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Hailing from the great Mexican director Alonso Ruizpalacios, ‘La Cocina’ (2024) is a recently released multi language film that shows the struggles and stress of working as a cook in a kitchen. Many of us have some kind of insight on the topic due to the multiple Gordon Ramsay shows that exist, but ‘La Cocina’ is a very special look on this topic as more of the focus is placed on racial differences, busy hour rushes, and the lingering idea that the work put in by individuals striving for better lives will not be appreciated at the end of the day. It is an artfully done portrait of this world that is in parts somber and distressing while also injecting a stressful energy.
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A Diverse Kitchen
‘La Cocina’ soars especially with its cast of characters. Taking place in a fancy restaurant in Times Square called The Grill, the workers in the kitchen and front of house are given ample time to be fleshed out and have personality. The one we follow initially is a nineteen year old girl named Estela who only speaks Spanish entering New York, already setting the film up as being about America from the perspective of a foreigner. She goes to The Grill looking for work in the kitchen despite her young age and her cousin Pedro, one of the best cooks in the kitchen. From here, Pedro serves as the film’s protagonist as an illegal immigrant trying to find a way into America as a means to better the lives of his struggling family back in Mexico. Part of his plan requires him hooking up with Julia, played by Rooney Mara, who is a server at the restaurant. Yet Pedro is also unhinged, often failing to withhold his impulses. For most of the film, he is riding high, expecting the best to come out of his achieving the coveted American dream. Soon, the concern of his family and Julia wanting an abortion for their baby as well as the stress of working in a restaurant setting all build up within Pedro and it culminates in the film’s unpleasant climax. All of this is wonderfully portrayed by actor Raúl Briones whose likable and sometimes furious energy is matched perfectly in this character.
The other cooks in the kitchen have personalities just as colorful as Pedro’s and some of the best sequences of the film are of the interactions between the employees and even the stern but sometimes playful head chef. More importantly, all feel like real people who are likely to be found in a restaurant setting. This collection of diverse characters is in ways a reference to America itself as the country is home to a plethora of different races and the conflicts between such are what fuel the country’s story.
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The Reality of Our Riches
Everything that we consume and enjoy has a concealed side of production that we don’t often consider. A single product found at a local mall has undergone a long journey from its production and shipment across the globe, more often than not becoming tossed aside without care. Most of us do not think about this reality or choose not to. ‘La Cocina’ highlights this in the context of a restaurant as instead of showing the delectable dishes the cooks prepare in this restaurant, we are greeted at the start to the trash that is thrown out. The pizza under all the trash bags which is snatched away by a mouse. When the restaurant is in operation serving food, more food is tossed away than eaten. It is a compelling way of reminding us how wasteful our culture can be. Not only does ‘La Cocina’ show us the wasteful tendencies of restaurants, but it points us to the realities of how the staff and chefs of these kinds of establishments are treated. Most people know that verbal abuse comes with being a chef in a high class kitchen with all of the Gordon Ramsay shows. ‘La Cocina’ does not dwell on this melodrama for the most part as it prefers to show internal struggles that build up to the point of explosion. The truth is that picturesque image of what we see in America or any kind of attraction has more behind it that is distasteful and corrupt. This film does a great job in showing it and by the end is highly commendable.
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Where to Find Color in Life
Most of the film is shot in black and white, which at first seems like an easy way to make the film seem more artistic. Many other modern black and white films do it with this intention, but director Alonso Ruizpalacios makes the choice in service of giving the film a unique visual representation of Pedro’s world. One scene of an enclosed romantic encounter between him and Julia is in color, though the lack of it is still present. They’re in a dark freezer lit only by purple light. A reason for making this scene in color is perhaps to signify Pedro’s aspirations that are put down by those around him. His romantic interest and desires to fully integrate into the United States are fully expressed in this scene and the enclosed nature of the scene is a visual reminder. The second instance of color being used in ‘La Cocina’ is the very end. No spoilers will be given, but what essentially happens is a catastrophe and all in the kitchen are in disbelief at it. The owner of the restaurant, tall and intimidating in stature, approaches Pedro and asks him the simple question “What do you people want?” This hearkens back to a scene earlier where Pedro and a handful of other cooks are going around asking what each person’s dream is and Pedro never gives his. Gradually, a shadow of green overcomes Pedro’s face, contrasting the rest of the black and white image. Even though the film ends on a note where Pedro is at a worse place, he still sees color and life in a world that is so black and white to so many people. What he wants is what so many immigrants do when they come into the country. Integration into a society that is lacking in oppression and living your own way of life. The end is cloaked in interpretive shadows, but it wraps up by alluding to the life that Pedro is in need of achieving. A life of color and feeling.
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‘La Cocina’ is sure to bring audiences on a ride. It is a slow build to the rush hours and once it does, everything that is expected from a kitchen in terms of stress happens. But, it is not existing merely to shock people. Lots of time is spent with the cooks and servers and what they want of life. It’s a film that is in the end about desires and wanting a better life, though perhaps longing for one that is unachievable. Somber and distressing with lots of personality, ‘La Cocina’ is worth checking out in anticipation for next year’s awards season.
Cast: Raúl Briones, Rooney Mara, Anna Diaz,
Director of Photography: Juan Pablo Ramirez | Editor: Yibran Asuad | Producers: Alonso Ruizpalacios, Lauren Mann, Gerardo Gatica González, Ivan Orlic, Ramiro Ruiz | Director: Alonso Ruizpalacios
By Elijah van der Fluit
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Elijah van der Fluit is a writer for The Hollywood Insider based in California with aspirations to write and direct films for a professional career. In his spare time, Elijah enjoys watching and discussing movies of all genres as well as reading, hiking, spending time with family, and being one with the world. Elijah believes that art, whatever form it may take, has the ability to inspire and broaden people’s perspectives in a positive way and he hopes to use his work in film and writing to do so.
Elijah van der Fluit is a writer for The Hollywood Insider based in California with aspirations to write and direct films for a professional career. In his spare time, Elijah enjoys watching and discussing movies of all genres as well as reading, hiking, spending time with family, and being one with the world. Elijah believes that art, whatever form it may take, has the ability to inspire and broaden people’s perspectives in a positive way and he hopes to use his work in film and writing to do so.
