelphia InquirerSteven Rea
Zany screwball farce. Read full review
75
Chicago TribuneMichael Phillips
The funky, enjoyable Hamburg-set comedy Soul Kitchen is a celebration of co-writer-director Fatih Akin's home base, a spacious, moody city of apparently limitless industrial warehouse space - like Chicago. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleWalter Addiego
This new picture is mainly in the spirit of fun, a loose, generally good-natured comedy with screwball overtones. Read full review
70
NPRJeannette Catsoulis
Turkish-German filmmaker Fatih Akin isn't exactly known for slapstick, so Soul Kitchen has the feel of a palate cleanser. After the hard-edged drama of "Head-On" and "The Edge of Heaven," this boisterous comedy milling with scruffy misfits goes down more easily than an oyster on the half shell. Read full review
70
The Hollywood ReporterRay Bennett
In a fine ensemble with many well-drawn smaller characters, Bleibtreu ("Run Lola Run", "The Baader-Meinhof Complex") as the hapless brother, Unel ("Head On") as the fussy chef and Bederke, as a waitress, all stand out. Read full review
70
Village VoiceNicolas Rapold
Since the filmmaker's main agenda here is to keep things bumping along, the fraught situations are happily played and funk-scored as crowd-pleasing rather than issue-stroking. Read full review
67
Christian Science MonitorPeter Rainer
The humor is broad, the jokes not of the first freshness, and the cast, especially Bousdoukus, is hammy. And, for the record, the upscale menu, which is supposed to be scrumptious, doesn't look as tasty as the downscale one. Read full review
67
Portland OregonianShawn Levy
There's a breeziness to Soul Kitchen, good performances by Moritz Bleibtreu as Zinos' slippery brother and Birol Unel as his fanatical new chef, and a peppy soundtrack. Read full review
63
ReelViewsJames Berardinelli
The only reason Soul Kitchen is being marketed as an "art film" in the United States is because it is subtitled. On merit, this is as mainstream as one can imagine - a generic, feel-good plot that's fit for a sit-com. Call it My Big Fat Greek Restaurant. Read full review
50
New York PostV.A. Musetto
There are moments of fun (an aphrodisiac-laced dessert, for example), but generally the humor seems warmed-over. Read full review
More From This Movie

76 Critic Reviews

7.6 User Reviews

Details & Credits|Trailers

Current Movie Releases
By MetascoreBy User Score
1 81 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple
2 77 Project Hail Mary
3 75 Send Help
4 73 Hoppers
5 72 The Sheep Detectives
SEE ALL
Essential Links
New on Amazon Prime Video
New on Netflix
Coming Soon to DVD/Blu-ray
SEE ALL