Amy Wheeler (Zoe Saldana) is an art student who gets the opportunity to study in Italy. The last thing she expected was to meet Lino (Eugenio Mastrandrea), a young chef who falls head over heels for her. Netflix’s new limited series, “From Scratch,” is based on the book written by Tembi Locke in 2019. The book has a rating of 3.9/5 on Goodreads and a 92% score on Rotten Tomatoes. As someone who is not the biggest fan of romance, I thoroughly enjoyed this epic love story.
It began in 2000. We arrive in Florance, Italy with Amy. Immediately I am captured by the beautiful city and art. The unique architecture and bright sky instantly set us up for a gorgeous adventure. Amy readily insists that she is there to learn art, and nothing else. Her family was not supportive of her decision to spend time in Italy and would much rather she had gone to law school. Despite her family’s resistance, Amy is determined to get as much out of Italy as possible. Within the first ten minutes, Amy runs into Lino (she literally runs into him). He is a chef who has spent his entire life in Italy. Sparks instantly fly between these characters, despite Amy’s early resistance to falling in love. The first episode is filled with tension, before ending with a romantic kiss in the rain. They spend the night together before Amy’s flight takes her back to the United States.
Lino and Amy begin their lives together, and Lino decides to move to America with Amy a year after dating long distance. Most romance films focus on the build-up to the relationship and end with either the couple dating or getting married. Instead, “From Scratch” mainly focuses on the obstacles throughout their relationship, and there are a lot of them. Lino and Amy navigate family struggles, cultural differences and financial difficulties. Their story goes through how they deal with these various obstacles and how their love changes over time.
As the story progresses, their love only blossoms. They learn to take on all of life’s difficulties together, especially after one of their biggest obstacles erupts, Lino’s health condition.
It is a beautiful and romantic love story that is perfect if you like romance. But be prepared for drama and sadness. It is beautiful in a similar way to “The Fault in Our Stars” or “Me Before You.” These stories have heavy yet relatable topics, which only makes them feel more real. “From Scratch” is a sweet love story persenting real problems couples may face. I think the emotional journey we take with Lino and Amy is well worth it.
The entire limited series “From Scratch” is available to stream on Netflix.