Movie - Kitchen Stories

A lovely movie.

The premise is pleasantly absurd. Home scientists in Sweden have, through painstaking analysis, determined the best kitchen setup for the average Swedish woman – where the sink goes, the refrigerator, etc, so as to make movement as efficient as possible.

Now those scientists have turned their sights toward the Norwegian bachelor.

Since it's the 1950's, there's no machines to record movements around the kitchen. Swedish men become observers, sitting in high chairs, making as little noise and taking up as little space as possible. And never, ever, talk to your observee!

Given this setup, the movie does a wonderful job of turning the audience's sights toward the characters involved – the observer, the reluctant observed. We see Folke, the observer, as he slowly meets and becomes part of the world around him. As Folke begins to fit in and appreciate his host, so do we.

Everything moves slowly, quietly. Humor and pathos arise naturally and warmly from the characters and their situation. It's all just so.

There are socio-political themes - plenty of Sweden/Norway jousting and mild jibing. Certainly some wry commentary on science and who watches the watchers. More of that type of commentary at IMDB, if you care to read it.

But I really loved the movie for the gentle friendship, the genuine camaraderie it creates. Movies about real male bonding are hard to find. This one is a gem.