Location: Spain
Directed by Elizabeth Harrison
Written by Paul Haggis
Music by John Williams
Drama
Main Cast
Penélope Cruz (Amanda Martínez)
Helen Mirren ( Tina Wilson)
Chandra wilson (Tess Fray)
Eva Green (Paola Berlinni)
Edward Norton (Saul Fernández)
David Thewlis (George Wilson)
Gabriel Mann (Alex Everett)
Gena Rowlands (Jeena Lewis)
Tagline: "A pinch of salt and a teaspoon of love will solve everything"
Synopsis: This is the recipe for a movie about four different women who attend a cooking class in Jeena Lewis' garage because they want to scape from their tragic lives. They are very different and they from different places so they each give the movie their own taste. Amanda Martinez is a Spanish woman who arrived in Chicago a year ago. She has two children and she lives with her husband Saul. They have many financial problems and it causes him great anger. Amanda is often he victim of it. She loves lemon cake which is sharp and sweet at the same time. Tina Wilson is a seventy year old woman who attends the cooking class because she feels lonely at home with her husband George, who suffers from paralysis. What she wants is to meet new people and escape from the drama that she lives. Spaghetti is her favorite meal because she enjoys the tomato sauce in her tongue.
Paola is an Italian woman who is a former drug addict and her treatment includes this cooking class. Also she is battered by her boyfriend Alex, but she suffers it in silence. Strawberries and cream is her favorite dessert because it gives her all love she needs.
Tess Fray is an African-American nurse who has four children and is a widow. She wants to learn more recipes so she can cook her children the best meals. She feels lonely because everything she does is for her children and she never thinks of herself. She loves to make home made meals beacuse she loves her mother's recipes.
These four different women become friends and they start to know the problems of the other ones. They try to solve them without paying attention to their own problems. They go to Jeena's class twice a week and they work in groups so they finally know each other. One of the most revealing scenes is when Paola's boyfriend appears at Tess' party and starts to shout and hit Paola in front of her friends. They run to help her and Alex starts to run. Paola starts to cry and she tells her friends everything about her situation. They try to help her but it is very difficult. Finally, Paola becomes a drug addict again and she finally dies the night before the cooking festival in Chicago after her boyfriend beats her up. This cruel action opens the other women's eyes and they finally discover the peace and happiness inside their house with their own families. They realize that happiness can be found in the worst places, all you have to do is look for it. They discovered that the best ingredients to make a good meal are a lot of love and patience mixed with a teaspoon of joy, baked in each one's heart and served with a big smile.
What the Press would say:
The press loves this film. It is sad but you realize that you can find all the support you need in your family. Elizabeth Harisson's work is fantastic and she has made a very good film without much money. This independent film has a great female cast composed of Helen Mirren, Eva Green, Chandra Wilson and Penélope Cruz. All of them have a very difficult roles and they play them perfectly. Their roles are not plain roles, they are very difficult because they have to act as they are happy when they are in the cooking class and when they return home they live a nightmare. They are the embodiment of different flavors: sweet (Chandra), sour (Helen), sharp (Penélope) and spicy (Eva). One of the best performances is by Helen Mirren, who acts as if she is a seventy year old woman perfectly. She has the same characteristics from the voice to the health problems. Furthermore, she is very ironic when she talk so it is the funniest part of the film wich is a great drama.
The press loves all the female roles, but they also love David Thewlis' role which is very difficult because he has to act as he is a paralytic. Also they like Edward Norton's role: a hysterical father who hates the economic situation of his family and tries to improve it anyway. This is a very good movie and people who love good dramas will love this one too. The best scene of the film is at Tess' party, and the end of the film when you can see all women enjoying their families. Desperation, cruelty, anger, poverty and love are the ingredients of this movie which, at the end, has a very sweet taste.
Best Picture
Best Director: Elizabeth Harrison
Best Actress: Penélope Cruz
Best Supporting Actress: Helen Mirren
Best Supporting Actress: Eva Green
Best Supporting Actress: Chandra Wilson
Best Supporting Actor: Edward Norton
Best Supporting Actor: David Thewlis
Best Original Screenplay: Paul Haggis
Best Costume Design
Best Make-Up
Best Cinematography
Best Score
Best Sound Editing
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