Immigrant dreams boil over in US-Mexican film 'La Cocina'

The tense, claustrophobic drama stars Oscar nominee Rooney Mara ("The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo") as an American waitress at a bustling Times Square tourist trap staffed mainly by immigrants. "It's a film about contrasts -- the contrast between back-of-house and front-of-house, between gringos and Mexicans, between the different hierarchies within a kitchen," said Mexican director and writer Alonso Ruizpalacios. "Kitchens are an easy way to understand the dynamics we experience on the streets," he told AFP.