Director Mika Kaurismäki’s quiet, tender, lyrical film explores the possibilities of making new connections in far-off places. When Master Cheng (Pak Hon Chu) arrives in a remote Finnish village with his young son Nunjo (Lucas Hsuan), he’s in search of someone he used to know in Shanghai. Unable to help find his friend, café owner Sirkka (Anna-Maija Tuokka) offers him accommodation instead and in return Cheng helps her in the kitchen. Her customers are initially sceptical but won over by his cooking, he becomes a celebrated part of the community and when his tourist visa runs out, the villagers seek to make a plan so he can stay. Part drolly humorous comedy, part quietly unassuming romance, Master Cheng is a tribute to the value of opening yourself up to the unfamiliar, set in an oddball world of thoughtful, diffident yet very engaging characters who are all slightly haunted by their pasts. Beautifully shot, the film lovingly depicts both Finland’s idyllic countryside and Cheng’s mouthwatering creations.

BBFC Insight: mild bad language

In Finnish / Mandarin with subtitles plus English