X
- 2024
- R
- Netflix
- 1 h 47 m
- 2024
- R
- Netflix
- 1 h 47 m
Summary In a dystopian London, the gap between rich and poor has been stretched to its limits. All forms of social housing have been eradicated and only The Kitchen remains. A community that refuses to move out of the place they call home. This is where we meet a solitary Izi, living here by necessity and desperately trying to find a way out, an...
Directed By: Daniel Kaluuya, Kibwe Tavares
Written By: Joe Murtagh, Amy Baty, Daniel Kaluuya
- 2024
- R
- Netflix
- 1 h 47 m
- 2024
- R
- Netflix
- 1 h 47 m
The Kitchen
66
5.5
Where to Watch
Summary In a dystopian London, the gap between rich and poor has been stretched to its limits. All forms of social housing have been eradicated and only The Kitchen remains. A community that refuses to move out of the place they call home. This is where we meet a solitary Izi, living here by necessity and desperately trying to find a way out, an...
Directed By: Daniel Kaluuya, Kibwe Tavares
Written By: Joe Murtagh, Amy Baty, Daniel Kaluuya
Where to Watch
Top Cast
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 24 Critic Reviews
66
50% Positive
12 Reviews
12 Reviews
50% Mixed
12 Reviews
12 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 24 Critic Reviews
66
50% Positive
12 Reviews
12 Reviews
50% Mixed
12 Reviews
12 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
The direction, by Kibwe Tavares and Daniel Kaluuya, is sure and unfussy, spinning a warmly humane story of cross-generational connection.
It’s a straightforward morality story at heart, reminiscent at times of A Bronx Tale and with a sagacious neighbourhood DJ (played, rather fabulously, by ex-footballer Ian Wright) cut from the same cloth as Do the Right Thing’s Mister Señor Love Daddy. Yet it is such a stunningly and meticulously designed film that it continually captivates.
User Score
Mixed or Average
Based on 14 User Ratings
5.5
43% Positive
6 Ratings
6 Ratings
43% Mixed
6 Ratings
6 Ratings
14% Negative
2 Ratings
2 Ratings
User Score
Mixed or Average
Based on 14 User Ratings
5.5
43% Positive
6 Ratings
6 Ratings
43% Mixed
6 Ratings
6 Ratings
14% Negative
2 Ratings
2 Ratings
What allows this drama-fiction to fall on its feet is its context, which is not far from reality, although its Achilles heel is its lack of speed. Those who expect something with more action, better look for other options.
Report
O primeiro filme de Daniel Kaluuya é extremamente satisfatório e convicnente, narrando um cenário meio distópico (mas nem tanto) onde se exacerba a desigualdade social e o modo de vida em guetos, tranquilamente inspirado nas favelizações das grandes cidades, conduzida por uma trama onde um garoto órfão irá buscar um fio de esperança de pertencimento e reencontro, com seus pares, num ambiente bem inóspito.
"The kitchen" é essa espécie de cortiço, mas onde as pessoas são majoritariamente pretas. É lá que mora o solitário Izi (Kane Robinson), em vias de mudar daquele lugar inseguro, onde ocorrem frequentes (e injustas) batidas policiais gratuitas (aliás, essa forçada para a polícia de fato ficou bem gratuita mesmo). O rapaz se sai muito bem no papel, com aquele olhar desolador. Ele trabalha numa espécie de funerária do futuro, que dialoga ironicamente com o movimento sobre sustentabilidade liberal (as pessoas morrem e podem virar árvore). É lá que Izi irá se deparar com o menino que acabara de perder a mãe, o doce Benji (Jedaiah Bannerman).
Gosto bastante da atuação dos dois, que tem a vida cruzada e apenas buscam meios para sobreviver. O cenário do "The kitchen" também está muito bem caracterizado. Infelizmente o roteiro derrapa ao apresentar os personagens secundários e a criar clímax redundante com as batidas policiais (que servem apenas para criar correrias desnecessárias). Claro que os moradores dos guetos têm na figura policial um típico poder repressor do Estado, mas aqui é meio maniqueísta esse uso (tão logo fechem a porta, a polícia não perturba mais). É meio risível até.
Há também algumas passagens letárgicas, que jogam contra o ritmo da trama, contribuindo para se estender mais do que o necessário. O final também não impressiona, embora seja acalentador.
Enfim, é um filme bonito, conta com uma boa produção de arte para garantir a imersão, e que revela certo domínio de Kaluuya em narrar sua história, marcada pela sua identidade preta, e ele ainda faz um apequena participação no longa. Vale a conferida.
Report
The Kitchen also has plenty of inventive ideas, creates heady atmospheres in both its dark and lighter moments, and features vivid performances with a large ensemble.
More a sacrifice bunt than a homerun, 'The Kitchen' is a commendable, if tame, addition to the dystopian sci-fi library that gets by on pure heart.
Ultimately, The Kitchen is a film with its heart set on two stories and only succeeds in telling one.
Not as revolutionary as Children Of Men, nor as wild as Attack The Block, The Kitchen is still solid British sci-fi with a social-realist flavour. An auspicious directorial debut from Tavares and Kaluuya.
Kaluuya co-wrote and co-directed the film, which may have nothing to do with its distracted focus and murky messaging. Or that may explain the movie’s failings entirely. Whatever the cause, it makes for a somewhat immersive mixed-bag of a movie, which puts a damper on any temptation to use “promising first film” in describing it.
Enjoyed the pseudo Cyberpunk setting and the core relationships are good. Its just overall pretty uninteresting and reaches a defacto non-ending.
Report
'The Kitchen,' Daniel Kaluuya's directorial debut, is a poor attempt to do something like Ladj Ly's 'Les Miserables'. This dystopian drama plants the seeds of something interesting with a possible future in which social housing problems provoke a fierce citizen defense of what little they have left. The problem is that the dramatic execution leaves much to be desired; the plot gets boring very quickly, and it's hard to get involved with the protagonists, who are very flat and unattractive. Kaluuya presents a sci-fi premise with potential, but his lack of experience as a writer and director is noticeable here.
Report
This film is set in a future London where all social housing is being eliminated. The last holdouts live in an area called The Kitchen that's constantly being raided by police. One resident (Kano) is saving to buy a home by working in a modern funeral facility, which is where he encounters a boy (Jedaiah Bannerman). While there some futuristic elements and the housing issue is constant, the crux of this story revolves around their uneasy relationship. Co-writer and co-director Daniel Kaluuya has guided the actors to create a meaningful relationship and there are some interesting community moments. Even so, there's not enough writing depth or directorial focus to make the story effective on an emotional level.
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Production Company
DMC Film,
59%,
Factory Fifteen,
Film4
Release Date Jan 19, 2024
Duration 1 h 47 m
Rating R
Tagline Strong roots grow in unlikely places
Awards
British Independent Film Awards
• 2 Wins & 2 Nominations
Palm Springs International Film Festival
• 1 Nomination
