search

Kitchen Stories

Charming, absurd Norwegian deadpan comedy about isolation and community

Kitchen Stories
The culinary habits of single men in postwar Norway may not be high on the list of hot topics right now, but the droll, deadpan Kitchen Stories is, defiantly, irreverently, all about that. And it's hilarious - in a Scandinavian Sartre-esque sort of way. Kitchen Stories is matter-of-fact absurdism, with way-cool '50s design elements to boot. Directed by Bent Hamer, Kitchen Stories features Folke, a clipboard-and-stopwatch-toting envoy of Sweden's Home Research Institute, dispatched to the Nordic hinterlands to monitor the reluctant volunteer Isak (Joachim Calmeyer) as he brews coffee, tamps tobacco, cooks eggs. The deal is this: Under no circumstances is Folke allowed to communicate with Isak, nor is the researcher permitted to participate in any of the kitchen activities. Of course, rules are made to be broken, and the relationship that develops between Folke and Isak is the nub of the tale. A whimsical allegory about isolation, community, "scientific" research, and the odd things Norwegians put on their bread, Kitchen Stories is a thoroughly charming oddity. And, in the end, a moving one, too. Source: Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer.

Kitchen Stories

Sun October 17, 2004, 7:00 & 9:00, Muenzinger Auditorium

Norway/Sweden, 2003, in Norwegian and Swedish, Color, 95 min, not rated • official site

recommend

Tickets

10 films for $60 with punch card
$9 general admission. $7 w/UCB student ID, $7 for senior citizens
$1 discount to anyone with a bike helmet
Free on your birthday! CU Cinema Studies students get in free.

Parking

Pay lot 360 (now only $1/hour!), across from the buffalo statue and next to the Duane Physics tower, is closest to Muenzinger. Free parking can be found after 5pm at the meters along Colorado Ave east of Folsom stadium and along University Ave west of Macky.

RTD Bus

Park elsewhere and catch the HOP to campus

International Film Series

(Originally called The University Film Commission)
Established 1941 by James Sandoe.

First Person Cinema

(Originally called The Experimental Cinema Group)
Established 1955 by Carla Selby, Gladney Oakley, Bruce Conner and Stan Brakhage.

C.U. Film Program

(AKA The Rocky Mountain Film Center)
First offered degrees in filmmaking and critical studies in 1989 under the guidance of Virgil Grillo.

Celebrating Stan

Created by Suranjan Ganguly in 2003.

C.U. Department of Cinema Studies & Moving Image Arts

Established 2017 by Chair Ernesto Acevedo-Muñoz.

Thank you, sponsors!
Boulder International Film Festival
Department of Cinema Studies & Moving Image Arts

Looking for a gift for a friend?
Buy a Frequent Patron Punch Card for $60 at any IFS show. With the punch card you can see ten films (a value of $90).

We Want Your Feedback

Cox & Kjølseth
: Filmmaker Alex Cox & Pablo Kjølseth discuss film topics from their own unique perspectives.

Z-briefs
: Pablo and Ana share Zoom-based briefs on what's currently playing at IFS

Search IFS schedules

Index of visiting artists

Mon Apr 1, 2024

Hot Shots! Part Deux

At Muenzinger Auditorium

Sat Apr 20, 2024

Super Mario Bros.

At Muenzinger Auditorium

more on 35mm...