Mostly Martha

Synopsis: In a German restaurant, Chef Martha Klein is the undisputed supreme ruler of the kitchen staff and woe to any customer who would dare criticize her cooking. Her life is firmly centered around cooking which takes on a obsessive level with stubborn single mindedness. Even when she is ordered to take therapy, she still constantly talks about her work and the iron clad control she relishes in her task. All that changes when her sister dies in a car accident, leaving her 8 year old daughter, Lina. Martha takes her niece in and while making enquiries for her estranged father, she struggles to care for this stubbornly headstrong child. Meanwhile at work, a new chef named Mario is hired on and Martha feels threatened by this unorthodox intruder. The pressures of both her private and work life combine to create a situation that will fundamentally call her attitudes and life choices into question while these interlopers into her life begin to profoundly change it.

Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance

Director(s): Sandra Nettelbeck

Actors: Martina Gedeck, Maxime Foerste, Sergio Castellitto, August Zirner

Production: Paramount Classics

14 wins & 7 nominations.


IMDB:: 7.3
Metacritic:: 72
Rotten Tomatoes:: 92%

Collection Edit Watch PDF Buy

: PG
Year:: 2001
: 109 min
: $4,041,973
: Website
: 184 Views

I love to
serve them roasted.
It gives them
a more robust taste.
A wonderful
side dish would be ravioli
with boletus
or truffles, per season.
But you need a good pigeon
You could also cook them
in a pig's bladder
in Madeira, cognac and port.
It keeps the pigeon
safe and juicy.
Serve it with tagliatelle
with onions,
truffles and shallots
in a thyme sauce.
Truffles are perfect
for pigeon dish,
because the delicate
pigeon flavor...
Do you feel ill?
-No, no.
Please go on.
Start with crayfish, mussels...
-Martha.
May I change the subject
for a moment?
Yes.
Why do you come to therapy
every week?
Why do you ask?
Well, I thought perhaps...
it might be helpful to know.
My boss says she'll fire me
if I don't go to therapy.
Why do you think your
boss believes you need therapy?
You know what?
I have no idea.
Table 19 has asked
for the cheque.
On with 14!
-When is 6 ready? -4 minutes.
Gregor says the lamb is great.
-The Steinbergs are here.
I'm busy.
-Martha, please.
one without the duck.
Not too long, or...
-I know.
Dry, Lea.
Qualis go dry, not tough.
And hold off table 9.
-Yes
Let's go through next week's menu
later. -Okay. Lea, table 14!
The quails were tremendous!
Amazing! Magical! -I'm glad.
My husband worships you.
I'm jealous!
I worship everyone who tickles
my palate.
Heaven knows why he married me.
He won't allow me
to make a cup of tea.
There's one thing lonelier
than sleeping alone:
eating alone.
And I love you.
Excuse me.
Table 9 asks what this is.
-Lemon thyme.
Should I remove the plate?
-Please.
What is it? -I'll handle it.
-Now what?
I wanna talk to the chef!
-I'm the chef.
Is that so?
Bernd, please!
- You stay out of this!
Your foie gras is undercooked!
Excuse me?
-I'll take it off the bill.
Never!
-My foie gras is not undercooked!
Believe me, dear,
I know what's what.
I am not your dear! This was
perfectly poached at 1 40C in the oven,
and a water temp.
of 80, for 25 minutes.
And it's got the right rose color.
"Comme il faut,"
as the French say.
I don't give a damn!
It's undercooked!
Would you like something else?
Casting pearls before swines
- What!
D'you think you are
at a snack bar?
You want liverwurst,
go someplace else!
Excuse me, please
Why not pour out the wine too!
With all that smoking
you won't taste it anyway!
I'll never cook for you again!
I told you
to pull yourself together!
No, you always
have to make a scene!
He's a barbarian!
-He's a customer!
If he says it's undercooked,
then it is!
It's cruelty to geese!
-Shut it!
It's perfect!
Not a matter of taste.
I know.
But the customer is king.
And who am l? The fool?
If you weren't the second
best cook in the city
I'd fire you on the spot!
Second?
What's that supposed to mean?
What does she mean by that?
She only said it to annoy me
I'm sure she only said it
to annoy me.
One knows a good chef
by simple dishes.
For instance salmon
in light basil sauce.
Most people think it's no big deal
and put it on the menu.
But frying or steaming
it just right
and putting the right amount of salt
and spices in the sauce is difficult
In this recipe
there's no distraction,
no design,
no exotic ingredient.
There's only the fish
and the sauce.
The fish and the sauce
Just a minute!
Yes?
-You're the new neighbour?
Was the music too loud?
-No.
I live in the apartment above you.
And I thought,
as you have only just moved in
You can't have settled in yet.
Yeah, it's all a bit chaotic.
I haven't had time to clear
it all up.
I've made something to eat.
Rate this script:(5.00 / 1 vote)