La Cocina Reviews - Metacritic (original) (raw)

SummaryIt is the lunchtime rush at The Grill, a New York tourist trap that serves thousands of customers on a regular Friday like today. Money has gone missing from the till and all the workers are being questioned. Most of them are illegal immigrants and they struggle to defend their job, their only rightful place in the world, as they prepare an endle... Read More

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79% Positive
11 Reviews

21% Mixed
3 Reviews

0% Negative
0 Reviews

Dec 4, 2024

Original-Cin

Ruizpalacio’s purpose is to present the harried workplace as a microcosm of American capitalism, its obsession with abused undocumented immigrants, anger at women’s reproduction rights and devotion to the churning machinery of consumption. The message isn’t new but, in the present moment, the sheer bluntness of the critique feels liberating.

Oct 25, 2024

RogerEbert.com

La Cocina is a phenomenal showcase for Briones, who gives one of the most mesmerizingly multi-faceted performances of the year.

82% Positive
9 Ratings

18% Mixed
2 Ratings

0% Negative
0 Ratings

Nov 14, 2024

alejandro970

Siguiendo los pasos del cine indie, la historia nos permite conocer lo que ocurre tras bambalinas en un restaurante, con todo y el estrés que implica ese ambiente, con cierto sabor realista y, de paso, nos muestra la incómoda situación de los inmigrantes. Una de las mejores apuestas del año.

Nov 8, 2024

bertobellamy

A chaotic drama with lots of Mexican humor that also passes as a meditation on the worthiness of the so-called "American dream".

Mar 27, 2025

The Irish Times

La Cocina makes watching The Bear feel like listening to Enya in a garden centre.

Feb 19, 2024

The Hollywood Reporter

Even if the film ultimately strays too far into virtuosic theatricality, betraying its origins, La Cocina is a gripping reflection on the dehumanizing grind of labor and the ways that its soul-crushing routines stifle hope. Even if he takes too long wrapping up an overwrought climactic crescendo, this is a compelling vision of the immigrant experience as a hellish limbo in which even the seeming ballast of community, brotherhood and love can be illusory.

Feb 18, 2024

The Film Stage

Ruizpalacios’ film has style to burn but little interest in subtlety, and even the most high-grade hammers can lose their sheen after 139 minutes of hammering.

Oct 25, 2024

Collider

When we get to the end of its hefty runtime, we get the sensation that La Cocina tried to be several things — an investigative thriller, a fish-out-of-water drama, a delirious trip of a man who’s starting to get burnt out — and didn’t manage to take any of them all the way.

Feb 19, 2024

Screen Daily

We never shake off the feeling we’re watching a filmed play, one whose dramatic crescendos and lulls are relentlessly stagey and stylised.

See All 14 Critic Reviews

Jan 24, 2025

alanpotter17

A versatilidade da Rooney Mara me espanta, e aqui temos o retrato do caos e dos fantasmas que assombram o proletariado. É como se fosse a versão "O menu" feito para a classe trabalhadora, com problemas reais de relacionamentos, gravidez, ignorâcia mantendopreconceitos (machismo, homofobia estruturais), além de viverem sob vigilância e pressão. Todo aquele microcosmo tenta abraças o mundo, claro que uma hora ou outra vai parecer superficial, mas o surto final revela justamente que o turbilhão continua, um filme definitivamente amargo. A cena em take único finalmente invadindo o salão, é absolutamente fantástica e por si só já merece a conferida.

See All 11 User Reviews

Production Company:

Release Date:Oct 25, 2024

Duration:2 h 19 m

Rating:R

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Ariel Awards, Mexico

• 5 Wins & 15 Nominations

Mexican Cinema Journalists

• 1 Win & 7 Nominations

Evolution! Mallorca International Film Festival

• 2 Wins & 2 Nominations