Wronged Chef Serves Up Revenge in Surreal "Morte Cucina"

In the surreal Thai film "Morte Cucina," which premiered at the 2025 Tokyo International Film Festival, a restaurant worker named Sao is harboring a dark secret. Through flashbacks, the film reveals that Sao comes from a conservative Muslim community in southern Thailand, from which she was exiled after being sexually assaulted. Now living in Bangkok, Sao works as a server at a hip restaurant, where she practices her culinary skills after hours.

When Sao's attacker, Korn, walks into the restaurant where she works, she recognizes him immediately. Rather than reacting with overt violence, Sao embarks on a methodical, almost ritualistic quest for revenge, using the preparation of food as a metaphor for her inner turmoil. The film's cinematographer, Christopher Doyle, lends a sensual, almost erotic quality to the scenes of Sao cooking, echoing his previous work on films like "Dumplings" and "Chungking Express."

Ratanaruang's approach to the thriller elements in "Morte Cucina" is more surreal than visceral, prioritizing symbolic value over raw impact. The result is a bizarre and unsettling film that may challenge all but the most open-minded viewers. However, those willing to surrender to its subconscious flow of ideas and images will find thoughtful meditations on the codependent nature of revenge and the twisted intimacy it can create.