The film “La Cocina,” which opens with a quote from Henry David Thoreau’s 1863 essay “Life Without Principle” and reads, “Let us consider how we spend our lives / This world is a workplace / What an endless bustle,” explores these concepts and how work can take over one’s life. and begins to examine exactly how it can eliminate many other concerns.

Directed by Mexican director Alonso RuizpalaciosAdapting Arnold Wesker’s 1957 play “The Kitchen,” the film is a furious burst of energy that also knows when to let up, with a few moments of gentle lyricism as punctuation. This is Ruizpalacios’ fourth feature in nearly a decade, and it feels like a huge step forward; a transition from an up-and-coming talent to someone truly coming into his own as a storyteller. Even though what’s depicted on screen spirals wildly out of control, there’s a sense of confidence in the filmmaking that makes this one of the best new movies of the year.

“La Cocina” takes place at a large restaurant in Manhattan known as the Grill, which distributes an alarming amount of food to tourists. The story begins with young Estela (Anna Díaz) walking in through a side door and taking on the position of sous chef before it opens. From there, events continue, one event quickly segueing into the next amidst the incessant clattering of plates and pans and the machine spitting out endless order tickets.

Anna Díaz and Raúl Briones in the movie “La Cocina”.

(Willa)

The action soon turns to Pedro (the extraordinary Raúl Briones), a fiery chef from the same small Mexican town as Estela and the charismatic, chaotic center of the kitchen. He has a not-so-secret relationship with Julia, one of the waitresses (Rooney Mara), is pregnant and has an abortion appointment between shifts later in the day.

Workers represent a mini United Nations, and some workers call each other by their country’s nicknames. (A new waiter repeatedly corrects people that he’s Dominican, not Mexican.) Their lives outside the restaurant don’t matter much, the only time for a meaningful connection is a stop in the back alley.

A strict sense of space and hierarchy remains, as waiters go about their business and chefs go about theirs with anxious intensity. The business owner often makes a promise, which is never fulfilled, to help his undocumented employees get their papers as a way to keep them working. Management is desperate to get back the $800 that went missing the night before, and staff are being interviewed to see if anyone has stolen the money.

Far from a well-oiled machine, the kitchen is a zone of dysfunction, full of petty squabbles and petty fiefdoms; It feels like a minor miracle that anything is available to everyone. A malfunctioning soda machine creates a near-apocalyptic flood. Eventually, the conflict in the kitchen spills over into the dining room, and that’s when everyone realizes things have gone too far.

Although Julia is the emotional center of the story, Mara’s lack of prominence says something about her abilities. Hollywood staramong the rest of the cast. With his stringy gray hair and tired attitude, he fits in perfectly with the environment; His quirks, like his trick with a lighter or his burping after drinking a beer too quickly, are cute and endearing, but they also mask something underlyingly problematic and struggling.

Rooney Mara in the movie “La Cocina”.

(Willa)

Working with cinematographer Juan Pablo Ramírez and editor Yibrán Asuad and shooting in black and white with expressive splashes of color, Ruizpalacios creates a visual style that continues to reinvent itself until the end, creating an unpredictable feel that suits the volatile plot. .

Comparisons with popular television series “Bear” It will also be inevitable what goes on behind the scenes in a restaurant. But “La Cocina” actually has nothing to do with the food itself — all it lovingly captures is a simple sandwich — as Ruizpalacios focuses on the endless hustle and bustle of work and people just trying to make it to the end. so they can go back to do it all over again.