Kitchen Brigade (film)

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Kitchen Brigade (or La Brigade)
Kitchen Brigade poster.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Louis-Julien Petit
Written byLouis-Julien Petit
Liza Benguigui
Sophie Bensadoun
Based onan idea by
by Sophie Bensadoun
Produced byLiza Benguigui
Starring Audrey Lamy
François Cluzet
CinematographyDavid Chambille
Music by Laurent Perez Del Mar  [ de; fr ]
Production
companies
Odyssée Pictures
Apollo Films
France 3 Cinéma
Elemiah
Pictanovo  [ fr ]
Charlie Films
Distributed byApollo Films
Release date
  • 20 January 2022 (2022-01-20)
Running time
97 minutes [1]
CountryFrance
LanguageFrench
Budget€5 million [2]
Box office$3.3 million [3]

Kitchen Brigade (French: La Brigade), is a 2022 French comedy-drama film directed by Louis-Julien Petit. [4]

Contents

The film premiered at the 2022 L'Alpe d'Huez Film Festival where it won the Prix d'intérpretation féminine (best female actor award), and it was released in theatres in France on 23 March 2022. It was released in 24 countries during 2022 and 2023, including in the United Kingdom in December 2022 and as a Samuel Goldwyn Films limited release in the U.S. in January 2023. [5]

Its international (outside of France) revenues in six (five) countries in December 2022 (May 2023) alone were 150,055 euro (1,356,545 euro), and it then ranked 17th (15th) in admissions among French films. [6] [7]

Plot

Cathy Marie, leaves her position as chef at a fancy restaurant, takes a position at the canteen of a shelter for immigrants, mostly African and South Asian youths likely to be deported at age 18. She introduces use of brigade de cuisine in the shelter's kitchen.

Cast

Reception

The New York Times described it as a "feel-good drama set in a hostel for undocumented minors – with a kick of cooking-competition-show excitement" and called it "a white-savior story par excellence, though at least it's not difficult to swallow – the young people are lovely, and so is the food." [8]

Variety called it a "sweet, slightly undercooked diversion". [9]

Quadratín  [ es ] México summarizes: "In a subtle way, the director Louis-Julien Petit manages to intertwine two apparently incompatible worlds: immigration and gastronomy, to raise awareness about the importance and complexity of these problems in just 97 minutes." [10]

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes , 82% of 11 critics' reviews are positive. [11]

References

  1. "The Kitchen Brigade (12A)". British Board of Film Classification . 20 August 2025. Retrieved 20 August 2025.
  2. La Brigade, jpbox-office.com (in French)
  3. "Kitchen Brigade (2022)", Box Office Mojo
  4. "La Brigade". AlloCiné . Retrieved 1 December 2025.
  5. "The Kitchen Brigade: Distributor/buyers". Unifrance. (lists 24 countries)
  6. "French films at the international box office: May 2023". Unifrance. 20 June 2023. Retrieved 2 July 2023.
  7. "French films at the international box office: December 2022". Unifrance. 20 January 2023. Retrieved 2 July 2023.
  8. Beatrice Loayza (12 January 2023). "Kitchen Brigade Review: Oh Chef! My Chef!". The New York Times . Retrieved 2 July 2023.
  9. Guy Lodge (13 January 2023). "Kitchen Brigade Review: Haute Cuisine and Human Rights Combine to Make Feelgood French Fare". Variety . Retrieved 2 July 2023.
  10. "La brigada de cocina sirve en cines desde este jueves" [The Kitchen Brigade serves in theatres from this Thursday] (in Spanish). Quadratín México. 16 March 2023. Retrieved 1 December 2025.
  11. "Kitchen Brigade". Rotten Tomatoes . Fandango Media . Retrieved 1 December 2025. OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg