Movie review: The Cakemaker (2018)

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The Cakemaker

This article contains a spoiler.

" The Cakemaker " (2018), which was completed in eight years by Ofir Raul Graizer, tells stories of various levels of politics, religion, and love. From mouth-watering sweet desserts to Kosher certified cooking and Shabat meals, which are made according to the strict rules of Judaism, there are difficult and complicated relationships to understand in the movie.

When Oren, a man from Jerusalem, and Thomas, a man from Berlin, died, left for Jerusalem to find the traces of Oren, Thomas met with the wife of Anat and the family of Oren. Oren and Thomas loved each other. But Oren's death divided them, beginning with the mysterious relationship between Thomas and Anat.

The relationship between three people goes beyond reality and virtual, discipline and deviation by means of various foods. The movie portrays the process of the emotion of love, the sorrow of losing a loved one, and the loss of a betrayed person as if it were a process of digestion that penetrates the body from hand to mouth.

The Credenz Cafe in Berlin, which is the setting of the movie, is actually a Vintage-style cafe that is open in Berlin. The movie starts in this very real place. Oren, a Jewish man who frequently travels to Berlin, is attracted by the cake at Credenz Cafe. The owner of the cafe is Thomas, a Berlin man who makes his own sweet desserts.

Oren, who said he would come to Berlin to have a cake, soon begins a hot love affair with Thomas. Like a cake made by Thomas, their love is sweet, but when Owen leaves for Berlin and returns to Jerusalem, where his wife and son are living, Thomas remains alone. Berlin is the place where two people's love can become a physical reality.

Unlike Credetz, a cafe in Jerusalem run by Oren's wife Anat exists only in movies. Anat operates a café certified by Kosher. .‘ Kosher ’ refers to a food prepared by selecting ingredients according to the traditional Jewish law, which means " appropriate " and " reasonable. " The nationality and religion of the person who makes the food, starting with the ingredients used in the food according to the rules, are limited.

Chabat means " stop " and " stop. " It says from sunset on Friday to Saturday, and at this time, dinner is served with the Chabat rite. Because strict rules are observed in the bread recipe and in the dietary system, Israel, which is held on a weekly basis, will naturally learn the rules. When Thomas goes to Jerusalem, he becomes a thoroughly alienated stranger who does not belong to the law. Thomas, who runs his own cafe, can not use the oven without permission, and the dessert he made goes against Kosher certification. There seems to be a world in life that we never imagined before. Like Oren who died leaving him alone.

There is a lot of condensation on the table with two slices of bread, salt, wine, two candles and candlesticks, the Bible and a dinner. Starting with the number of bread and Torah stone tablets, the salt that is sprinkled on bread and the meaning of wine shows that the meal of the Chabat is more than just a meal.

It would have been the answer to life given Oren to meet a man and a woman, to marry and to give birth to a child on God's grace. His wife, Anat, and six-year-old son show that he has lived up to the answer. Anat from the same culture would have been the same.

But Oren, born in Jerusalem and following the Jewish rules thoroughly, is not only an ordinary father but also a cake lover who loves cake. He is also a sexual protestor who falls in love with Thomas, a German man who makes sweet cakes, breaks all rules and customs that make him and makes a drastic decision to start a new life with Thomas in Berlin. At Oren's decision, Anat feels deeply betrayed and lost.

Oren must have had a difficult time preparing for a new life with Thomas in Berlin, ignoring the law that had laid aside his wife and son. The movie does not show Oren's point of view, but it shows the cultural gap that Thomas who came to Jerusalem looking for Oren and the inner conflict Oren would have experienced through his difficulties as a stranger.

Anat, who lost her husband, is clumsy and difficult in this situation of making a living alone and raising a son. The discipline that I believed would protect me was not keeping my family, and nothing is likely to protect her and her son in the future. So is it that she keeps the rules, but is free from the prejudices that can arise from them. Thomas, a stranger, is given a part-time job, and even if the corservator certificate is compromised against his baking, he sells his dessert at the cafe.

In the movie, a black forest cake made by Thomas the main character strongly stimulates viewers ' appetite. The German name of the Black Forest cake is Schwarzwälder kirschtorte, and then the chocolate sponge cake layer is covered with whipped cream and cherries.

Some say that the name " Schwarz (black) " or " Waldbald (forest), " is originated from the scattered chocolate pieces, while others think that the shape of the cake is Shubatsu meaning traditional clothes. The whipped cream is a white blouse, the chocolate is a black dress, and the cherries are the red bells on the hat. I don't know what the exact origin is, but what is clear is that it represents Berlin and is loved by many.

Thomas and the desserts made by him, which penetrate into Anat's everyday life, can move Anat's heart. According to the rules, the love of Thomas, a stranger who can not even use the oven and whose husband loves so much, has a dark taste, but the vision of each is white and sweet.

While it may seem weird as if the husband's love and the wife of the man he loves are filled with the absence of each other, the movie moves back and forth from one side to another in the morning drama of an affair. The movie shows the human instincts of appetite and sexual desire very boldly.

In fact, in " The Cakemaker, " Thomas does not console Anat. Anat also does not comfort Thomas. They consoled their lives with great fidelity. Like taking out a cake for dessert, he looks for things that can comfort him or herself. In that sense, the film, with its continuous appearance of different foods, details the human instinct that implies ' eating. '

Thomas and Anat share food together in the same room. It doesn't matter who made the food for whom. With the sweetness of the moment he ate, he might have healed his heart little by little, in the kindness of the person who gave him the food. This process was the most natural consolation scene I saw when I was not good at comforting anyone. The cake maker I see says.

It may take a while, but eat it out as slowly as you can.