User reviews

The Chef is an intense psycho drama - with emphasis on psycho. It's not action packed and you have to give it some time and attention, but if you let yourself go with the ship's - and the movie's - pounding engine and claustrophobic atmosphere, you will be rewarded.

The movie gives you Martin Von Lindhé's perspective on his first journey as second cook on a cargo ship. The narrow universe the freighter provides gives the more experienced and high ranking crew members a great upper-hand on the two newcomers: Martin and Sundsvall. There are secrets, pasts, loves and hates to steer clear of, and the two teenagers soon get caught in a web they can't easily disentangle from.

The main characters are wonderfully played and I imagine that the actors have had great fun with their rather chewy roles. The chef himself is menacing, yet faceted, and both the teenagers and the other crew members follow up beautifully.

The telling of the story is not straight forward and the dialog is somewhat indirect, which adds to the claustrophobic setting, but also demands attention from the viewer. The events we see unfold continuously get lighted from new angles as we get more insight into the characters motivations. This rather quiet and convoluted drama could have been frustrating to watch if the story wasn't well rounded off: happily the ending gives a satisfying catharsis after all the suspense.

Don't bring popcorn, this film goes better with a small amount of expensive liquor.

The Chef is a quite intense psychological drama with so many intense moments that it almost feels like a thriller. The film gives a very human approach to the tense situation which might occur when strong personalities, and even psychopaths, rule an environment.

Young Martin gets hire as a second cook on his first journey om a long- traveling cargo ship, where he meets another youngster, being a cabin boy beneath him in working range order. The intense atmosphere on board between the men of all ages makes for many problems. The slow burner of a film reveals that there is both hidden pasts, secrets, passion and different opinions crashing, and the two teenagers soon get tangled up in the nasty spider web.

The acting is superb, and I found the film very interesting. The menacing chef, the uncertain youngsters, the stay away veteran, as well as the other crew which we don't get so intensely known with. Still the roles a full of depth, and not at all convoluted. This makes it all an exciting journey through to unknown territory.

Kjell Bergqvist is wonderfully cast in this role, and he enjoys this role very much. The youngsters are doing a great job as well. An underrated film according to the rating here.

By chance I chose this movie one evening. It was a good choice. The film is both exciting, surprising and interesting. The film also portrays a era in a stylish way. For many young people (especially boys), it was precisely to model on a boat the first meeting with the working life. The experiences and experiences they did were different and sometimes tough. Just as this story conveys. The film is also a psychological drama, and shows how vulnerable young people are in the world of a rough adult world. Young Martin designs on a boat with courses for South Africa, on a boat with many rules, many he must find out along the way. Especially when meeting the boat's chief chef, who is anything but normal. The film has many good scenes, and it is unpredictable and you are drawn into the story along the way. I tried to find information about this movie and I don't think it was a great success when it came. Don't let this scare you away and ignore the relatively low score here. Because this one is really good.