A Spice for Life

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A Spice for Life
Directed byMika Kaurismäki
Written by
Produced byMika Kaurismäki
Starring
Cinematography
Edited by
Music by
  • Anssi Tikanmäki
  • Eemil Tikanmäki
  • Eljas Tikanmäki
Production
companies
  • Han Run Yuan He
Release date
  • 27 September 2019 (2019-09-27)
Running time
114 minutes
CountryFinland
LanguagesFinnish, English
Budget2.9 million euro

A Spice for Life (original Finnish title: Mestari Cheng) is a 2019 Finnish romantic drama comedy film directed by Mika Kaurismäki. The film stars , , Kari Väänänen, and Vesa-Matti Loiri. The story of the film is about the Chinese master cook Cheng (Hong), who travels to the small village of in Kittilä, Lapland with his son. Cheng's cooking causes an overhaul of the local life and cures the local people of ailments ranging from high blood pressure to menstruation pain. The story also touches the aspects of childlessness and losing one's spouse.

The film was premiered in Finland 27 September 2019 and in China in January 2020.

Plot[]

After the death of his wife, the Chinese cook Cheng travels to the Finnish village of Pohjanjoki with his son, in order to meet his benefactor Fongtron, who had helped him in a difficult situation. Upon arriving in Pohjanjoki, Cheng finds out no one knows who Fongtron is. It later becomes apparent that Fongtron was a man named Pekka Forsström, who had died a couple of years earlier.

As a busload of Chinese tourists arrive at the village, Cheng helps the local restaurant owner Sirkka to take care of them. Instead of Sirkka's basic dish of pork bits with mashed potatoes, Cheng makes the tourists Chinese noodle soup from simple ingredients. The tourists find the food tasty, attracting more tourists to the village, and Sirkka's entire life changes.

As well as the Chinese tourists, the local Finnish people also find the new food tasty. Cheng explains to them that Chinese food makes one lucky and well. This turns out to work as Cheng's food cures the people from ailments ranging from high blood pressure to menstruation pain. In return, the locals treat Cheng to Finnish experiences: holidays on the lake shore, the Finnish sauna and tango dancing.

With Sirkka's help, Cheng's son Niu Niu gets over longing back to China and makes new friends among the local children.

Cheng and Sirkka fall in love with each other and travel to China to marry.

Cast[]

Production[]

Two-thirds of the film's budget of 2.9 million euro came from China. The film was shot for six weeks in summer 2018 in Raattama, Sodankylä, and China.[1]

The film premiered in Finland on 27 September 2019 and had its Chinese premiere in January 2020 during the Chinese New Year.[2][1]

The film won the first prize in the public's choice awards at the Lübeck Nordische Filmtage festival in autumn 2019 and received 93% of the votes, which was a new record during the festival's history.

The film was sold to many countries. It received its premiere in Germany on 30 July 2020 in 146 cinemas, gaining a huge public success. The film received its premiere in Austria on the same day. Next the film came to cinemas in Switzerland on 20 August 2020 and later in autumn in the United Kingdom and Japan.[3]

References[]

  1. ^ a b Mika Kaurismäki otti koko kylän Mestari Cheng -elokuvan tekoon mukaan – päänäyttelijä Anna-Maija Tuokko: "Yksi elämän huippukokemuksia", Yle Uutiset. Accessed on 21 December 2019.
  2. ^ Mika Kaurismäen elokuva Mestari Cheng on Kiinan mielestä täydellinen – suomalaiset elokuvantekijät kiinnostuivat Kiinasta sensuurista huolimatta, Yle Uutiset. Accessed on 21 December 2019.
  3. ^ Suomalaiselokuva nousi poikkeukselliseksi hitiksi maailmalla: "Hienoa ja ainutlaatuista", Iltalehti. Accessed on 4 August 2020.

External links[]

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