Abe was directed by Brazilian filmmaker Fernando Grostein Andrade, who previously worked on television series and documentaries. The film is played by Stranger Things stars, Noah Schnapp, and Seu Jorge, Mark Margolis, Dagmara Dominczyk, and Arian Moayed. Light comedy-drama with the theme of culinary is not a new thing in the medium of film. Still, Abe can present this with a sensitive issue of religion. It’s interesting to talk about it.
This film explores the story of adolescent responsibility amid the dilemma of the identity of their beliefs. Abe (Schnapp) is a 12-year-old boy who is different from his peers, namely a culinary and cooking hobby. This summer, Abe was registered by his mother to take part in a cooking summer camp in his city. Unbeknownst to his mother and father, Abe secretly works part-time at a Brazilian restaurant owned by Chico (Jorge). Abe himself is a child of Muslim and Jewish descent, where his grandparents, including his parents, always made him depressed by their views on their respective religions.
It was like a film with a mixture of religion and culinary. This is the first time I’ve watched it. How is this possible? Abe, who likes to cook, combines Muslim and Jewish cuisine to reconcile all. Did Abe succeed? The beginning of the story has been presented neatly and interestingly. Only through one scene at the dining table, the eternal feud between religions is presented so effectively through its dialogues. Sometimes it seems pushy. Are they not tired, arguing just that and that? The solution, of course, we have high expectations on the figure of Abe. Unexpectedly, the “menu” dish finally tasted bland, far from all the food that was presented so tempting. You who love to cook, you must watch this.
Abe tries to mix the theme of religious diversity freshly and uniquely through culinary. Still, the final execution feels less biting, like what the delicious dish promised. Harmony. Of course, this is expected as the final destination, and it does appear on the outside surface. However, the story does not give a more profound thought to being able to answer this issue further. Abe is still too young and naive to be able to solve the challenges and bitter reality of life. At least, this film has tried to offer an effective solution for this, which is ice lollipop!
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