A young eatery owner in Hamburg, Zinos (Bousdoukos), is in a state of conflict – his girlfriend Nadine (Roggan) is moving to Shanghai to be a foreign correspondent, but he can’t let go of his beloved establishment. When he hires chef Shayn (Ünel), recently ‘retired’ from a gourmet restaurant (because he can’t tolerate the type of customer who wants his gazpacho served hot!), the menu changes from greasy pizza to more upmarket cuisine. This loses Zinos his regular customers but soon brings in a new, hip crowd. Then there’s his brother Ilias (Bleibtreu), a petty crim allowed out on day release, who soon starts to fall for waitress Lucia (Anna Bederke).

This is much lighter fare than director Fatih Akin usually brings us (The Edge of Heaven being his most famous work). It takes a while to really get going but stick with it because, about 30 minutes in, it becomes lots of fun. As well as all the interactions detailed above, there’s also a shady real estate agent, troubled gambling, an old man with a boat who doesn’t pay his rent, a band who uses the restaurant as a rehearsal space and much more. Not to mention some delicious looking cuisine.

This is the sort of film that is totally enjoyable, but you don’t have to do the whole ‘turn your brain off’ cliché to get into it. It’s a great night out on many levels.

Pietro Paladini is a successful executive, who is married with a 10-year old daughter, Claudia. On the day that Pietro saves the lives of two women who were drowning at sea, he returns home to find the dead body of his wife.

On Claudia’s first day of school since suffering the loss of her mother, Pietro drops her off but decides to wait for her until the end of school. Thus begins Pietro’s new routine: dropping his daughter off to class and waiting for her return in a park outside the school. Pietro spends his days either sitting in his car, walking through the park or having coffee at the park’s café. Soon, Pietro’s bosses, work colleagues and relatives visit him expecting to console him. However, in amongst his quiet calm, they all end up confiding their own pain and difficulties to him instead.

The film also enjoys the distinction of having a notorious, graphic, reportedly unsimulated and surprisingly gratuitous sex scene! Regardless, Quiet Chaos is a wonderfully simple movie that was first screened in Canberra during the 2008 Canberra International Film Festival. For those who missed it, it is highly recommended!