‘The Kitchen’ ending explained: What happens to Benji and Izi?
The Kitchen depicts a dystopian version of London where social housing no longer exists.
Directed by Daniel Kaluuya and Kibwe Tavares, the sci-fi drama follows the lives of Izi (Kane ‘Kano‘ Robinson) and Benji (Jedaiah Bannerman) in this imagined near-future, as the community of the Kitchen refuses to abandon their home.
Other cast members include Hope Ikpoku Jr, Teija Kabs, Demmy Ladipo, Cristale, BackRoad Gee, Rasaq Kukoyi and former footballer Ian Wright in the role of Lord Kitchener.
After a short run in cinemas, the film was released on Netflix on January 19, 2024.
What happens to Izi and Benji at the end of The Kitchen?
Following the murder of community leader Lord Kitchener during a police raid, Staples’s gang makes a plan for revenge as residents of the Kitchen start to disband.
Benji – who was abandoned by Izi when he decided to move to a luxurious single apartment on his own – joins Staples as they plan an attack on the same Buena Vida apartment building where Izi now lives. As they trash the building and threaten residents, Benji is disturbed by their violent methods and runs away back to his old home.
When he returns, Izi is there waiting for him. Benji is initially reluctant to forgive Izi for leaving him behind, until he pulls out the burial plant of his mother that was going to be thrown away.
Benji and Izi return to the Kitchen to repot the plant in a roof garden, only for the police to arrive in another raid. They hide out in Izi’s old apartment, as Staples and other residents try to fight back against the police.
As they watch out a window, Izi appears to accept he’s Benji’s father, asking Benji if he wants him to be his dad. “Let’s just see how it goes,” Benji replies.
The final shot shows Izi standing with an arm around his son Benji. As the film cuts to black, we hear the sound of the police banging against the door – with it left ambigious as to whether Izi or Benji survive.
The Kitchen is available to stream on Netflix.
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Adam Starkey
NME
