The Mistress Of Spices (DVD)

The Mistress Of Spices (DVD)

Production Year: 2005 - Drama - Director: Paul Mayeda Berges - Original Language: English - Classification: 12 years and over - Starring: Aishwarya Rai, Dylan McDermott, Anupam Kher, Ayesha Dharker, Nitin Chandra Ganatra, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje more

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Indian woman, Tilo runs a spice store in San Francisco and has the ability to see into customers' lives and desires. As a mistress of spices, there are certain rules that she has...
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The Mistress Of Spices [DVD] [2005] The Mistress Of Spices [DVD] [2005]
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The Mistress of Spices The Mistress of Spices
Tilo an immigrant from India runs an Indian spice shop in Oakland California. While she ... more
dispenses the classic ingredients for curries and
kormas  she also helps her customers to gain a
more precious commodity: whatever they most
desire. For Tilo is a Mistress of Spices  a
priestess of the secret  magical powers of spices.
Through those who visit and revisit her shop -
Ahuja's wife  caught in an unhappy  abusive
marriage; Jagjit  the victim of racist attacks at
school; the noisy bougainvillaea girls  rejecting
the strict upbringing of their tradition-bound
Indian parents; Haroun who drives a taxi and
dreams the American dream - we get a glimpse into
the life of the local Indian expatriate community.
To each Tilo dispenses wisdom and the appropriate
spice: coriander for sight; turmeric to erase
wrinkles; cinnamon for finding friends; fenugreek
to make a rejected wife desirable again; chillies
for the cleansing of evil. But when a lonely
American comes into the store  a troubled Tilo
cannot find the right spice  for he arouses in her
a forbidden desire  and following her own desires
will destroy her magical powers.Compelling and
lyrical  full of heady scents and with more than a
touch of humour  this novel explores the clash
between East and West even as it unveils the
universal mysteries of the human heart.
£ 6.99

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Availability3-5 working days
Play.com (Books)
Mistress Of Spices Dvd Mistress Of Spices Dvd
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The Mistress Of Spices The Mistress Of Spices
Tilo runs a spice store in San Francisco and has a magical gift of seeing into her ... more
customers' lives and desires. She gives them
different spices to help them get what they want.
In order for the magic to work, Tilo must obey the
rules set out for a 'mistress of spices' - never
leave the store, never touch another human, and
love only the spices. When Doug - a handsome,
enigmatic American with a secret past - enters her
store, Tilo's own desires are stirred for the
first time and as she becomes closer to Doug, the
spices she has given her other customers begin to
misbehave. The more Tilo falls in love and defies
the rules, the worse the lives of her customers
become. Tilo must decide. Will she choose
forbidden love for an American over devotion to
her spices and her traditions?
£ 3.93

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AvailabilityIn Stock
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The Mistress of Spices 11x17 Movie Poster
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The Mistress of Spices - Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni The Mistress of Spices - Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
Pages: 317, Edition: New edition, Paperback, Black Swan
£ 3.10

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An Oversalted Dish
A review by afy9mab on The Mistress Of Spices (DVD)
July 9th, 2006


Author's product rating:   

Did you enjoy it? Indifferent to it 
Story Very ordinary 
Characters / Performances Unmemorable 
Special Effects Weak 
How does it compare to similar films? Weak 

Advantages: It's only an hour - and - a - half long
Disadvantages: Flavourless

Recommend to potential buyers: no 

Full review

Tilo is a mistress of spices; she has the ability to understand them and use them to help others and the gift of second sight. She has been sent from India to San Francisco, to cure the spiritual and emotional ills of those around her with her spices. But there are rules she must follow. She can never touch the skin of another person, she can never leave the shop and she must never use the spices for her own purposes. But when a handsome stranger comes off his motorbike outside the store, Tilo begins to wonder if she might not be able to bend the rules.

Director Paul Mayeda Berges has made a sweet but rather humdrum addition to the romance genre. It is trying to be a modern romantic fable, but is so packed with sugar that it feels saccharine. There is too great an emphasis on the cod Indian mysticism that underlies the story. So we get women in saris trotting out implausible codes of ethics, fire-walking and people literally talking to spices in a clumsy attempt at magical realism. There's even a ghostly visitation from Tilo's mentor that feels too Yoda for its own good. I can accept that every spice has a purpose and that could imprint on it the vestiges of a personality. Thanks to Berges' almost fetishistic cinematography of them, you can virtually smell the pungent aroma. But when Tilo acts as though they are actually talking to her, it's a little hard to swallow; especially when every glimpse of the warning red chillies is accompanied by a loud musical spike that makes them sound eeevil. It's a shame this is Berges' first film as a director because he won't get much work off the back of it.

In order for a romance to work cinematically, everything should be handled with the lightest touch. But thanks to the director's ham-fisted approach, it's a jam roly-poly of a film rather than a gossamer-light confection. The earnest way he treats the material is his undoing. Instead of being poignant, Tilo's visions are melodramatic. The clumsy voice-over that reveals her thoughts is so serious that it soon becomes laughable. Every line is delivered as if the fate of the world hangs in the balance; sucking the fun from what should be pure entertainment. The budgetary constraints of the movie also damage it. The visual effects don't hold up to scrutiny - a couple of fire-walking scenes look very ropey. Shooting all the interiors in the Isle of Man may also have been a bad idea. Many of the British actors playing Americans can't sustain a believable accent. Much of the money seems to have gone on the score that smothers the majority of the scenes. The result is a deeply unsatisfying whole that lacks charm and outstays its' welcome despite being only a shade over ninety minutes.

The screenplay, co-written by the director and "Bend It Like Beckham" director Gurinder Chadha uses a simple fable format, which is muddled in the execution. The love against the odds storyline is overpowered by the manifold subplots involving Tilo's myriad customers. Everyone that walks through the door seems to have a traumatic past or present. I understand the film is trying to deal with issues of love versus duty and the battle between tradition and modernity. But we don't need to see everyone's back-story in so much detail; just a few brief flashes would be enough. Though it must be said the only characters whose stories are investigated in depth are those of Indian origin. Sadly most of these conform to the stereotypes of North Asians abroad, making them feel more Bollywood than Hollywood. They don't ever feel real because they aren't fleshed out.

The dialogue is pretty naff throughout. The majority of it jars because it doesn't feel truthful or realistic. Do we really need so many references to various spices to remind us the leading lady is a mistress thereof? Or so many obvious diagnoses of people's emotional problems? It gets tediously repetitive. The reductive philosophy of the film is pushing things a bit far. Its suggestion that a few sprigs of this or that can cure all the world's ills removes all responsibility from the characters and makes them little more than puppets.

Aishwarya Rai has often been voted one of the most beautiful women in the world and it's not difficult to see why. She is at her best when required to do nothing but stand looking exquisite. So the role of Tilo could have been written for her, as most of her dialogue is delivered in voice-over. That's not to say she can't act, it's just that she isn't called upon to do so. Unfortunately though, the part is pure fluff, with Tilo standing as a cipher for duty and goodness.

Dylan McDermott was clearly told that the role of Doug required someone very manly. To fit this ideal, he has grown copious amounts of facial hair. He's the sort of actor that has spent much of his career passing unnoticed and that's because he is desperately average. He fulfils the role of romantic lead okay. He hits his marks and says his lines with some indication of feeling, but is hampered by a total lack of chemistry with his female co-star. He only comes to life when his scenes have some emotional depth and he can get his teeth into them.

British actor Nitin Chandra Ganatra brings some much needed warmth to the movie as taxi driver Haroun. He manages sweet without being sickly and despite the way his character is written, largely manages to avoid the head-bobbing Indian stereotype.

The score by Craig Pruess is too big for the film. It smothers most of the movie, again over-emphasising the Indian mysticism with its' incessant sitar, ethereal Hindi vocals and pipes. The problem is that the music doesn't always relate to the subject matter of the scene or it tries to influence it. I sometimes feels confused, throwing in random thriller squeals here and R 'n' B rhythms and vocal touches there. The magical aspect of the film is represented by predictable chimes, while the romance is hammered home with schmaltzy guitar and gamelan. The problem is that the percussion is too pervasive and the whole kit and caboodle too loud.

"The Mistress of Spices" is the sort of sugary romance that requires the watcher to take it with a very large pinch of salt (if you'll pardon the pun). The story and execution are far too fanciful to have any emotional resonance. The romance is hampered by lack of chemistry between the leads and all the characters feel like ciphers for issues like racial intolerance. If only the same loving care could have been lavished on the writing, as on the lush cinematography of the spices; then perhaps the film wouldn't feel so flavourless.
 


The Mistress Of Spices (DVD)

Product details

Actor(s): Aishwarya Rai, Dylan McDermott, Anupam Kher, Ayesha Dharker, Nitin Chandra Ganatra, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje

Director(s): Paul Mayeda Berges

Genre: Drama - Romantic

Classification: 12 years and over

Production Year: 2005

Running Time: 1 hour 36 minutes

Video Category: Feature Film

Plot: An Indian woman called Tilo runs a spice store in San Francisco and has a magical gift of seeing into customers' lives and desires. She abides by a strict set of rules in order for the spices to be effective in helping her customers. When handsome American Doug enters her store, she begins to fall for him and defies the rules. Will Tilo choose devotion to the spices or Doug?

Release details

DVD Region: DVD

Studio(s): ENTERTAINMENT IN VIDEO; CINRAM LOGISTICS

Release date: 14/08/2006

No of Discs: 1

Catalogue No: EDV 9406

Barcode: 5017239194061

Screenwriter: Gurinder Chadha, Paul Mayeda Berges

Producer: Deepak Nayar, Gurinder Chadha

Languages

Main Language: English

DVD Description

Indian woman, Tilo runs a spice store in San Francisco and has the ability to see into customers' lives and desires. As a mistress of spices, there are certain rules that she has to obey in order for the spices to work their magic on her customers. She must never leave the store, never touch another human, and love only the spices. When handsome American Doug - an enigmatic man with a secret past - enters her store, Tilo's own desires for love and affection are awoken. She begins to fall for Doug and as she becomes closer to him, the spices her other customers have purchased become defective. The more Tilo falls for Doug and defies the rules, the worse the lives of her customers become. Tilo has to decide whether she will choose Doug over devotion to her spices and Indian traditions. Adapted from Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni's acclaimed novel, THE MISTRESS OF SPICES is a story about immigration and assimilation told in the style of magic realism, a device used in such films as CHOCOLAT and LIKE WATER FOR CHOCOLATE. Written by Gurinda Chadha and directed by Paul Mayeda Berges, who collaborated on BEND IT LIKE BECKHAM and BRIDE & PREJUDICE, the film focuses on how much immigrants should try to assimilate into a new country and how much of their traditions they should keep. THE MISTRESS OF SPICES is a charming romantic drama that carries a complex underlying message.

Technical information

Special Features: Feature Length Commentary By Paul Mayeda Berges and Gurinder Chadha, Featurette Interviews, B Roll, Trailer

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Listed on Ciao since : 09/07/2006

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