A masterpiece….love for food, spouse and family
After seeing the spy thriller series Special Ops: Lioness that featured Zoe Saldaña as a main character, the streaming site I use recommended another series of hers for my viewing pleasure. It's a Netflix series released in October 2022 and for the life of me, I don't know how I missed it. Well, it's never too late to see a movie so I immediately jumped on board to binge-watch it.
From Scratch (2022) is an American romance miniseries of eight episodes based on Tembi Locke’s Memoir titled From Scratch: A Memoir of Love, Sicily and Finding Home. It's a journey that follows the beginning, middle, and end of the love relationship between artist Amy (played by Zoe Saldaña) and Italian chef, Lino (played by Eugenio Mastrandrea).
The opening scene reveals Amy arriving Florence, Italy with her bags to study art in a short interim before proceeding to law school when she returns to Texas, US. As she settles into her routine, she meets an art enthusiast and they begin a relationship. At almost the same time, her friend introduces her to Lino, an Italian chef who immediately falls for her.
https://youtu.be/pXm0SSnQW98?si=D9bflhrEktuRKrnPSource: YouTube
To win her over, Lino invites her to his restaurant and cooks for her. They spend more time together and their attraction becomes intense. Then Amy's father travels to Italy to see his daughter and she takes him to Lino's restaurant while inviting her boyfriend to meet her father. This scenario sparks a quarrel between Amy and Lino because the restaurant is his space and he wants her to introduce him to her father and not the boyfriend.
On Amy's last day in Italy, she meets Lino under the rain and they kiss, acknowledging their love for each other. Rather than let Amy return to Texas, Lino takes a bold step and relocates with her. How will Lino survive in a foreign environment with prejudices against Sicilians? Will his relationship with Amy stand the test of time??
Review
Being a romance by Netflix, I assumed it would follow a cliché storyline. Yes, it's Zoe Saldaña and she makes her audience happy with her performance. However, this miniseries turned out to be amazing in an unexpected way. The plot is all romance but focused on the journey of the relationship. The usual romance drama would tell the story of the couple's meeting, then they face a conflict and it ends with a resolution and their union.
In From Scratch, Netflix takes us through the journey of Amy and Lino's relationship. It begins as a swoony romance in its first and second episodes and quickly changes gear to become a heartrending story of loss and resilience by the last episode.
The storytelling is compelling, inviting viewers to see the intense attraction between the couple, the beauty of art and life in both Florence, Italy and Texas, US, the joy of families and the sensuality and care that goes into food preparation. The audience is immersed in every scene to witness both the delights and the tears when life throws some curveballs at the couple and their families.
From Scratch is an exquisite love story. The cast performed outstandingly, especially Zoe Saldaña and Eugenio Mastrandrea. Their chemistry is fantastic and believable. They deliver such a brilliant performance that feels so real from frustration to jealousy to mental exhaustion and her undying love for each other. The supporting cast is impressive as well. The language is a mix of English and Italian. There are scenes where the cast conversed in Italian so I use subtitles to understand their dialogues.
The landscapes and sceneries depicting the beauty in parts of Italy and the US are breathtaking and add depth to the visuals. I enjoyed watching this show as it positively warmed my heart, encouraging me to never take any moment for granted.
Overall, I'll say From Scratch is an amazing work of art that focuses on the art of love, cooking and painting. It's a celebration of art from every angle and worth watching. I'll give it 4 stars out of 5.
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Other images are screenshots from the series
Posted using CineTV
