If you’re looking for some comfort food in film form this week, veteran Finnish director Mika Kaurismäki serves up an irresistible helping in Master Cheng, which opens at Showroom Cinema on Friday.  

Gentle, lyrical and understated, the film follows professional chef, Cheng (Pak Hon Chu), who travels with his young son to a remote village in Finland following the death of his wife. His aim: to reconnect with an old friend from Shanghai. Whilst no one seems to know his friend, a local café owner (Anna-Maija Tuokko) offers Cheng accommodation in return for help in her kitchen, where Cheng surprises the initially sceptical and adverse-to-change locals with the delights of Chinese cuisine. Over time, his cooking encourages vastly different cultures to connect, and he becomes a cherished member of this small-town community. Unfortunately, his tourist visa is about to run out, and it’s up to the villagers to hatch a plan to help him stay.  

A warm and tender tragicomedy - shot through heartache that makes the lighthearted moments feel all the sweeter, Master Cheng is a love story of sorts. Whilst the possibility of romance does not dominate the film, the romances between the stranger and the village, China and Finland, urban and rural cultures, vast idyllic landscapes and close-up shots of mouthwatering meals are comforting and heartwarming. Kaurismäki clearly understands that the way to an audience’s heart is through its stomach. If it's a solid dose of dry Nordic humour you’re after, served with a touching story about connection and acceptance - Master Cheng is just the tonic.  

Inspired by the film’s themes of community, cooking, and sharing kindness and culture through food, we’re supporting S6 Foodbank for the duration of the film’s release  by setting up a temporary food donation point in our Box Office. S6 Foodbank is responsible for 11 sites across the city, stretching from Crookes to Sharrow and from Woodhouse to Firth Park, feeding 1,200 people each week. These numbers are predicted to rise further as the cost of living increases and hits the most vulnerable. S6  work tirelessly to provide meals to people experiencing food emergency in our community. If you’re planning on visiting Showroom Cinema this week, you will be able to bring along a donation of tinned, packaged and long-life goods or toiletries for our Box Office collection point, or donate to the #ForAllSheffield fundraising campaign at justgiving.com/campaign/forallsheffield.  

Tickets for Master Cheng are on sale now.

This article first featured in the Sheffield Telegraph on Thursday 10 March 2022.