Rob Munday
If recent filmmaking and television has taught us one thing, it’s that viewers love to be immersed in the high pressure world of the professional kitchen. From The Bear to Boiling Point, from short films to features, stories of struggling chefs have proved popular viewing over recent years and today’s S/W pick, Salmon by Mattis Heurlin, taps into this fervour with a meticulously crafted tale of a young cook trying to find his way in a ruthless industry.
Wasting no time with its exposition, Salmon instantly submerges its audience in its world as we watch the short’s young protagonist, August, preparing the titular fish so it is ready for service. We’re just over 60-seconds in when his problems begin, as he transports his trays to the walk-in fridge one slip of the fingers will end up having repercussions that could cost someone their job.
“Perfection has never been more imminent than tonight” – Head Chef André addresses his kitchen
Inspired by the experiences of friends who work in fine dining and Copenhagen’s reputation for culinary excellence, Heurlin describes his decision to set his short in this world a “no-brainer”. Recognising the current cinematic obsession with the food industry, the writer/director tapped into this fascination, while also ensuring that his short wouldn’t become just another story set in the chaotic kitchen environment. Explaining that he hopes his narrative “highlights the importance of a healthy work environment by showing how bad habits and negative behaviours can be passed down to the fresh faces”.
Driven by a couple of excellent performances, some kinetic cinematography, an energetic edit and a pulsating, jazz-infused score, the 20-minutes of Salmon is the kind of gripping, immersive filmmaking you just can’t take your eyes off. With its tense kitchen location a familiar setting for storytelling of late, it could be argued that this isn’t a short breaking new narrative ground. While that’s an element of Heurlin’s filmmaking that’s up for debate, what surely isn’t up for discussion is the level of technical craft on show in Salmon, which is of the highest standard. The production certainly wasn’t without its own challenges though, with the director revealing they almost fell at the first hurdle, after struggling to find a suitable location to shoot the short.
“In pre-production, our top priority was to locate the perfect culinary battleground”, the director explains. “We craved a setting that exuded exclusivity yet retained that gritty, industrial edge. We needed an entire kitchen to ourselves for four full days, which is a challenging task in itself . . . We were on the brink of losing hope when we stumbled upon the perfect diamond in the rough, recommended by a friend who knew the owner. Still under construction, all it needed was kitchen tools, as it was basically empty. Nestled in the heart of an industrial beer brewery, its towering chrome tanks gave it a rugged, one-of-a-kind allure.”
“What the f*ck is this?” – Head Chef André isn’t happen with the salmon
With their setting sourced, although the brewery location looked just right, again, there were issues in the form of brewers working right next to where they would shoot and a local bar that was open until midnight. Heurlin wasn’t going to let these issues deter him though and so came up with a clever shooting schedule to work around these problems. “Our only chance was to claim the place in those eerie, nocturnal hours, shooting from 10:00 PM to 8:00 AM”, the filmmaker reveals, adding that they focused on “blocking and montage shots without sound from 10 PM to midnight”.
However, with the kitchen not in use, it did allow Heurlin and his cinematographer, Milan Bjørnild, the opportunity to spend essential time to storyboard and run tests, something the filmmaker describes as “a pivotal advantage”, which “paid dividends on set”. With authenticity identified as a key element in Salmon’s success, the director was also keen to highlight the work of set designer Sune Hansen in the short’s production, explaining how he would even test “intricate recipes in his own kitchen to ensure they’d shine on camera”.
Just like preparing an unforgettable meal, it sounds as it a lot of thought, attention and hard work went into creating Salmon, but all that effort was certainly worthwhile as it’s an attention-grabbing short that works not only as an all-consuming piece of entertainment, but also as an impressive calling card for Heurlin. We can’t wait to see what he serves up next.