When it comes to movies, a great film is one that captivates you. It’s where you are pulled in for a ride and are at the character’s side for every moment of their lives on the silver screen. As a viewer, you care about the story, and the film cares about you as it leaves you with feelings and emotions that you have to take minutes or more to get back to reality. For our first time with Filmfest DC, my fiancé and I got a chance to see a real treat, called “Love and Lemons” (“Små Citroner Gula” in Swedish). Debuted in February of 2013 as the third feature film of director Teresa Fabik, the movie is based on the novel of the same title by Swedish writer and comedienne, Kajsa Ingemarssons. This lovable Swedish romantic comedy is about three wonderful things: love, food, and the courage to make one’s dreams come true.

The film tells the tale of Agnes (played by Rakel Wärmländer), an aspiring chef, who is gradually making her way up in the restaurant business as a waitress at a high-end restaurant. Life seems to be great, especially with her rock musician boyfriend, Tobias (played by Richard Ulfsäter). But one night, Agnes is fired from her job and Tobias dumps her for another woman. To get her life back together, she gambles everything she has, including her parents’ lifetime savings to start a business with former co-worker, Kalle (played by Eric Ericson) with the hopes of it becoming the successful restaurant she’s always dreamed of. But to Agnes’ surprise, getting a restaurant together is not easy as the business begins to plummet. After an embarrassing run-in with her mysterious neighbor, David (played by Sverrir Gudnason), she soon realizes that he is a popular food critic and is urged by her friends and colleagues to get close to him so their restaurant can get a great review to save the business and pay back her parents. This film has a great balance of comedy, romance, and drama as it takes the audience through the plot with laughs, OMG moments, and warm smiles. But as I followed Agnes on the many twists and turns of her journey, I found that this movie was truly about love and one of those loves was of cooking.

Agnes’ mother, Maud (played by Anki Lidén) and her father, Sven (played by Tomas von Brömssen) are fans of Italian cooking and throughout the film, they share not only their joy with their daughter, but with us, viewers, as well. After watching Maud slowly drop in a bunch of fresh mussels into her prized family stew, the thought of getting popcorn didn’t seem satisfying anymore for me. The cinematography not only used close-ups of food to bring the joys of crafting a great meal to the audience, but it also used extreme close-ups and slow motion to heighten the senses. One of the great things about “Love and Lemons” is that it made sure that the food also had a starring role. The film showed that it wasn’t just a story about a young woman with a passion for cooking who is trying to get her life back on track. It brought the audience into her world; getting them close and personal with her passion and showed how important food plays in her life as well as with the lives of her family and friends (and even foe, Gérard (played by Dan Ekborg)).

Coming away from this film, it made me realize how much love there was in Agnes’ story because the plot expanded from its title. In other words, this film not only addressed the romantic side of love, but other forms of love. From the time Agnes’ parents greet her at their home with a warm hug to the very end of the movie, the warmth of her loving family is present. So is the love of her friends who are there for her, even in the worst possible timing like hilarious best friend, Lussan (played by Josefin Bornebusch). Also, the film illustrates the moral of following your passions in life; molding your dreams through every obstacle you may come across. In Agnes’ case, her dream is for the restaurant that she strives to make successful and we, the viewers, are happy to watch unfold.

All around, “Love and Lemons” is a very touching film that doesn’t cease to entertain. It is a film filled with great laughs, wonderful acting, a fun and heart-warming plot, and of course, the joys of food. This movie will leave you happy…and maybe a little hungry as well.

-LLM (Laura)

Editor’s Note: Love and Lemons and the below films were all show through FilmFest DC, which we wrote about recently.

I viewed Romantic Brasserie (Belgium) and Zone Pro Site: A Moveable Feast (Taiwan) as a double feature, and enjoyed them both.

Romantic Brasserie gives you a window into all the drama going on in a Belgian brasserie’s dining room, kitchen…and bathroom on Valentine’s Day. You get the feeling of being the “fly on the wall.”

Zone Pro Site is like the Iron Chef of the catering world. The movie can be silly, but it is meant to be, and it is definitely entertaining. The crowd (viewers) got very into this movie.

-JAY