# Bella Martha
**Bella Martha** (English title *Mostly Martha*; Italian release title *Ricetta d'amore*) is a 2001 German romantic comedy-drama written and directed by Sandra Nettelbeck, starring Martina Gedeck as an obsessive head chef whose ordered life is upended when she becomes guardian of her orphaned niece and must share her kitchen with a cheerful Italian colleague.[1](https://www.filmportal.de/en/movie/bella-martha_ea43d4a7163b5006e03053d50b37753d) A four-country co-production of Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and Italy, it premiered at the Locarno International Film Festival in August 2001, opened in German cinemas on 18 April 2002, and later received a nearly scene-for-scene American remake, *No Reservations* (2007).[1](https://www.filmportal.de/en/movie/bella-martha_ea43d4a7163b5006e03053d50b37753d) • [2](https://www.welt.de/kultur/article1178231/Kino-Einmal-Bella-Martha-amerikanisch-aufgewaermt.html)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Original title / English title | Bella Martha / Mostly Martha; working title *Drei Sterne*[3](https://www.filmportal.de/film/bella-martha_a3ecd2cc5aa64789b67467341922d0d5) |
| Director and writer | Sandra Nettelbeck[1](https://www.filmportal.de/en/movie/bella-martha_ea43d4a7163b5006e03053d50b37753d) |
| Principal cast | Martina Gedeck (Martha Klein), Sergio Castellitto (Mario), Maxime Foerste (Lina)[1](https://www.filmportal.de/en/movie/bella-martha_ea43d4a7163b5006e03053d50b37753d) |
| Production | Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Italy; Pandora Film, Prisma Film, T&C Film, Palomar; producers Karl Baumgartner and Christoph Friedel[1](https://www.filmportal.de/en/movie/bella-martha_ea43d4a7163b5006e03053d50b37753d) |
| Release | World premiere August 2001, Locarno IFF; German theatrical release 18 April 2002[3](https://www.filmportal.de/film/bella-martha_a3ecd2cc5aa64789b67467341922d0d5) |
| Format | 35 mm, 1:1.85, Dolby Digital; original print 106 minutes; FSK 0[3](https://www.filmportal.de/film/bella-martha_a3ecd2cc5aa64789b67467341922d0d5) |
| Major awards | European Film Award 2002 for Best Actor (Castellitto); Deutscher Filmpreis 2002 Lola for Best Actress (Gedeck); Créteil 2002 Grand Prix of the Jury[3](https://www.filmportal.de/film/bella-martha_a3ecd2cc5aa64789b67467341922d0d5) |
| Remake | *No Reservations* (US, 2007), with Catherine Zeta-Jones[2](https://www.welt.de/kultur/article1178231/Kino-Einmal-Bella-Martha-amerikanisch-aufgewaermt.html) |
## Spoilers
### Plot
Martha Klein is the head chef at the Lido, an upscale gourmet restaurant in Hamburg, where cooking is her consuming passion and she runs the kitchen with strict discipline.[4](https://www.pandorafilm.de/filme/bella-martha.html) She has almost no private life, no friends, and prefers to cook for the men she dates rather than go out with them; the restaurant's owner even sends her to a psychologist, where she thinks only about cooking.[4](https://www.pandorafilm.de/filme/bella-martha.html)
Her routine collapses when her sister, a single mother, dies in a car accident and Martha takes in her grieving eight-year-old daughter Lina.[1](https://www.filmportal.de/en/movie/bella-martha_ea43d4a7163b5006e03053d50b37753d) • [4](https://www.pandorafilm.de/filme/bella-martha.html) The girl refuses to eat, and Martha's skills fail her in the face of the child's sorrow.[4](https://www.pandorafilm.de/filme/bella-martha.html) While Martha searches for Lina's father, who lives in Italy and does not know his daughter exists, the restaurant's owner hires a second head chef in Martha's absence: the exuberant Italian Mario, a master of his craft.[4](https://www.pandorafilm.de/filme/bella-martha.html) Martha feels bypassed and sets out to undermine her rival, but Mario, who is the first to get Lina to eat and smile again, turns from competitor into a loving friend, and a tentative romance develops between the two cooks.[4](https://www.pandorafilm.de/filme/bella-martha.html) • [5](https://www.prismafilm.at/film/bella_martha) Just as the romance begins, Lina's long-lost father appears and wants to take the girl back to Italy with him, forcing Martha to make a decision.[1](https://www.filmportal.de/en/movie/bella-martha_ea43d4a7163b5006e03053d50b37753d)
## Production
Sandra Nettelbeck wrote and directed the film, her first feature conceived for cinema after the television film *Mammamia* (1998).[6](https://www.filmdienst.de/film/details/516374/bella-martha) Shooting took place in Hamburg from 21 March to 20 May 2000, with locations also in Italy.[1](https://www.filmportal.de/en/movie/bella-martha_ea43d4a7163b5006e03053d50b37753d) • [7](https://filminstitut.at/filme/bella-martha) The film was produced by Pandora Film Produktion (Cologne), Starhaus Filmproduktion (Munich), Prisma Film- und Fernsehproduktion (Vienna), T&C Film (Zurich), and Palomar Films (Rome), with Karl Baumgartner and Christoph Friedel as producers.[1](https://www.filmportal.de/en/movie/bella-martha_ea43d4a7163b5006e03053d50b37753d) Funding came from Eurimages, the Filmförderung Hamburg, the Filmstiftung Nordrhein-Westfalen, the Austrian Film Institute, ORF, and the Swiss Federal Office of Culture, among others.[5](https://www.prismafilm.at/film/bella_martha) • [7](https://filminstitut.at/filme/bella-martha) Michael Bertl was the cinematographer, Mona Bräuer the editor, and the cast included August Zirner as Martha's therapist, Sibylle Canonica as the restaurant owner Frida, Katja Studt, Idil Üner, Oliver Broumis, and Ulrich Thomsen.[1](https://www.filmportal.de/en/movie/bella-martha_ea43d4a7163b5006e03053d50b37753d) • [8](https://www.austrianfilms.com/film/mostly_martha_bella_martha)
Because [Sergio Castellitto](https://www.edgepedia.org/sergio-castellitto)'s German was not sufficient, the actor Frank Glaubrecht dubbed his voice for the German version.[9](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0246772/)
## Reception and awards
The film premiered in August 2001 at the Locarno International Film Festival and was first shown in Germany in January 2002 at the Max-Ophüls-Preis festival in [Saarbrücken](https://www.edgepedia.org/saarbrucken) before its general release on 18 April 2002.[3](https://www.filmportal.de/film/bella-martha_a3ecd2cc5aa64789b67467341922d0d5) It drew 463,878 admissions in Germany as of 2016, according to FFA figures.[3](https://www.filmportal.de/film/bella-martha_a3ecd2cc5aa64789b67467341922d0d5) In Spain, where it opened on 26 July 2002, it sold 209,442 tickets.[10](https://sede.mcu.gob.es/CatalogoICAA/Peliculas/Detalle?Pelicula=104802) Released in the United States in the summer of 2002 as *Mostly Martha*, it earned about 4 million dollars there, and the German Film Critics' Association named it among the most popular German films in the US measured by sales.[2](https://www.welt.de/kultur/article1178231/Kino-Einmal-Bella-Martha-amerikanisch-aufgewaermt.html) • [11](https://cinemaonline.dk/Anmeldelse/bella_martha.1223.html)
The film collected more than ten international awards.[12](https://mvdaudiovisual.montevideo.gub.uy/sites/mvdaudiovisual.montevideo.gub.uy/files/catalogo_festival_32.pdf) Sergio Castellitto won the 2002 European Film Award for Best Actor, Martina Gedeck won the Lola for Best Actress at the 2002 Deutscher Filmpreis and the 2003 Preis der Deutschen Filmkritik, and the film took the Grand Prix of the Jury at the 2002 Créteil International Women's Film Festival.[3](https://www.filmportal.de/film/bella-martha_a3ecd2cc5aa64789b67467341922d0d5) The German Board of Film Classification (FBW) awarded it the rating *besonders wertvoll* (especially valuable).[3](https://www.filmportal.de/film/bella-martha_a3ecd2cc5aa64789b67467341922d0d5) On Metacritic the film scored 72 based on 28 reviews, with critics praising Gedeck's performance and the balance between German reserve and Italian warmth; the IMDb user rating stands at 7.2 from about 8,900 votes.[13](https://www.imdb.com/de/title/tt0246772/criticreviews/) • [9](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0246772/)
## Remake
The film's US success led Hollywood to acquire the story. In February 2003, Cineuropa reported that [Lawrence Kasdan](https://www.edgepedia.org/lawrence-kasdan), director of *The Big Chill* and *French Kiss*, was attached to direct a remake.[14](https://cineuropa.org/en/newsdetail/19984/en/interview/495460/) The remake was ultimately directed by Scott Hicks and released in 2007 as *No Reservations* (German title *Rezept zum Verlieben*), starring [Catherine Zeta-Jones](https://www.edgepedia.org/catherine-zeta-jones), Aaron Eckhart, and [Abigail Breslin](https://www.edgepedia.org/abigail-breslin).[2](https://www.welt.de/kultur/article1178231/Kino-Einmal-Bella-Martha-amerikanisch-aufgewaermt.html) • [15](https://www.videobuster.de/dvd-bluray-verleih/63502/bella-martha) German commentary described it as a nearly one-hundred-percent copy of Nettelbeck's film that did not match the original's quality and wit.[2](https://www.welt.de/kultur/article1178231/Kino-Einmal-Bella-Martha-amerikanisch-aufgewaermt.html) • [16](https://www.prisma.de/filme/Bella-Martha%2C412482)
## Themes and style
The film contrasts Martha's controlled, perfectionist northern European temperament with Mario's easygoing Italian warmth, and its emotional arc moves from rigid control toward accepting messiness.[17](https://transit.berkeley.edu/2009/bella-martha/) • [18](https://theemotionpictures.com/films/bella-martha-mostly-martha/) Critics noted the restrained direction: the FBW jury praised the psychologically convincing portrayal and the careful drawing of all the characters, and the Filmdienst review credited the subtle characterization of the lead with lifting an otherwise simple plot.[19](https://www.fbw-filmbewertung.com/film/bella_martha) • [6](https://www.filmdienst.de/film/details/516374/bella-martha) The Danish review in Cinemaonline highlighted the lingering, immersive food scenes of the first half as surpassing most television cooking presentations.[11](https://cinemaonline.dk/Anmeldelse/bella_martha.1223.html)
## References
1. [Bella Martha, filmportal.de (English overview and credits), German Films Service & Marketing GmbH](https://www.filmportal.de/en/movie/bella-martha_ea43d4a7163b5006e03053d50b37753d)
2. [Einmal Bella Martha – amerikanisch aufgewärmt!, Die WELT, 13 September 2007](https://www.welt.de/kultur/article1178231/Kino-Einmal-Bella-Martha-amerikanisch-aufgewaermt.html)
3. [Bella Martha, filmportal.de (German full record), Deutsches Filminstitut & Filmmuseum](https://www.filmportal.de/film/bella-martha_a3ecd2cc5aa64789b67467341922d0d5)
4. [Bella Martha, Pandora Film Verleih synopsis](https://www.pandorafilm.de/filme/bella-martha.html)
5. [Bella Martha, Prisma Film filmdetail](https://www.prismafilm.at/film/bella_martha)
6. [Bella Martha, Filmdienst, Kritik von Horst Peter Koll](https://www.filmdienst.de/film/details/516374/bella-martha)
7. [Bella Martha, Österreichisches Filminstitut](https://filminstitut.at/filme/bella-martha)
8. [Mostly Martha (Bella Martha), Austrian Films](https://www.austrianfilms.com/film/mostly_martha_bella_martha)
9. [Mostly Martha (2001), IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0246772/)
10. [Deliciosa Martha, Catálogo de Películas ICAA, Ministerio de Cultura de España](https://sede.mcu.gob.es/CatalogoICAA/Peliculas/Detalle?Pelicula=104802)
11. [Bella Martha anmeldelse, Cinemaonline.dk, 22 January 2003](https://cinemaonline.dk/Anmeldelse/bella_martha.1223.html)
12. [Festival Internacional de Cine de Punta del Este, catalogue](https://mvdaudiovisual.montevideo.gub.uy/sites/mvdaudiovisual.montevideo.gub.uy/files/catalogo_festival_32.pdf)
13. [Bella Martha – Metacritic-Rezensionen, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/de/title/tt0246772/criticreviews/)
14. [Martha goes Hollywood, Cineuropa, 17 February 2003](https://cineuropa.org/en/newsdetail/19984/en/interview/495460/)
15. [Bella Martha, VIDEOBUSTER](https://www.videobuster.de/dvd-bluray-verleih/63502/bella-martha)
16. [Bella Martha, prisma.de](https://www.prisma.de/filme/Bella-Martha%2C412482)
17. [Bella Martha (Mostly Martha), TRANSIT, UC Berkeley](https://transit.berkeley.edu/2009/bella-martha/)
18. [Bella Martha (Mostly Martha), The Emotion Pictures](https://theemotionpictures.com/films/bella-martha-mostly-martha/)
19. [Bella Martha, Deutsche Filmbewertung und Medienbewertung (FBW)](https://www.fbw-filmbewertung.com/film/bella_martha)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Comedy and romantic films (individual works) › Comedies of 2000 to 2002 › Comedies of 2001*
*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license