Mostly Martha (film)
| Mostly Martha | |
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Sandra Nettelbeck |
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| Screenplay by | Sandra Nettelbeck |
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| Music by | Manfred Eicher |
| Cinematography | Michael Bertl |
| Edited by | Mona Bräuer |
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Production
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| Distributed by | Paramount Classics |
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Release date
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Running time
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109 minutes |
| Country | Germany |
| Language | German, Italian |
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Mostly Martha (original German title: Bella Martha) is a 2001 German romantic comedy drama film written and directed by Sandra Nettelbeck and starring Martina Gedeck, Maxime Foerste, and Sergio Castellitto. Filmed in Hamburg, Germany, and Italy, the film is about a workaholic chef who is forced to adjust to major changes in her personal and professional life that are beyond her control. The film won the Créteil International Women's Film Festival Grand Prix Award, and was nominated for the Goya Award for Best European Film in 2002. It was also nominated for the German Film Awards Outstanding Feature Film.
Martha Klein (Martina Gedeck) is a chef at Lido, a gourmet restaurant in Hamburg, Germany. A perfectionist who lives only for her work, Martha has difficulty relating to the world other than through food. Her single-minded obsession with her culinary craft occasionally leads to unpleasant confrontations with customers. Consequently, the restaurant owner, Frida (Sibylle Canonica), requires her to see a therapist (August Zirner) to work out her poor interpersonal skills. Martha's therapy sessions, however, turn into monologues on food, and her approach to stress management usually involves briefly retreating to the restaurant's walk-in refrigerator.
Martha's life takes a dramatic turn when she learns that her sister is killed in a car accident, leaving behind an eight-year-old daughter, Lina (Maxime Foerste). Martha must now look after her niece, who is understandably depressed, withdrawn, and refuses to eat. The girl's Italian father, Giuseppe Lorenzo, has been out of the picture for years living somewhere in Italy. While coping with her sister's death and raising the young girl, Martha's world is further complicated when Frida hires fun-loving and unorthodox Mario (Sergio Castellitto) as a sous-chef to replace Lea (Katja Studt), who is expecting a child any day. Martha looks on in horror as Mario transforms her kitchen of precision and logistics with his relaxed banter and eclectic jazz music.
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