Although it seems at first like it might belong to the quirky European genre of older characters doing wacky things (think Calendar Girls, Waking Ned Devine and The Full Monty), Kitchen Stories actually rewards patience by developing characters with much more intimacy and quiet observation than those other films. The story involves an odd social experiment undertaken in Sweden in the 1950s where observers noted the kitchen activities of single men in order to help design new kitchens that would maximize the efficiency of bachelors. This bizarre experiment only works if the observers remain in their high-chairs and interact with their "specimens" as little as possible. Of course, that's nearly impossible as the study is supposed to last for months with the scientists living in tiny trailers, completely disconnected from their normal lives.

Since the men used as lab rats live in an icy, remote town in Norway there's automatic culture shock comedy. The two main characters are designed to emphasize the differences between the observers and the observees: Folke Nilsson (Tomas Norström) is a straight-as-an-arrow city guy who wears a drab suit and comes off as very subdued. Isak Bjornsson (Joachim Calmeyer) is a cranky old country coot who eyes the newcomer suspiciously. In fact, he refuses to do any cooking in the kitchen because he doesn't want to give any information to the study. (He's mad because the payment he thought he would receive turned out to be less useful than he expected.)

Through the film's course these two find themselves separated by much more than the span of Isak's cozy kitchen but, of course, the frost gradually thaws as the quiet pair bonds over their unique brands of loneliness. Without giving away too much, the film never truly allows itself to overdo the sweetness and their connection actually feels genuine and hard-won. They become kind of cute together in their odd way. They bond over little things and their friendship grows naturally and touchingly.

The conflict comes when Folke's supervisor discovers that some of the scientists have been interacting with the subjects. Folke, whose ultra-straight persona makes him seem trustworthy to his boss, finds himself sneaking around, hiding his friendship with Isak. This sort of conflict may be manufactured for the film's dramatic arc but it does give the actors a chance to beautifully explore the way their friendship actually changes who their characters are. You can tell that they're evolving as people as they soften and learn about each other. The final moments are bitter-sweet and lend the film a full-circle emotional resolution that, while slight, is true to the characters and the film's tender style.

VIDEO:
The anamorphic widescreen video is very nice. The print is mostly clean and the image is sharp and attractive. Some scenes show film grain but I didn't detect much in the way of serious compression artifacting. (There was one instance where I thought a red wall might have shown some "swimming" compression.) The image is sharp and distinct. This is a simple but stylish film with a carefully chosen color palette and this rendition is well done.

AUDIO:
The Dolby Digital 5.1 audio is fine. As a quiet film with little in the way of sound effects and long spans without any dialog, it's a subtle but effective mix. Some subtle use of the surrounds helps create the atmosphere of the surroundings but overall it's a quiet, simple mix. The voices are Swedish with removable English subtitles.

EXTRAS:
Just a trailer as well as a couple of trailers for other releases.

FINAL THOUGHTS:
A charming, subtle piece of work, Kitchen Stories is a welcome relief from the overwrought, high-volume films that Hollywood churns out. With a mature sensibility and an openness to self-deprecation and sentimentality, it's a terrific film for viewers who'd like a change of pace.