The Israeli-German film The Cakemaker & # 39; a delightful look at a love triangle

There are many things to enjoy in "The Cakemaker", a German-Israeli co-production offering a story that could have been melodramatic or sentimental, but that really has an impact on director Ofir Raul Graizer

. Essentially a representation of a love triangle in which a member is deceased, the film is deliberately paced and said with restraint. There is an air of sadness, but a little worn.

Thomas (Tim Kalkhof) is a talented pastry chef in Berlin. Among his regular customers, Israeli businessman Oren (Roy Miller), who buys Thomas's cinnamon biscuits to bring them back to his family in Jerusalem. Men start an affair during Oren's visits, until Oren falls out of touch.

Hearing that his lover died in a car accident, Thomas flew quickly to Jerusalem, for reasons that the taciturn baker never specifies. He hangs around the cafe held by Oren's widow, Anat (Sarah Adler), without identifying. Acknowledging his talents – he makes a nasty Black Forest cake, besides cookies – she hires him to cook for her.

This angered his deeply religious brother-in-law, who is a bit of a stranger to this German underdog, and warned that Thomas' presence in the kitchen might cost the cafe his kosher certification. Anat is not religious, and the business is good because of the skill of the baker, so she wants to keep it. In addition, she began to love him, although he was especially self-centered and deferential.

Screenwriter-director Graizer shows us enough of Thomas who puts his considerable talents to impress even non-foodies. These scenes are amusing, but secondary to the film's biggest preoccupations, which focus on the consequences of Thomas's decision to remain silent about the past, and Anat is slowly getting closer to the truth.

Thomas melancholy, Kalkhof shows considerable skill. The loneliness of the character is never too far from the surface, but not overplayed. Although it never states it, it is clear that its proximity to Anat is important to temper the loss of Oren. The Adler still so attractive is also good enough, in a role that certainly allows him to show more reach than Kalkhof.

Graizer takes his time and never feels the need to spell it all, and "The Cakemaker" is a testament to what filmmakers can achieve when they trust the public.