As "The Kitchen" (2023 release from the UK; 107 min) opens, we are introduced to Isaac (a/ka/ "Izi"), a black man who lives in the Kitchen Community Center, in a dystopian future London. He works at Life After Life, a funeral home cum ecological restauration center. There he makes the acquaintance of Benji, a teenage boy whose mother (and frind of Izi) just passed away... At this point we are 10 minutes into the movie.
Couple of comments: this is the directing debut of Kibwe Tavares and Daniel Kaluuya. Academy Award winning actor Kaluua ("Judas and the Black Massiah") also co-wrote the script. The movie does not tell us exactly what year this takes place, but it feels like in the not too distant future (say, late 2030s?). Alas the future looks very bleak, certainly if you are black and poor. At times the atmosphere in the Kitchen area reminds of what we saw of downtown LA in the original Blade Runner (which is set in 2019). But of course here it goes much deeper, as the film makers dig into the social injustice issues which from the looks of it will not disappear any time soon, and unprovoked police brutality is still thriving. British actor and musician Kane Robertson (a/k/a Kano) is outstanding as Izi, as is Jedaiah Bannerman (a newcomer for me) as the teenage boy Benji. Last but not least, kudos to the production team for designing the eerie production sets that show us London in a way we have not seen before.
"The Kitchen" premiered at the London Film Festival last October to immediate critical acclaim. The movie is currently rated 86% Certified Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, and for good reason. I read an interesting review of it in this Friday's New York Times, and immediately made amental note to check it out. The movie started streaming on Netflix this weekend, and I watched it last night. If you are in the mood for a so(m)ber sci-fi movie about how a dystopian London deals with tough social issues, I'd readily suggest you check it out and draw your own conclusion.
Couple of comments: this is the directing debut of Kibwe Tavares and Daniel Kaluuya. Academy Award winning actor Kaluua ("Judas and the Black Massiah") also co-wrote the script. The movie does not tell us exactly what year this takes place, but it feels like in the not too distant future (say, late 2030s?). Alas the future looks very bleak, certainly if you are black and poor. At times the atmosphere in the Kitchen area reminds of what we saw of downtown LA in the original Blade Runner (which is set in 2019). But of course here it goes much deeper, as the film makers dig into the social injustice issues which from the looks of it will not disappear any time soon, and unprovoked police brutality is still thriving. British actor and musician Kane Robertson (a/k/a Kano) is outstanding as Izi, as is Jedaiah Bannerman (a newcomer for me) as the teenage boy Benji. Last but not least, kudos to the production team for designing the eerie production sets that show us London in a way we have not seen before.
"The Kitchen" premiered at the London Film Festival last October to immediate critical acclaim. The movie is currently rated 86% Certified Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, and for good reason. I read an interesting review of it in this Friday's New York Times, and immediately made amental note to check it out. The movie started streaming on Netflix this weekend, and I watched it last night. If you are in the mood for a so(m)ber sci-fi movie about how a dystopian London deals with tough social issues, I'd readily suggest you check it out and draw your own conclusion.