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On Friday, January 19, the fantasy drama Kitchen was released on Netflix, which marked the feature directorial debut of the tandem of Kibvi Tavares and Daniel Kaluuya, known for their acting work (Black Panther, No). In this review, we will find out whether their efforts can be considered successful and what this mysterious film, about which not so much was known before the premiere, offers the viewer.

Pros:

the story of the central characters is moderately interesting; an attempt to express an important social commentary; high-quality setting of the London of the near future; good acting

Cons:

on an emotional level, the movie leaves almost indifferent; minimal presence of the fantastic component itself; the overall length of the story is not always beneficial

“Kitchen” / The Kitchen

Genre fantastic drama
Directors Kibwi Tavares, Daniel Kaluuya
In roles Kane Robinson, Jedayah Bannerman, Hope Ikpoku Jr., Theya Cubs, Demmy Ladipo, Ian Wright
Premiere Netflix
Graduation year 2024
Site IMDb

London, near future. Among numerous buildings and ready-to-use luxurious houses, there is a poor residential complex known as the Kitchen. It is made up of a predominantly black population who flatly refuse to leave their homes, despite total gentrification by the government for the sake of all-conquering capitalism.

Constantly surrounded by police drones, which sometimes become victims of the entertainment of local Spaniards, the complex experiences constant disconnections of utility services and cannot offer residents comfortable living conditions. Moreover, it is subject to constant police raids, as a result of which some residents are forced to leave. But even under such sad circumstances, life is raging here, a sense of general unity and one carefree radio presenter is conducting the broadcast.

Izzy lives in one of the local shacks and works in an ecological funeral home. He plans to leave the Kitchen as soon as possible and get a nice one, from the window of which the London Eye will be within arm’s reach. But one day a man meets a 12-year-old teenager, Benji, whose mother died the day before. Apparently, Izzy had some sort of shared past with her, so getting to know someone small risks having a big impact on life alone.

The Kitchen is the debut feature for British director and architect Kibvi Tavares and famous Oscar-winning actor Daniel Kalui, who you have seen in many Hollywood films, including directed by Jordan Peele. The influence of the latter can be felt with a naked eye, because behind the fantastic setting of the future there is a distinct social subtext. In addition, there is an attempt here to one degree or another to distinguish itself in the territory of Mathieu Kassowitz and Spike Lee. By the way, one of the producers was Michael Fassbender.

But, unlike Peele, Tavares and Kaluuya in their dystopian plot do not try to disguise some hidden thought or to give out social satire. While the social commentary is obvious, at times it gives way too dramatically to the central dramatic story of Izzy and Benjy’s relationship. These two are essentially strangers, perhaps even father and son, who happen to find each other. And at the same time, probably, the meaning of life.

The story develops leisurely, and the fantastic component becomes only an auxiliary tool in the development of an extremely down-to-earth drama. There is not even a clearly expressed conflict in the film, because the systematic clashes between the residents of Kuhni and the police are unlikely to attract this status. The main conflicts take place within the characters.

“The Kitchen” is not just another entertaining weekend premiere from Netflix. This is good, at least because the weekly supply of monotonous clichéd plots risks causing an overdose (and even a harmful effect, as for the author of these lines, but let’s not be sad). This, excuse the pun, is a completely sad and in every sense gloomy movie, infinitely far from the ambition to entertain the viewer, which means that it will at least slightly diversify the colorful Netflix catalog of new products.

The drama between Tavares and Kalua, with the co-participation of screenwriter Joe Merta (“Gangs of London”, “The Woman in the Wall”), was not emotional, but surprisingly restrained.

The lion’s share of the feelings of the main characters is felt intuitively, without words. This allows you to follow their actions and relationships with some interest, but forces you to remain mostly a detached observer. It will be enough for someone, others probably won’t like it.

Lead actor Kane Robinson, also known as British rapper and songwriter Kano, wears a completely sad face throughout the film, but it’s appropriate here. More surprising is the young Jedi Bannerman, who perfectly played a teenager with a tragic fate. English football player Ian Wright, a former player of Arsenal, West Ham and the England national team, who turned into an ironic radio host, can also be seen in the frame.

Western critics unanimously declare that the creators managed to voice a topical statement about housing for Great Britain, but you can see here the meanings that are relevant for us. In fact, the long-suffering Kitchen is Ukraine itself, which the maddened enemy is trying to destroy in order to build something of its own on the blood and ruins. But even despite blackouts, continuous drones in the sky, missile attacks, etc. our society continues to work. Work and live as much as possible.

“Kitchen” will clearly disappoint fans of purely fantastic cinema, because although the genre is performed in the film at an appropriate level, its presence is limited. The film can be carefully recommended to fans not so much of dystopias as of meditative dramas, where the infinitely sad look of the characters will be much more telling than any words.

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Conclusion:

Netflix is ​​finally releasing not another clichéd one-dayer for the weekend, but not everyone will like the proposed alternative either.