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Ants On A Shrimp Movie Review

Name: Ants On A Shrimp Movie Review
Item: Ants On A Shrimp
Rating: 2.5
Author: Smitha Joseph

Ants On A Shrimp Movie Review English Movie Review

Written by

Review for the film " Ants On A Shrimp"

Streaming On: Amazon Prime Video

Runtime: 01 Hour 28 minutes

Certificate: UA

Released: 22-07-2016

Genre: Drama, Documentary

Similar To: Lying And Stealing, Somewhere Beautiful, White Boy Rick, First Cow

Critic Review
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2.5 / 5.0

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CAST & CREW

Nicolas Jaar

MORE CAST & CREW

Producer:

Marc Blazer

Barbara Coronel

Editor:

Pelle Asselbergs

Composer:

Nicolas Jaar

Director:

Maurice Dekkers

Movie Actor:

Dan Giusti

Thomas Frebel

Movie Actress:

Kim Mikkola

Sound Designer:

Jaim Sahuleka

Director of Photography:

Hans Bouma

Executive Producer:

Dan Blazer

Nelsje Musch-Elzinga

Screenplay Writer:

Maurice Dekkers

Boom Operator:

Jillis Schriel

Music Coordinator:

Shigeru Umebayashi

Click Here For Full Cast & Crew

Ant on a Shrimp is a documentary-style thriller film written and directed by Maurice Dekkers. This film features Thomas Frebel, Dan Giusti, Kim Mikkola, Rene Redzepi, Rosio Sanchez and Lars Williams. Nicolas Jaar Nicolas Jaar was born on 10th of January in 1990. >> Read More... has given the music for this film. The producers of this movie are Dan Blazer, Marc Blazer, Barbara Coronel, and Nelsje Musch-Elzinga. Hans Bouma is the cinematographer of this film. Pelle Asselbergs did the editing of this movie.

Plot

The movie’s plot focuses on Rene Redzepi’s journey to create a temporary restaurant in Tokyo, Japan. The chef and his team are part of the world’s famous Noma, the famed Copenhagen restaurant that for years achieved the ‘best in the world’ title for their adventurous take on Scandinavian cuisine. They decided to take on the biggest challenge to bring their style of food-making to Japan. Redzepi and company create a 14-day course menu and showcase their extraordinary zeal and talent to achieve their goal. When they arrive at Tokyo’s Mandarin Oriental, the team is rattled to find the kitchen located three floors below the ground and the not-so-appealing dining area. What did they cook? Did they succeed? How did they tackle the claustrophobic situation? The film answers these questions.

Star Performances

Though the acting performances are not conventional in the narrative sense, they still play an important role in representing the emotional challenges and triumphs experienced by Rene Redzepi and his team. It features real-life characters played by them. The acting performances felt generic and convincing even though they were not trained actors. However, they struggled to present in-depth and authentic reactions in the film because of no acting experience. The supporting cast also did their best to replicate the original scenes with utmost sincerity.

Analysis

‘Ants on a Shrimp’ is an attempt by the director to showcase the behind-the-scenes struggles and triumphs of chef Rene Redzepi and his team of Noma while they embark on a culinary adventure to establish a restaurant in Tokyo, Japan. Under Rene and his team, Noma achieved the title of ‘the best restaurant’ for years and now they are trying to utilize their expertise and experience to do the same in Japan. Maurice Dekkers, the director, effectively captures the passion and dedication of Rene and his team while filming their struggles and how resiliently they tackled the situations against them. He successfully captures their professional interests and expertise and also the significance of Japanese cuisine. As the cast includes the real-life characters themselves, hence they beautifully and convincingly showcased their passion for food. Rene’s firm character and his leadership skills felt authentic. The enthusiasm of the team is the backbone of this project. However, their negligible acting knowledge fails to deliver in certain crucial scenes of the film. The cinematography of this movie focuses on the food and culinary world. The exceptionally skilled use of the beautiful sights and sceneries of Japan and its marketplaces by the cinematographer significantly enhanced the watching experience of the viewers. The meticulous editing of the film presents a balanced and engaging representation of the food preparation and personal stories of chefs and staff. Also, the used of interview clips proves helpful in hooking up the audience. The soundtrack is a blend of regional Japanese themes and contemporary sounds that provide authenticity to the setting of the film. While the film appears to be a well-crafted documentary, it falters in presenting the character background of some characters. Also, the technical language around the food used in the film diverts the niche audience of the film. The film doesn’t give any heed to the voices of others except for Rene and his team.

What’s There?

• The cinematography is excellent.

• The message conveyed by the film delivers to viewers.

• The movie’s themes highlight human efforts and zeal.

• The representation of Japanese landscapes is exceptionally well.

What’s Not There?

• There is lack of character development in the film.

• The movie’s dialogues have technical terms which are difficult to understand.

• The acting performances are poor due to lack of experience.

• There are underutilized characters in the film that deserve better representation.

Verdict

‘Ants on a Shrimp’ is a well-cooked documentary centered on the passion for food in this cuisine industry and the dedication of the chefs of the world’s best restaurant Noma. It showcases the struggles and the stoic nature of Chef Rene and his team. Though it falters at some point, it successfully left a mark on the viewers’ minds with its enthusiastic and motivating representation of this cuisine venture in Japan.