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Kitchen Stories (2003)

tomatometer

89

Average Rating: 7.3/10
Reviews Counted: 75
Fresh: 67 | Rotten: 8

By turns touching and funny, this Norwegian import offers quietly absorbing commentary on modern life and friendship.

96

Average Rating: 7.1/10
Critic Reviews: 25
Fresh: 24 | Rotten: 1

By turns touching and funny, this Norwegian import offers quietly absorbing commentary on modern life and friendship.

audience

86

liked it
Average Rating: 4/5
User Ratings: 4,756

My Rating

Movie Info

Director Bent Hamer's comedy drama Salmer Fra Kjøkkenet (Kitchen Stories) is based on the real-life social experiments conducted in Sweden during the 1950s. In the years following WWII, a research institute sets out to modernize the home kitchen by observing a handful of rural Norwegian bachelors. In the small town of Landstad, middle-aged Isak (Joachim Calmeyer) is one such research subject who regrets ever agreeing to participate in the study. Nevertheless, he is observed by Folke (Tomas

PG, 1 hr. 35 min.

Drama, Art House & International, Comedy

Jörgen Bergmark, Bent Hamer

Dec 14, 2004

IFC Films

Cast

All Critics (85) | Top Critics (28) | Fresh (69) | Rotten (8) | DVD (8)

An ingeniously dry and bittersweet comedy about that 1940s and '50s research.

November 29, 2004 Full Review Source: Orlando Sentinel | Comment
Orlando Sentinel
Top Critic IconTop Critic

A prime piece of comic anthropology.

August 7, 2004 Full Review Source: New York Magazine | Comment
New York Magazine
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A thoroughly charming oddity. And, in the end, a moving one, too.

April 22, 2004 Comment
Philadelphia Inquirer
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Kitchen Stories is so subtle that many viewers will not be aware that it's screamingly funny.

April 15, 2004 Full Review Source: Arizona Republic | Comment
Arizona Republic
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The droll humour, penned by Hamer with collaborator Jorgen Bergmark, works best at a non-verbal level, when the well-cast Isak and Folke are silently sizing each other up.

March 26, 2004 Full Review Source: Toronto Star | Comment
Toronto Star
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Don't expect a profound dish. Do prepare for a light meal with enough oddball humor to maintain involvement.

March 26, 2004 Comment
Denver Rocky Mountain News
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The charm and chemistry of the two leads and subtle, wry moments of humor make for an endearing entertainment.

December 28, 2008 Full Review Source: TheMovieReport.com | Comment
TheMovieReport.com

Not the sort of film you'd want a steady diet of, but as a change of pace from the ordinary, it's well worth a look.

February 16, 2005 Full Review Source: Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC) | Comment
Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)

One of those rare winning exceptions to the axiom that movies should move, this one shows what advantage can be earned when men of good will sit still together.

November 24, 2004 Full Review Source: Orlando Weekly | Comment
Orlando Weekly

What you're left with is a relationship between two men that is untouched by macho posturing or any trace of anxiety -- and a perfect respite from the action flick mentality.

June 17, 2004 Comment
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

What starts as a satire of the methodical, modernity-seeking society in Sweden ends as a heartwarming dramatic comedy in Norway.

June 11, 2004 Full Review Source: Miami Herald | Comment
Miami Herald
More Critic Reviews

Audience Reviews for Kitchen Stories

One of the more interesting and charming films I've seen. A lesson of friendship, communication, and the need for human interaction. The movie centers around a research study focusing on the kitchen routines and habits of single men in early 1950's Norway. The researchers are supposed to observe from a high chair in

January 10, 2010
banzaibrother
George Kiriyama

Super Reviewer

A quirky comedy from Norway about the budding friendship between two men thrown together through a research project regarding the kitchen habits of single men. Slow but with loads of subtle humour. Charming and rather touching.

March 25, 2009
littlecharmer1959
Emily B.

Super Reviewer

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Foreign Titles

  • Salmer Fra Kjokkenet - Kitchen Stories (UK)
  • Kitchen Stories (Salmer fra kjøkkenet) (CA)
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