Don't get too excited by the title of the new Norwegian film, “Sex.” The act itself is actually only briefly discussed in this fascinating film, the first in a new trilogy from writer-director Dag Johan Haugerud, relying mostly on the words and descriptions of the main characters rather than much visual information. Haugerud, winner of the Europa Cinemas label for best European film in the Panorama section of the current Berlin Film Festival, where it had its world premiere this week, has announced this as the first of three films – “Sex, Dreams” and then “Love” – ​​with the same cast and which, overall, will explore themes of desire, identity and freedom, not to mention sexuality and the place of gender in our lives and society. This first standalone film also leans heavily on masculinity in ways not usually discussed by men, but here they do in a profound way in this thought-provoking film that also puts Norway's most famous city, Oslo, in the spotlight.

Haugerud's dialogue-driven script is full of monologues delivered in conversational dialogues with either two male colleagues (never named) from a chimney sweeping company and/or their wives. It begins with the boss (Thorbjørn Harr) telling an unseen person about a dream in which he encounters David Bowie, who thinks he is a woman. The dream is described in detail and clearly disturbs him, as he has never experienced such a vivid depiction of gender, his sex and his image from the perspective of others, in such a graphic situation, whether in a dream or not. The camera soon reveals that he is not speaking to a therapist (my first thought) but to a colleague (Jan Gunnar Røise), who then decides, albeit hesitantly at first, to tell of a recent real-life encounter he had with a man in the kitchen of a house where he was working on the chimney, a stranger who, he says, saw him as an object of desire and asked him point blank if he wanted to have sex with him. He tells his colleague that he immediately refused – they are both married – but that he quickly returned after leaving and, he says, ended up having sex with the man. What's more, he even tells his wife (Siri Forberg) all about it in a matter-of-fact way afterwards.

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One can imagine that the story didn't go down well, and for the rest of the 2 hours and 5 minutes, her character is all about becoming more and more deeply disturbed about what this all means, not just for their marriage, but for her, her family, and whether her husband is actually gay. In these intimate and lengthy conversations, he assures everyone that just because he did it once with a man doesn't mean he's an alcoholic. Harr's character also confesses to his wife (a more understanding Birgitte Larsen) his own strange dreams in which David Bowie sees him as a woman, and has to digest the fact that this has more of an impact on his marriage than on his lifelong understanding of his identity and the way he is seen.

Once we're past these heavy, if sometimes tedious, discussions, Haugerud manages to lighten things up a bit, as Harr's character takes his son Hans Petter (Adrian Jenure Skaaland) to a doctor (a wonderfully incisive and natural Anne Marie Ottersen) to examine the boy's injured hand, but at the same time asks her about his own ailments. In a somewhat whimsical way, she begins a story about two young gay men, one of whom is seriously ill. Haugerud suddenly thrusts us into flashbacks to tell this story within a story. I, for one, was glad to get out of the claustrophobic conversations sparked by the chimney sweeps' revelations and into something else, anything else. The slow and deliberate pacing, with minimal camera movement in so many scenes between them and their wives, makes everything seem longer than it is.

Aside from that, Sex is full of wry observations about human behavior and life's unanswered questions about who we really are. The superbly chosen actors, especially Røise and Harr, tell the story in a subdued, almost deadpan style. The camerawork, which also puts Oslo himself in the spotlight, is masterfully executed by Cecile Semec. And as befits such a profound film, it all ends with a musical dance sequence – of course – in which Harr's character performs on stage with his choir while Røise's character and his entire family, now seemingly content to carry on with their lives as before, watch from the audience. No explanations are needed, but perhaps we'll get one as the trilogy moves into the next chapter.

Producers are Yngve Saether and Hege Hauff Hvattum.

Title: sex
Festival: Berlin (Panorama)
Director-Screenwriter: Tag Johan Haugerud
Pour: Jan Gunnar Roise, Thorbjörn Harr, Siri Forberg, Birgitte Larsen, Nasrin Khusrawy, Hadrian Jenure Skaaland, Theo Dahl, Anne Marie Ottersen
Sales agent: M Appeal
Duration: 2 hrs 5 mins

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The post Norwegian Prize Winner Is Complicated And Dialogue-Pushed First Entry In Dag Johan Haugerud’s Formidable Trilogy – Berlin Movie Pageant appeared first on Los Gatos News And Events.

Jon Yao is finally fulfilling his dream of moving his Taiwanese tasting menu restaurant Kato to a larger room. In early 2022, the Kato team will reopen at the former M.Georgina by San Francisco chef Melissa Perello on Row DTLA in the Arts District, who announced last night that it will not reopen.

Georgina, who also owns Frances and Octavia, never really got a chance to develop M.Georgina with just four months of uptime before the pandemic stopped eating indoors. The closure of M.Georgina allows Kato to take over the site. “It’s difficult to leave a restaurant that has only been open for four months. However, we don’t see a viable path for M.Georgina after COVID, “Perello said in a statement. After thanking staff and guests, Perello said, “We are grateful for the opportunity to hand the torch of this beautiful restaurant into the very capable hands of Jon Yao, Ryan Bailey, Nikki Reginaldo and the Kato team.”

There has probably never been a more improbable LA fine dining success story than Kato.

With a move to an already operational restaurant, Kato’s last day in West LA will be November 20th; The team will take a few months of rest during the holiday season and then ramp up for an opening in January or February 2022. The move to downtown has long been planned for Yao and his partners Nikki Reginaldo and Ryan Bailey, who have jointly founded a new parent company called Like Water Hospitality. The mission of the new group will be to make Kato (and hopefully more restaurants) one of the best gourmet institutions in the country, grabbing the attention of the 50 best in the world and earning two or even three Michelin stars.

Given what Yao did to Kato, there has probably never been a more improbable fine dining success story in LA. Yao first opened in 2016 in a near-hidden mall that was originally billed as a Japanese tasting menu, which was only $ 49 per person. Over the years, he began to look more closely to his Taiwanese and San Gabriel Valley roots, serving what appeared to be simple but well-thought-out raw and cooked seafood, as well as luxurious variations on homemade dishes like the Wagyu beef rice bowl. Since then, Kato has received virtually every accolade a restaurant could want, from a top spot on the LA Times’ 101 restaurant list to a coveted Michelin star to an all-time 38 eatery essential for eater. Yao was named Best New Chef in Food and Wine in 2018, and his eater video on Youtube has received more than 13 million views. That kind of recognition – especially the Michelin star – saved the restaurant, says Yao.

Yao had always planned to move Kato to a location that better suited his ambitions – a larger, more upscale space to match the intricate and beautifully presented dishes. Another desired improvement: Kato’s current mall spot has never allowed full alcohol service due to lack of space and permit requirements. The pandemic continued to weigh on operations, with Yao first making beautiful sashimi bentos in jewelry boxes and then opening them to a tiny outside area in the parking lot. Still, the restaurant pushed to serve a full tasting menu of $ 150 per person (with more for additions) and retained its Michelin star for the last month.

Now with the former M.Georgina room there is a lot of space and the proximity to the San Gabriel Valley.

“We wanted to be closer to SGV, where many of our friends and family came from. Right now, 30 to 40 percent of the people come from SGV who drive two or three hours, ”says Reginaldo, who also grew up in the San Gabriel Valley and remains the enthusiastic personality who touches every table when it comes to service. “A lot of people who come here are young Asian Americans who are grateful for the display and say that having the food remind them of home is a nostalgic experience. At the end we have conversations, then we start texting. We’re having lunch, we’re going to get Boba. We have this kind of intimacy that I really like personally, ”she says. Yao acknowledges that Reginaldo is essential to Kato’s success: “It’s like a mother and a pop. We didn’t move on to a new level until Nikki showed up and people came to identify Kato with her. ”

“We wanted to be closer to SGV, where many of our friends and family came from.”

Bailey, the third pillar of the Kato partnership, came on board three years ago with wine and operations experience in places like NoMad in NYC and LA as well as the Michelin-starred The Kitchen in Sacramento. He brings business acumen and organizational structure to Kato, a complement to Yao’s and Reginaldo’s more hands-on experience in eating and drinking. Before Kato, Yao directed at the Michelin-starred Benu and Coi, where he worked on the line for eight months but otherwise had no experience as a chef. Reginaldo also didn’t work in upscale restaurants before Kato, although she did project management at a brewery and graduated with a degree in hospitality. But Bailey joined the team and believed in Kato’s talent and mission. “With Jon you have one of the better chefs in LA who brings Taiwanese food to the world,” he says.

Bailey believes Kato can achieve both critical and financial success with a new space. “I feel very confident about the business model,” he says, noting that he can take on the less interesting, but no less important, human resources, accounting, and other corporate governance jobs that make a restaurant viable. The trio rounds off their partnership with ambition, friendliness and competence that a gourmet restaurant needs: Yao as the culinary head, Reginaldo the warm, inviting heart and Bailey, the gourmet veteran, the structure (as well as wine knowledge).

Uni with brown butter and tapioca starter at Kato. Kato

Yao is excited about the new opportunities downtown offers. “It is a big plus to have the kitchen designed by a Michelin-starred chef,” says Yao. As for the food, the kitchen has a wood-burning stove that will enrich Yao’s cooking arsenal. There is a separate area to focus on pastries. A full cocktail bar and wine list on par with Kato’s food. Although there is a lot more space, Kato will serve a modest number of guests each night, between 65 and 80, which is little more than the current amount, to allow for a theatrical experience such as table preparation to match a fancy meal.

While the loss of M.Georgina is sure to be a disappointment to Perello’s fans, the inclusion of Kato Yao and his Asian-American cuisine should continue to introduce a wider audience. “I feel like Kato is about to become a French laundry, a Meadowood – an iconic pillar for LA,” says Bailey. Opening just steps from the two-Michelin-starred Hayato by Brandon Go is another plus for Row DTLA, which has a lot of foot traffic on weekends in Smorgasburg but isn’t necessarily a weekday dining destination. The move leaves a gaping hole in West LA, though Yao says the mall’s location will eventually transform into something else that will serve its Westside fans. But that won’t happen until Downtown Kato is firmly established as one of LA’s most special restaurants.

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The post Bold Taiwanese Tasting Menu Restaurant Kato Is Transferring to Downtown LA appeared first on Los Gatos News And Events.