The phrase “nightmare in the kitchen” doesn’t fit the description of what goes on in the poignant satire that touches on the exciting world of haute cuisine. A young couple (Nicholas Hoult, Anya Taylor-Joy) board a yacht with several other elite passengers bound for a remote island. There is a luxury restaurant with a top chef (Rife Fiennes) who has prepared a menu full of (terrifying) surprises for his guests.

Mark Mylon’s film (Legacy) is charmingly stylized, immersing us in the menacing atmosphere of a thunderstorm about to break. This is exactly what happens in the second part, where the customers, almost all rich and powerful, find themselves at the mercy of an eccentric chef. The latter is played convincingly by Ralph Fiennes in a film that nonetheless has very strong black comedy elements as the high-end catering industry – and beyond – comes under relentless fire.

A wonderful, deeply human film, which premiered at the last Berlin Film Festival, hits the screens this week. Ma and Cao, two 40-year-olds who have remained single in life for various reasons, are forced by their families to enter into a consanguineous marriage. Their daily life on the farm with the sole help of a crippled donkey is harsh, but gradually a bond of true love and care for each other develops between them until they become literally inseparable. Chinese master Ruijun Li creates a simple story here, but manages to combine high cinematography with a humanitarian spirit and the most touching love story we have seen on the big screen in years, although the main characters do not kiss throughout the film. Here everything starts with nature. Animals, birds, fields, countryside, in a word, stars in the life of these people who accept it, respect it and honor it with their work. They are actually poor, but their “needs” are so different from those of the average Western consumer that it almost doesn’t matter.

Everything is made by hand: from working tools to their own house, which they build with clay and straw bricks, just like their ancient ancestors. Somewhere out there, a wealthy relative and landowner’s shiny BMW pulls up, demanding Cao’s rare blood, and Cao gives it without hesitation. His life together with Ma is the most valuable commodity, what they feel – and do – for each other, more important than any love at first sight.

The story of the legendary Empress Sisi takes on an alternative, feminist dimension in an interesting biography starring the excellent Vicki Cripps. Having just celebrated her 40th birthday, Sisi becomes increasingly obsessed with her looks. She subjects herself to a strict diet, diligently sports and tightens her already suffocating corset more and more every day. Of course, this all stems from the social demand that she remain the perfect, young empress that everyone knows and loves. However, the woman behind the image is drowning and will soon be looking for a way to salvation. Kreutzer’s film feels more like a thriller than a typical historical biography, and that’s to its advantage, in contrast to its apparent lack of pace that gets in the way of an otherwise quality ensemble.

Five-time Oscar winner Alejandro G. Iñárritu is a chaotic, semi-autobiographical film that fails to hold the viewer’s attention throughout its marathon (nearly three hours). The protagonist here is Silverio, an eminent Mexican journalist and documentary maker who, after many years of living in Los Angeles, returns to his homeland on the occasion of an important award. The literal journey, however, will be accompanied by a second, introspective one, as the hero comes face to face with the past and the present, the personality he has shaped over the years, the celebrity, and so on. Using the protagonist as an alter ego – even superficially almost identical – Iñárritu mixes reality with dreamlike fantasy in a pattern that clearly alludes to Fellini’s 8½, but does not approach the latter’s purpose and magic.

The bloody story of Makronissos was transferred to the film based on the play of the same name by Antonis Katz. The beginning takes place in 1948 in a place of exile where Dimitris is imprisoned along with others because of his political views. There, a cruel executioner tries to force him to sign a statement. A decade later, they meet again by chance on the bench, starting a conversation that hides mutual surprises. The intentions are good, but the execution, however, is hopelessly amateurish, in a film presented at the Studio cinema.