The Cakemaker (2018)
89%RT Audience Score: 80%
Awards & Nominations: 18 wins & 15 nominations
The Cakemaker explores all-consuming emotion with beguiling restraint, adding up to a delicately understated character study fueled by the power of love.
The Cakemaker” is a movie that will make you want to eat cake and cry at the same time. The performances are so natural that you’ll feel like you’re watching real people going through real emotions. The love story is heart-wrenching, but the film never feels melodramatic. It’s a slow burn, but it’s worth it for the beautiful portrait of love in all its forms. Plus, who doesn’t love a good cake?
Production Company(ies)
Distributor
Strand Releasing
Release Type
Theatrical, Theatrical (Limited)
Filming Location(s)
Café Kredenz, Kantstraße 81, Berlin, Germany
MPAA / Certificate
Not Rated
Year of Release
2017
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby
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Aspect ratio:2.35 : 1
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Runtime:1h 45m
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Language(s):English, Hebrew, German
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Country of origin:Germany, Israel
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Jun 29, 2018 Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 6, 2018
Genre(s)
Drama/Lgbtq+
Keyword(s)
Drama, Lgbtq+, The Cakemaker, directed by Ofir Raul Graizer, written by Ofir Raul Graizer, produced by Mathias Schwerbrock and Itai Tamir, starring Sarah Adler, Zohar Shtrauss, Tim Kalkhof, Sandra Sade, Roy Miller, Stephanie Stremler, reviewed by Leah Pickett, Scott Marks, Guy Lodge, Samantha Incorvaia, Walter V Addiego, Kenneth Turan, Ben Turner, Dennis Harvey, Vladan Petkovic, Scott Phillips, David Lamble, Dennis Schwartz, box office gross $874.6K, MPAA rating not specified, German baker, Israeli married man, car crash, Jerusalem, Anat, small café, German cakes, cookies, love, grief, identity, character study, delicate, understated, emotional, tender, sweet, heartbreaking, dessert porn
Worldwide gross: $1,287,568
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $1,553,111
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,487
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 169,369
US/Canada gross: $875,751
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $1,056,362
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,177
US/Canada opening weekend: $33,384
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $40,269
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,270
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): NA
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): NA
Production budget ranking: NA
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
ROI to date (est.): NA
ROI ranking: NA
Zohar Shtrauss – Moti
Tim Kalkhof – Tomas
Sandra Sade – Hanna
Roy Miller – Oren
Stephanie Stremler – Sophia
Ofir Raul Graizer – Director/Writer
Mathias Schwerbrock – Producer
Itai Tamir – Producer
Director(s)
Ofir Raul Graizer
Writer(s)
Ofir Raul Graizer
Producer(s)
Mathias Schwerbrock, Itai Tamir
Film Festivals
Berlin, Cannes
Awards & Nominations
18 wins & 15 nominations
Academy Awards
All Critics (59) | Top Critics (10) | Fresh (57) | Rotten (2)
Natural performances from Kalkhof and Adler root the melodrama in genuine pathos.
August 27, 2018
Leah Pickett
Chicago Reader
TOP CRITIC
Credit first-time writer/director Ofir Raul Graizer with pulling off something of a miracle.
August 23, 2018 | Rating: 4/5
Scott Marks
San Diego Reader
TOP CRITIC
A tender, tactile and just-sweet-enough story of hidden love, challenged faith and unwittingly shared grief.
August 5, 2018
Guy Lodge
Variety
TOP CRITIC
Kalkhof has perfect chemistry with both Miller and Adler. The characters don’t have to talk for the audience to feel the loss, love and desire they’re experiencing.
July 26, 2018 | Rating: 4/5
Samantha Incorvaia
Arizona Republic
TOP CRITIC
Graizer take his time and never feels the need to spell everything out, and “The Cakemaker” is a testament to what filmmakers can achieve when they trust the audience.
July 19, 2018 | Rating: 3/4
Walter V. Addiego
San Francisco Chronicle
TOP CRITIC
The most fascinating kind of tension results, an unusual state of affairs that plays fair with the characters, and with us.
July 5, 2018
Kenneth Turan
Los Angeles Times
TOP CRITIC
At its heart is a love story that transcends countries, sexuality and life itself, but you’ll just wish it got its skates on.
September 1, 2021 | Rating: 3/5
Ben Turner
The Pink Lens
It is, in fact, a painfully lovely drama handled with very astute performances and superb directorial control-which is needed…
October 15, 2020
Dennis Harvey
48 Hills
A cleverly woven and honestly rebellious look at the very essence of the term “identity” and what it means to us.
September 4, 2020
Vladan Petkovic
Cineuropa
The Cakemaker is a beautiful portrait of love in its many forms.
July 24, 2020
Scott Phillips
The Movie Isle
It’s to the credit of the small cast that the film’s slow pace doesn’t become oppressive
June 1, 2020
David Lamble
Bay Area Reporter
An intriguing and atmospheric drama from the debut of the middle-aged Israeli writer-director Ofir Raul Graizer.
March 23, 2020 | Rating: B+
Dennis Schwartz
Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews…
Plot
After the death of his lover, a German baker travels to Jerusalem and infiltrates the life of his lover’s newly widowed wife, creating German cakes and cookies that bring life into her café in The Cakemaker.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
The cast of The Cakemaker includes Tim Kalkhof, Sarah Adler, and Zohar Shtrauss.
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