The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover

Every evening, the cruel and vulgar criminal Albert Spica (the Thief) dines with his ‘gang’ and his wife Georgina (his Wife) at the luxurious restaurant Le Hollandais. With his violent outbursts, he rules by terror night after night, against the staff, but also his wife. With the help of the cook (the Cook), she manages to begin a passionate affair with the bookseller Michael (the Lover), one of the other customers. Not without consequences… Legendary are the music by Michael Nyman, the costumes designed by Jean Paul Gaultier and the sets by the renowned duo Ben van Os and Jan Roelfs. Every room has its own colour - restaurant red, kitchen green and toilets white - to which Hellen Mirren's clothing adapts each time. Are we watching a classic tragedy, a gruesome love drama or a pitch-black comedy? A controversial film by Peter Greenaway that will still evoke disgust and appreciation today. Was he purely out for shock? Was it a political parable about Thatcher's England?