Kitchen Stories Charette
Kitchen Stories (2003), directed by Bent Hamer, is a Swedish film that follows the story of a scientific study to observe how single males in Sweden interact with the household, in order to better market household goods to them. The scene in the movie that I find most compelling is when Isak (played by Joachim Calmeyer) climbs up into the observer chair that is almost always manned by Folke (played by Thomas Norstrom). Throughout the film Folke is supposed to be observing Isak from the chair with no interaction, including no speaking. Isak, who is a constant resistant to Folk and the scientific study had up to this point done many things to disrupt the study through non-compliance, finds himself empowered in the chair as he is exalted for just a moment from the subject of the observation to the seat from which he is being observed. This scene is one of the key moments at which the barrier between the two begins to erode. Much of the movie highlights how understanding one another, crea
