La Cocina

La Cocina is pretty chaotic. Amidst the hectic rush hour at The Grill, writer-director Alonso Ruizpalacios brings a group of tired, impoverished workers that yearn for a better life into a cramped kitchen in America that gets flooded with cherry cola halfway through the movie in an outstanding long take. While some scenes still retain its monologue heavy quality, it’s impressive to see how they adapted the stage play to film in its cast, multiple languages, and shots. The main protagonists, Raúl Briones and Rooney Mara, also deliver great performances. But what makes La Cocina ultimately work is how well it understands the power dynamics to push the story. La Cocina carries the perspectives of its ensemble characters with superb balance.

In the sweltering back kitchen of a Times Square restaurant, undocumented cook Pedro is caught between mounting pressures at work and a complicated romance with waitress Julia. When money goes missing, suspicion spreads, igniting tensions that threaten to upend the fragile hopes of the staff.