La Cocina

When young Mexican Estela arrives in New York without a residence permit, she hopes to find a better future there, even though she does not speak a word of English. Pedro, an old acquaintance also residing illegally in America, works at The Grill, a busy tourist restaurant on Times Square. He is supposed to get her a job there, and she is indeed hired, but not thanks to him. He is actually far too busy with his girlfriend Julia, who is pregnant but is considering an abortion. That would be very bad for him, because a child could help him obtain a residence permit. Tensions rise in the kitchen when 800 dollars disappear from the cash register. The boss suspects Pedro.

In 1957, Arnold Wesker's play *The Kitchen* premiered, a play about a busy morning in a restaurant. Mexican director Alonso Ruizpalacios adapted it into this social realist film, shot in black and white, about people chasing the American Dream but actually standing no chance whatsoever.