The Cakemaker

A great study character with the full of sad and love. Full of mix-emotions and powerfull!

THE CAKEMAKER, rather than too much focusing on its taboo topic, stirs invisibility and baked goods as ingredients which could be prohibited, by the same measure and fulfills basic craving : compassion and the aftertaste once it’s lost.

“The Cakemaker” is an Israeli film starring Sarah Adler and Tim Kalkhof. Written and directed by Ofir Raul Grazier the film’s locations are in Berlin and Jerusalem. This a story of love, religion and clashing cultures. Although the film is interesting, it is, in this viewer’s opinion, too slow. On the positive side, it details daily life in Israel and how important it is for those living there to adhere to certain orthodox rituals. Unfortunately, the writer/director asks the audience to take certain leaps of faith and logic that I found hard to easily accept. I give the film a 7 since its premise and the problems it poses are more universal in scope than limited simply to those living in Germany and/or Israel.

Many times I tell Allen to leave logic at the door when we go to see a movie and many times it will help make for a better movie but in the case of “The Cakemaker” the lack of logic makes you question everything about the movie, the characters, the story and people. The basic premise is that Thomas, who owns a pastry shop in Berlin, has a married lover, Oren, who lives in Jerusalem with his wife and child, but comes to Berlin once a month for a few days for business and spends time with Thomas. Oh yes, his wife has opened a coffee bar. The fact that Thomas is not aware that Oren has died and the way he finds out are the first and last logical things that take place in the movie. How the widow, Anat, and the dead man’s son and brother react to this man who appears at the door of her shop asking for a job makes no sense at all just as the possibility that no way could Thomas be Jewish because he is German is assumed by all. The brother is nasty to him one moment and extending a friendship the next. The whole question of being kosher or non-kosher in business or at home or how one feels personally doesn’t make sense just as Thomas closing his shop, or maybe leaving elves to run it, to move to a country where he knows anyone to what looks like stalking his dead lover’s wife doesn’t make sense. Is it mother’s instinct that Anat’s mother-in-law seems to be the only one who knows Thomas is Gay, though that word is never mentioned, and that maybe his interest in her son is more than anyone else knows? The questions keep coming with every move made by the characters and the writer/director, Ofir Raul Graizer, of “The Cakemaker”, is of no help. He seems to have sanitized the picture so much for the straight audience plus not answer any questions that would have given the story some logic that he missed a real opportunity to get into subjects that hold a lot of interest in today’s world from sexual gender fluidity to why one married man would define himself as bi-sexual and another as gay. Does a gay man have to have images of his lover making love to his wife so that the gay man can perform with a woman? Are gay men more gender fluid than non-gay men? Ofir Raul Graizer eludes the deeper subjects of grief, desire, sexuality, reaching out, or even the Israelites reactions to non-Jews. BY the way I have a few more questions of those who saw this movie! :O)