The Kitchen Brigade
Popular French cinema that blends social concerns with the pleasures of a foodie film.
Image courtesy of Tull Stories.
The British distributor Tull Stories has rightly identified the public’s longing in these difficult times for films which brighten their lives and has according applied a new brand label ‘Joy of Cinema’ to a number of its recent lighter releases. The latest of them is this French comedy which was actually made in 2022 but it has a popular upbeat approach which makes it an apt candidate to be categorised in this way now. To describe it as escapist fare is not quite right, however, because The Kitchen Brigade is concerned with the situation of young immigrants in France. Nevertheless, as it asks audiences to feel for them and to wish them well, it presents them in an engaging light which avoids the more harrowing tone of most social dramas dealing with this issue. Furthermore, this aspect of the tale is blended with elements that enable one to regard The Kitchen Brigade as a film offering the pleasures of what has become known as a foodie movie since cooking plays a far from insubstantial role in it.
Although this appears to be the first time that one of his films has been released here, the director Louis-Julien Petit, who also had a hand in the screenplay, ensures that the story quickly draws us in and moves at a good pace. The tale is one in which the central character is a sous chef named Cathy-Marie (Audrey Lamy). In the opening scene she has a disagreement over the seasoning of a dish that she is preparing at the fashionable restaurant where she works. The head of the kitchen, Lyna Deletto (Chloé Astor), is a celebrity chef known for her TV appearances and not a woman who likes to be crossed. Cathy-Marie's refusal to be intimidated leads to her choosing to walk out and it is her quest for a new post that leads her to apply for an advertised position in a rural setting. The establishment in question is run by Lorenzo Cardi (François Cluzet) assisted by Sabine (Chantal Neuwirth), but Cathy-Marie is decidedly put out to find that in order to attract applicants the advertisement has used very misleading terms as to the nature of the post. It is only on arrival that she realises that the concern is actually a hostel for young migrants struggling to get by and offers very limited facilities in its kitchen. But, although irritated by this deceit, she signs on as a temporary measure. Before long, however, she is finding that many of the youngsters, some of whom would like to become chefs themselves, are eager to help her in the kitchen. Prime among them yet one of the youngest is GusGus (the delightful Yannick Kalombo).
Blending social issues with a consciously upbeat entertainment is no bad notion but not easy to bring off. That’s because the underlying concerns really call for a degree of realism in their portrayal which can be at odds with the easy appeal that characterises the rest. In 2023 the film Radical made by Christopher Zalla undertook a comparable task in treating a real-life tale about an innovative teacher’s success with poor pupils in a Mexican border town. He brought it off with remarkable success creating comic scenes which did not undermine the serious issues. I feel bound to say that Petit’'s film is less adroit in this respect although its warmth is such that many viewers will be only too pleased to suspend any criticism of it. Nevertheless it is my job as a critic to speak out and indicate some of the weaknesses. Although the foodie element offers scenes of cooking to appeal to those drawn to that side of the picture, it leads to some over the top exaggeration when the accompanying soundtrack builds up the music and it even turns vocal on one occasion. It is also the case that the migrants themselves can seem almost too good to be true, albeit that the plight which they face emerges clearly. On reaching the age of eighteen they face the risk of being deported unless certain conditions are met and this is illustrated through the fate of Djibril (Mamadou Koita) who has aspirations to be taken on as a soccer player. Arguably the film carries the risk of some seeing Lorenzo, Sabine and Cathy-Marie herself as patronising do-gooders, but that is surely not intended and in any case Cathy-Marie only truly becomes the film’s heroine after her initial stand-offish approach is affected by the young migrants who in effect teach her to become more outgoing and more socially concerned.
As this suggests the hostel is central to the film with the well-cast youngsters playing a prominent role as the migrants. Even so it is Audrey Lamy who is centre screen and she is ably supported by the veteran actress Chantal Neuwirth. But, when it comes to François Cluzet (best known to us for his lead role in the 2011 film Untouchable), it is surprising to find him so underused. Nor are we yet done with the criticisms since it feels bizarre when in its last third the film moves away from the situation of the migrants to portray Cathy-Marie appearing on the TV show ‘The Cook’ as a competitor so that whether or not she will be the ultimate winner becomes the central thread.
Without giving anything away, I can disclose that this final section of The Kitchen Brigade leads to a last-minute unexpected twist which gives the film a conclusion which is after all wholly apt. But it is perhaps even more important to stress that Petit's film is not one made for the critics and, despite several references to Marcel Proust, it is not - and was never intended to be - a sophisticated work. Its ideal audience is one that welcomes a film that will take them out of themselves while also being happy to find that it is a work which in recognising the migrant crisis encourages the need to identify with them as human beings who deserve to be treated well.
Original title: La brigade.
MANSEL STIMPSON
Cast: Audrey Lamy, François Cluzet, Chantal Neuwith, Fatou Kaba, Yannick Kalombo, Amadou Bah, Mamadou Koita, Alpha Barry, Boubacar Balde, Yadaf Awel, Chloé Astor, Stéphane Brel.
Dir Louis-Julien Petit, Pro Liza Benguigui-Duquesne, Screenplay Louis-Julien Petit, Liza Benguigui-Duquesne and Sophie Bensadoun with Thomas Pujol from an idea by Sophie Bensadoun, Ph David Chambille, Pro Des Arnaud Bouniort and Cécile Deleu, Ed Nathan Delano and Antoine Vareille, Music Laurent Perez Mar, Costumes Elise Bouquet and Reem Kuzayli.
An Odyssée Pictures production/Apollo Films/France 3 Cinéma/Elemiah/Pictanovo/Charlie Films etc.-Tull Stories.
97 mins. France. 2022. UK Rel: 3 October 2025. Cert. 12A.
