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Review

Martha spends her weekly 50 minutes of analysis rhapsodically reciting recipes to her therapist. When he asks why she sees him, she matter-of-factly says that her boss would fire her if she didn’t. Martha is the chef at a posh gourmet restaurant. She’s a driven perfectionist who will not hesitate to tell a boorish patron that he’s a boor. Compromise and accommodation are not in her lexicon until tragic circumstances make her the caretaker of her eight-year-old niece. Added to this upheaval in her personal life is further disruption in her professional arena, as a new cook is hired for her kitchen without her knowledge, establishing a strong, warm presence where she had ruled with grim determination.

On the surface the familiar story of the compulsive career woman who gradually awakens to her feminine side, Mostly Martha is miraculously compassionate, intelligent, non-saccharine and witty; devoid of condescension or those annoying cultural, sexual stereotypes that informed the 1930s-'50s Hollywood version of the genre. Unlike, say, Ninotchka, Martha finds her way with personality and integrity intact.

The ensemble cast is perfection. Gedeck’s ability to communicate complexity with a minimum of dialogue is well utilized by the director (who answers the question “Then what happens?” with a delightful short montage under the closing credits). Castellitto effortlessly enters and dominates the screen as well as the kitchen. And Foerste is remarkable as the suddenly bereft child confronted by the brutal loss of a loving mother. Mostly Martha is expressive, poignant, deeply touching and wryly funny, a cautionary tale that instructs us that there are no foolproof recipes for living life. (German with English subtitles)