La Cocina

Synopsis

Did you enjoy Boiling Point (2021) and The Bear (2022-)? The ingenuity of those fast-paced, labor-intensive settings makes for a perfect film subject, even if that means subjecting yourself to a cinematic version of kitchen-hell. This year, Mexican director Alonso Ruizpalacios takes us behind the counter of a big tourist trap restaurant near Times Square in New York City, tellingly called ‘The Grill’, where tensions rise and love hides. La Cocina (2024) is fittingly dramatic, but its deeply human heart beats through every glorious frame. Starring a magnetic Rooney Mara and a volatile Raúl Briones, La Cocina (2024) may be the most beautiful of the kitchen-themed wild rides in recent cinema.