Martha is a single woman who lives for one passion: cooking. The head chef at a chic restaurant, Martha has no time for anything - or anyone - else. But Martha's solitary life is shaken when a fateful accident brings her sister's eight-year-old daughter, Lina, to her doorstep.
Acting
Martina Gedeck's face does more than most scripts.
Writing
Therapy scenes that actually feel like real therapy.
Direction
Kitchen sequences so tactile you'll smell the butter.
Director
Sandra Nettelbeck
Martina Gedeck
Martha Klein
Sergio Castellitto
Mario
August Zirner
Martha´s Therapist
Ulrich Thomsen
Sam Thalberg
Sibylle Canonica
Frida
Katja Studt
Lea
İdil Üner
Bernadette
Oliver Broumis
Jan
Antonio Wannek
Carlos
Sandra Nettelbeck
Christin (uncredited)
Gerhard Garbers
Herr Steinberg
Diego Ribon
Giuseppe Lorenzo
Wolf-Dietrich Sprenger
Lauter Gast (as W.D. Sprenger)
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
This German-Italian co-production sparked a less subtle American remake, 'No Reservations' (2007), proving Hollywood cannot resist Catherine Zeta-Jones in an apron.
Nettelbeck originally wanted the food scenes silent except for cooking sounds—a choice that makes Martha's kitchen feel like both sanctuary and prison before Lina arrives.
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