Writer: Hannu Oravisto
Director: Mika Kaurismäki
Master Cheng is a delightful Finnish film set in Lapland. A sign outside Sirkka’s Diner announces it’s Sausage Tuesday. Inside a handful of older inhabitants nurse beers or queue to have ladlefuls of sausage and mash slapped on their plates. In walks Cheng (Pak Hon Chu) and his young son, Niu Niu (Lucas Hsuan) like visitors from outer space. There’s the language barrier – no one recognises the name ‘Fongtron’ which seems to be all Cheng knows. But there’s also a cultural one. When kindly Sirkka (Anna-Maija Tuokko) gives Niu Niu food, the child pushes away the plate in disgust. The pair seem to have no where to go, but meekly follow Sirkka to modest accommodation she offers.
It turns out it’s always sausage day at Sirkka’s. The locals seem content enough, but things change when a busload of Chinese tourists arrives who turn up their noses at sausage and mash. Cheng steps in, buys noodles, chicken and a few spices and in no time the tourists are happily tucking in. The locals watch warily. Sirkka, meanwhile, counts the takings and invites Cheng to continue to cook.
There follows a series of charming scenes. Hardened old men are gradually won over by Cheng’s polite manners and become curious about his cuisine. Unknown to them, Cheng is a master chef, fleeing from problems in Shanghai. He sources fresh ingredients and, amazed to discover the local lake is pure and unpolluted, starts fishing. Next thing Romppainen (Kari Väänänen), lead local, is staring at lake-caught perch floating in a delicate broth. Is it safe to eat? His mate Vippula (Vesa-Matti Loiri) isn’t going to risk it: ‘A white heterosexual male wouldn’t eat that’. The camera lingers on Rompainen’s weathered face as he tastes his first mouthful. It lights up in rapture. There’s an echo of the scene in Babette’s Feast when sour Lutheran locals tentatively sip their first glass of superb vintage wine. And like Babette’s Feast, Master Cheng is about the profoundly transformative effect of good food created with love. It seems to have almost magical healing properties.
You could happily watch any number of scenes like this. There’s a lovely one where the local primary school teacher brings in a class, anxiously listing allergies and intolerances. Next thing we see the children transfixed in the kitchen as delicious spices are fried and added to great vats of fragrant soup. The food itself looks fabulous and you could swear that you can smell it too.
The story tracks Cheng and Niu Niu’s gradual integration into the community. Niu Niu is at first withdrawn, plaintively asking if they’ll see his mother again and Cheng has a rigid side, angrily forbidding him to ride a bike. The expected transformation happens because cultural assimilation works both ways. Romppainen and Vippula want to show Cheng their ways and introduce him to a sauna. Sirkka meanwhile persuades Cheng to attend a local tango class.
All of this takes place in the endless summer days of the Arctic Circle. Jai Mutikainen’s cinematography is beautifully restrained, capturing long, soft twilights in a land where reindeer browse the forests. The sound too is quiet – sometimes just a remote bird or the unshowy music of a single instrument. An enchanting film.
Master Cheng will be in UK cinemas from 11th March.
