Pressure Cooker

This newly released documentary movie Pressure Cooker, to me, was a refreshing, uplifting emotional roller coaster. As a big fan of food movies and from the title, I hoped it would be about food. Well, it is, but not so much in a traditional way.

Very basic background of this movie
Mrs. Stephenson is a Philly public high-school teacher. Because of her blunt character and strict disciplinary style, she gets on the bad side of other teachers who also train their students to compete for scholarships—through a cooking tournament sponsored by C-CAP. There's no such sour reputation in her own school—because she is not an unreasonably audacious tyrant. She is a tough yet caring teacher who tries to bring opportunities to her students from working-class families. As amazing as Mrs. Stephenson is these kids. All are very hard working in the cooking class, on grades, with sports (some of them belong to the cheer leading team which Mrs. Stephenson coaches), against adversities in each family.

I know nothing about making films and no doubt every movie presents directors' intention or view, which is also true to documentaries. In Pressure Cooker, however, intentional gimmicks or editing play very humbly, in my opinion. In the after-screening interview, the directors explained the process was very spontaneous. Mrs. Stephenson was also on stage with one of her students from the movie. She remembers getting annoyed with the camera in the kitchen first but then didn't even notice afterwards.

I laughed a lot and cried almost the entire 90 minutes. It was a very strange feeling; to cry and feel very warm in heart simultaneously. While other reviews tell too many details on what happens in one scene to next, I hope you just go straight to IFC (a nice size theater with great seats)!

FYI: One of the directors Mark Beckers' former movie Romántico is also a very wonderful documentary, a portrait of a Mexican musician. Now available on DVD.