Mostly Martha

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Mostly Martha ★★★ Drei Sterne; Bella Martha 2001 (PG)

Martha, a top chef at a fancy French restaurant in Hamburg, is so obsessed with her job that she really only connects with life through food. Things get stirred up when two new ingredients are added. First, a new souschef (Castellitto), scruffy and care-free as opposed to Martha's icy professionalism, enters her kitchen. Then, she takes in her 8-year-old neice (Foerste) after the death of the child's mother (Martha's sister). Appealing romantic comedy benefits form excellent performances by the leads, as well director Nettlebeck's assured style. German with subtitles. 107m/C VHS, DVD . GE AT SI IT Martina Gedeck, Sergio Castellitto, Ulrich Thomsen, Maxime Foerste, Sibylle Canonica, August Zirner; D: Sandra Nettelbeck; W: Sandra Nettelbeck; C: Michael Bertl.