Review of The Cakemaker (2017) by Kat F — 27 Jul 2018

This beautiful little movie reminds me of everything I dislike about mainstream American films (big, loud, talky, and edited to whiplash speed). "The Cakemaker" quietly moves at a languid pace, and the storytelling is all the better for it. The camera lovingly hovers on the characters' faces for long moments, giving the actors a chance to show us deep emotion, especially in the pair of stunningly brilliant performances by the two leads.

The characters all love one man and, although Oren is on-screen for perhaps only ten minutes of the film, his memory occupies a huge space in the middle of their broken hearts. Thomas, his young lover, moves from Berlin to Jerusalem and befriends Oren's widow, but there is no sinister intent in his clumsy way of coping with his grief. In fact, it is Oren's family who reaches out to Thomas... with a job, invitations to Shabbat and, in a surprisingly touching scene, leftovers. Much of the dramatic tension revolves not around Thomas's secret but around the modern day issue of who eats kosher... and where. The rabbi's certificate on Anat's cafe is every bit as critical to her success as Thomas's baking skills.

The movie will make you want to visit Jerusalem. There are no ubiquitous scenes of the Dome of the Rock or the Wailing Wall, just neighborhood streets, charming shops and apartments, rooftops filled with satellite dishes and cell towers, and the ever-present shofar calling the faithful to worship or to rest.

The film is not rated, but I would recommend it for older teens. There are fleeting moments of male nudity and a couple of not-too-graphic sex scenes, but some ambiguity (of sexuality, of morality) that you'll want to talk about afterwards.