Seems the Fins are the forefront of fine film making at the moment.
Among the best films you can stream currently is Dogs Don’t Wear Pants and for those who want to venture back to the cinemas, there’s the life affirming MASTER CHENG.
A Finnish fish out of water story, MASTER CHENG opens with a Chinese man and a Chinese boy lost in some backwater of Finland. The man is searching for someone or somewhere. His pronunciation and lack of of local lingo adds to the frustration of ever satisfying his search.
Lost in translation and in need of a feed, he and the boy venture into a roadside cafe, a meat and three veg bain-marie affair, quizzing the proprietor and the diners if they know of his perplexing quarry.
In the eyes of the cafe owner and clientele, he is an exotic mystery – who is he looking for, is he the boy’s father, where did they come from? All through trading hours he is tirelessly polite and tolerably interrogating. At close of business he asks if the town has a hotel. As it is miles away, Sirkka, the cafe owner offers him accommodation and in return Cheng helps her in the kitchen surprising the locals with the delights of Chinese cuisine.
A tour bus full of Chinese tourists arrive, the cafe does its best business ever and Master Chef Cheng is encouraged to stay. Little by little the mystery of his quest is discovered as well as the true relationship of he and the boy and the reason for their odyssey.
Writer Hannu Oravisto and director Mika Kaurismaki serve up a sweet and savoury banquet, a smorgasbord of culinary and cultural character, against spectacular scenery.
The special extra ingredient holding the mouthwatering food porn, eye catching vistas and coterie of local codgers together is two tasty performances from the lead characters, Pak Hon Chu as Cheng and Anna- Maija Tuokko as Sirkka. Together, they teasingly unfurl their exteriors like blossoming flowers revealing their individual hurts and hopes put on hold.
It is the quality of these performances that elevate MASTER CHENG from the predictable and pedestrian providing a very nourishing entertainment full of joie de vivre.
A feel good movie worth getting out and going to the cinema for.