The Cakemaker
— I’m not sure how I missed Ofir Raul Graizer’s first feature film, when it was released a few years ago, but I’m glad I watched it this week. At its simplest, it’s the story of Thomas, a German baker whose affair with Oren, a married, Israeli transportation engineer who frequently travels from Jerusalem to Berlin for work, is cut short when Oren dies in an accident. When Thomas hears nothing from Oren and can’t reach him on his phone, he travels to Jerusalem and takes a job in a small Kosher restaurant owned by Oren’s wife, Sarah. The focus becomes one of shared grief and shared love, as Thomas learns about Oren’s family and, unbeknownst to Sarah, she learns about Oren’s lover. An intimacy develops. Issues of religion and cultural differences filter through the story, adding another layer. It’s a beautiful, intimate film. It is also meticulously slow-paced with the story unfolding in an almost passive way, probably because it relies so much on viewer interpretation of a facial expression or some other nuance. It is sensitive and intimate and, at times, a little melancholic, but oh so satisfying as long as you don’t mind ambiguous endings. If I had any criticism, it is that, at times, the images or music almost become too conspicuous, drawing focus away from the story instead of letting all the wonderful elements coexist.
[Netflix streaming.]
