Eden (DVD)

An audience award winner at Rottedam film festival, Michael Hoffman's Eden is a sensual and romantic film about the art of cooking and love. Gregor (Josef Ostendorf), an eccentric chef, runs a small restaurant on the outskirts of town. In his spare time, he often sits by a street cafe where he is served by Eden (Charlotte Roche). Eden is married to Xaver (Devid Striesow) and has a young daughter, Leonie (Leonie Streep), who has Down Syndrome. Gregor is charmed by both Leonie and her mother and decides to bake a cake with his own homemade chocolate for Eden's birthday. When Eden tastes the chocolate, she is hooked and visits Gregor's kitchen to taste some more of his cuisine, which leads to a close, but platonic, relationship. Eden and her marraige flourish and she finally becomes pregnant again. But Xaver is jealous of Gregor, leading to confrontation, Gregor decides to leave town, but first he wants to see Eden one last time. Seamlessly fitting in with a great tradition of food related films including eat Drink Man Woman, Big Night and Like Water For Chocolate, Eden is a beautifully judged delight.