Anna Bederke

A rural Irish community in the 1980s is portrayed with quiet beauty in this heartfelt drama, based on acclaimed writer John McGahern’s novel.

A change of pace from flexible director Fatih Akin (Head On, In the Fade), this ensemble comedy is a crowd-pleasing, lively look at the frantic and frenzied reality of running a restaurant. Set in Hamburg, Soul Kitchen is another of Akin’s depictions of modern, multicultural Germany.

The shiny veneer drops from a quiet suburban community when a bullied teen girl meets a stranger on a social networking site and suddenly vanishes.