PalCinema Review: La Cocina

A little seen 2024 film that is a true work of cinematic art

March 10, 2025

FILM: LA COCINA

DIRECTED BY: ALONSO RUIZPALACIOS

STARRING: RAUL BRIONES, ROONEY MARA, ANNA DIAZ

RATING: 4 out of 4 stars

By Dan Pal

Towards the end of every calendar year, I receive screeners to films vying for awards attention. Sometimes a couple fall through the cracks. La Cocina is one of those films. This year it was nominated for Best Director and Best Cinematography by the Film Independent Spirit Awards. I was pretty blown away by this largely underseen film. It’s a work of art featuring some amazing technical achievements, top-notch performances, and a rich script giving several characters a chance to let off some heavily built-up steam.

The premise may be familiar: there is chaos in a restaurant’s kitchen. Yes, there are echoes of The Bear here but, to use an overused expression, the film is like that series on steroids. The setting is New York City. The restaurant, which seems to specialize in a wide variety of menu items from pizza to lobster tails, is much bigger than the one depicted in The Bear. Most of the film’s time is spent within the kitchen, which has what seems like 30-35 staff members. It’s also highly diverse, including immigrants still trying to get their papers, a pregnant server, several staff members in conflict with each other, and a few outside taking a break and discussing their dreams.

The main character is Pedro, played by Raul Briones. He’s from south of the border, has anger issues, and is in a relationship with server Julia, played by Rooney Mara. There are a lot of complications within that pairing which leads to some serious breakdowns. Each character, even some that appear to be a bit on the periphery of the story, has a drive or goal. There’s the accountant who is trying to find a missing $800 and a minor character who eats customers’ leftovers. Some of these situations are handled lightly and comedically but, like The Bear, there’s some serious drama bubbling.

There are two astonishing scenes which may have been the key to this film’s Spirit nominations. One, in the mostly black and white film, features a long take during peak dinner time when all hell breaks loose in the kitchen. This includes a soda fountain that won’t stop spraying water. The servers and chefs must make their way through the flood to continue their fast-paced service. The orchestration of this extended scene is nothing short of brilliant. Another comes near the end of the film, which I won’t spoil, but fans Ruben Ostlund’s films Triangle of Sadness and The Square might really appreciate the lengths director Alonso Ruizpalacios goes to stage some truly chaotic and cathartic moments for the characters.

This isn’t a constant high-energy, fast-cutting film though. There are a couple of scenes that feature slow, steady camera movements which emphasize the monologues of characters that aren’t given much attention early on but that connect the film to its larger themes. One of those is the starting of a fire – not literally in the film but metaphorically. Does change sometimes require that people light their own fires and create chaos and necessary discord? There is more than one scene in which explosive dialogue accentuates power and deep-seated anger among some of the characters.

The film tackles several interesting issues that are at the forefront of national discord today, especially the use (and abuse) of immigrant workers, language barriers, a lack of empathy, and the realities of running a high-profile business.

Even though the film is a bit long, at 139 minutes, it is one, like the others mentioned, that is worthy of at least one close deep dive.

La Cocina is currently available to rent/buy on various streaming platforms including Amazon Prime.

Have you seen La Cocina? What did you think?

For the archive of PalCinema reviews, click here.