Kitchen Stories

Drollness and dry wit characterize Bent Hamer's charming Scandinavian comedy of unlikely friendship, a low-key tale of the growing affection between two utterly dissimilar men, one a reclusive farmer and the other a buttoned-down employee of a research firm sent to observe the old man's domestic arrangements in a time-motion study. Set in the 1950s, the story is a gentle satire of the postwar mania for “objective” information about ordinary life intended to promote better efficiency, with the humor arising from the fact that the pair slowly develop a close, mutually supportive relationship even though “scientific” procedure requires that the researcher remain utterly detached and dispassionate in order to assure the integrity of his findings. Kitchen Stories--the title comes from the fact that the movie is set mostly in the kitchen of the farmer's house, where the watcher is supposed to sit unobtrusively on an absurdly high chair, silently recording his subject's every move--is like a 90-minute Looney Tunes short played in slow motion, but despite the deliberate pace (and the fact that Hamer can't entirely conceal the fragility of the conceit), the picture's style, generous spirit, and likable lead performances by Joachim Calmeyer and Tomas Norstrom make it a modest gem. Highly recommended. (F. Swietek)