Rating: B+
Dir: Daniel Kaluuya, Kibwe Tavares
Star: Kano, Hope Ikpoku Jnr, Henry Lawfull, Jedaiah Bannerman
Oh gawd… it’s a Netflix film……. …oh… wait… actually… it’s a Channel 4 film…
This is about identity, belonging, being. Taking responsibility. Choices. Partying. Accepting. Caring. Love. Revenge.
The eponymous kitchen is a predominantly black ghetto in London and one of the last of its kind remaining, or so it is implied. Another ghetto that ‘they’ want to cleanse, to take and, for this observer, the Israeli/Palestinian parallels seemed abundantly clear. There is huge disparity between those inside the walls and those without.
Izi (Kano) lives outside of the walls, commuting in to work at Life After Life, a form of burial for those who can’t afford one. Living in this pressure cooker is Benji (Bannerman), a young youth caught between two worlds, two lives, after the recent death of his mother. For, in dealing with her death he meets and is befriended by Izi. And therein is the quandary, does he follow his adopted/assumed/wanted father Izi, or the street gang that is so welcoming and keen to adopt him?
There’s lots of street-culture on display. Bikes (push and motor) are means to ‘show’. There are some great, tight performances – all believable and compelling.
Quite what the story is isn’t immediately clear. And that oddly is its charm, along with a good soundtrack. It feels real. Believable. Human. Funny. Warm. Affectionate.
“Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable.” JFK
Exclusion. Violence. Hate. Explosive release. Tolerance and intolerance.
‘This is war…’
This is very well done, and in end the story is about friendships, trust, growing and deciding. It also doesn’t have a Hollywood ending.
Score? Well, I’m writing this from notes and can’t remember it in detail. But I do remember enjoying it and being impressed, and thinking that my time had been well spent.