Rating: 
Summary: A beautiful, wonderful story
Review: This is the story of a beautiful, obcessive gourmet chef who is a master in the kitchen, but struggles with human relationships, whether with a complaining restaurant customer. an exhuberant Italian chef who adores her, or her 8 year old niece. The photography alone is worth seeing this movie, from the food preparation shots to her psychiatrist's minimalist office. The warmth and main interest come from Gedick's performance, which is subtle and beautifully arresting. She is a consummate actress and I wish she would make American films! Obviously difficulties in being a new parent (her niece comes to live with her after Martha's sister dies)and being loved by a passionate but patient man (The Italian chef) arise. But it works out naturally and we see Martha grow from the difficulties and become
an even more beautiful and whole woman. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS.
Rating:
Summary: Almost done in by lame U.S. marketing spin
Review: I have a common complaint that great European films are often killed by brain-dead U.S. marketing campaigns - usally these are excellent light dramas absurdly cast as screwball comedies. The most egregious example is "East is East," in which an outstanding film bears absolutely zero correlation to the description of it on a stupefyingly dumb U.S.-issued VHS coverbox. "Mostly Martha" suffers from some of that. This is an excellent movie - a feel good piece without pandering. Martina Gedeck's outstanding portrayal of "Martha" is well worth your money. This got buried quickly in the U.S. because I felt like it was marketed to highlight the 'screwball' relationship between Martha and Mario...of course, their relationship is anything but & comprises only one-third of the story or so. I urge you to pick this up when it becomes available on DVD - you're in for a real treat.
Rating: 
Summary: Mostly Predictable
Review: I'm sorry to say but I did not like "Mostly Martha"--or should I say mostly predictable. That's what I thought of this movie--very predictable. While the performances were excellent, the writing had a lot to be desire. Why can't there be a movie where the kid is NOT a brat? It's really becoming a cliche. Another thing I did not like about this movie is that it didn't seem to know what it wanted to be. Was it suppose to be a movie about an aunt and her niece? Or a love story between two chefs? It tried to combine the two and as a result, short changed on both stories. I thought the scenes between Martha and her shrink were for laughs because they really didn't go anywhere in terms of the development of the story. It took me a while before I figured out that Lina was Martha's niece. Why wasn't this explained sooner? Also, the relationship betweeen Lina's mother and her Italian father was not explained until too late. I found it very hard to believe that NO ONE knew what Lina's father's last name was, where he lived and what his home phone number was. In conclusion I found "Mostly Martha" to be a very contrived story with little character development.
Rating:
Summary: La bella Martha is a recipe for life
Review: This movie has great acting, a simple plot that never tires, love for all characters, wonderful food, a show of a wide range of emotions. It has made me realize that life is great.
Rating:
Summary: Viewing Mostly Martha is a Must
Review: Wasn't aware that this was a foreign film...but it made absolutely NO difference! Men may call this a chick flick...but the sumptuous food scenes should appeal to all! I enjoyed the relationships and the chemistry throughout and the MUSIC was super! I really hope the sound track is available. It, too, would be worth savoring! Go see it...you will NOT be disappointed.
Rating:
Summary: I highly recommend.
Review: I just saw this today and wonder why in the world this didn't get a wider US release. It's a charming little movie with wonderful acting that deserves a bigger audience. It's not really a classic, but it's better than 95% of what's been in theaters this year. Martina Gedeck, who plays Martha, is great actress who I'd love to see more of. Her performance is very lifelike, Martha's actions always seem like those of real person. Though she can be very stubborn, we really feel for her. Maxime Foerste, as Lina, gives one of greatest performances by a child I have ever seen. Again, very lifelike and touching. Segio Castellitto's Italian cook Mario is more of a stereotype, reminding one of Jean Reno in one of his lighter roles. I think this mostly a writing problem, and Castellitto does a very good job with what's he's given. Overall, I highly recommend you watch this movie (assuming you can find it).
Rating: 
Summary: an excellent movie despite the misleading film trailers...
Review: Mostly Martha is a well-written light drama stupidly disguised as a wacky, over-the-top romantic comedy in its US theatrical previews. Nevertheless, the trailer made the movie look appealing enough for me to see it a few weeks ago. This is a story about a chef named Martha who works very hard in a cosmopolitan restaurant, with seemingly little life outside work. Family circumstances drop her young niece at her doorstep, and Martha finds herself a surrogate parent juggling work and child-rearing responsibilities day in day out. Martha and her niece predictably enough form a strong emotional bond, not unlike a mother and daughter. She does her best to provide a good home life for her niece, with the expected difficulties at work and her romantic life adding to Martha's stress. While the film is fairly easy to figure out before its conclusion, it is certainly worth an afternoon at the cinema. The film is subtitled from the original German, but the subtitles in no way will detract from your enjoyment of the fine acting or screenplay.
Rating:
Summary: Mostly Marvelous
Review: Mostly Martha had suberb actors, laughter, tears, and exciting and sumptuous cooking scenes. Keith Jarrett's music had a wonderful beat that worked brilliantly with the story line. Seeing this movie was a special way to spend an evening.
Rating:
Summary: A love declaration or what?
Review: Martha needs to exert control on her life. We all do. What makes us sad about her, is that she limits her life to the only thing she can perfectly master, which is cooking. She could feel, she could hear, she could cry out, she could love. But she doesn't. Or does she? What do you think?! This movie is about two basic issues: significant others' role in healing psychological wounds and different approaches to perfection, the creative one versus the controlling one. I'm not completely satisfied about how the movie deals with the first of these issues. I think in real life things don't go so straight. Love doesn't cure, although it may be a big source of energy for that strength that you must basically have already in yourself. About the second issue, I like the comparison between the two cooking styles, but still I feel much more could have been said or shown. Being Italian, what strikes me most in this movie is that it can be read as a love declaration to my country's culture, food, music and humanity. The two Italian men, far from being machos or mafia-bosses, truly represent the good natured, caring personality of many of my compatriots. I really appreciate the director's attention not to fall into stereotypes, and it impressed me that many little sentences were left in Italian, without any kind of translation, as if everybody knew their meaning. If you enjoyed the main actor's performance, you might also like "Il Grande Cocomero" (The Great Pumpkin), by Francesca Achibugi, where Sergio Castellitto plays the role of a psychologist, dealing with a bunch of unforgettable kids.
If you've been loving the songs that are played over and over through the movie and you made the firm decision to look for that CDs whenever you'll have time, here are some clues:
- "It's wonderful", by Paolo Conte
- "Attenti al lupo", by Lucio Dalla
- the much loved "Volare", by Domenico Modugno
Rating:
Summary: Mostly Martha a Must See Film
Review: The strong female and male character demonstrates a poetic dance of male female energy working together to support and honor each other. The story does not soley stand on the romance, there is a deeper thread of how sometimes life hits us hard and we must move on with grace and compassion. Beautifull film
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