Soul Kitchen

Soul Kitchen is a 2009 German comedy film directed by Fatih Akın, with a screenplay by Akın and Adam Bousdoukos, based on Bousdoukos' story on his own experiences as the owner of a Greek tavern named "Taverna", where Akın was a regular customer. Plot Zinos, a Greek restaurant owner, owns Soul Kitchen, a shabby, run-down restaurant providing working-class food in the Hamburg area, in an old warehouse space. The business is struggling financially, and tax inspectors ask Zinos for payments. Occasionally a punk rock band uses the restaurant as practice space, but never pays rental fees. An old sailor, Sokrates, continuously works on his boat at the warehouse but is never able to pay the rent. At a family gathering at an upscale restaurant, Zinos argues with his girlfriend Nadine, a journalist, who is preparing to leave on assignment to Shanghai. During that dinner, the chef, Shayn, is fired. Afterward, Zinos meets an old schoolmate, Thomas Neumann. In spite of their arguments over Nadine's assignment to Shanghai, Zinos and Nadine maintain contact via Skype. Zinos' brother Illias, a gambler and hustler, is serving a prison sentence, and has "special leave" where he is allowed to leave the prison and go to work. Zinos agrees to hire Illias to work at Soul Kitchen, to the disdain of bartender Lucia. Illias asks Zinos not to tell anyone about his criminal past. Later, Zinos injures his back when trying to move a heavy dishwasher. Zinos meets a physical therapist, Anna, in the course of his recovery.