>>REVIEW
THE MISTRESS OF SPICES
STARRING Aishwarya Rai and Dylan McDermott
DIRECTED BY Paul Mayeda Berges
Opens Friday, July 28
Check listings
The Mistress of Spices is a flowing and poetic film about an Indian immigrant who possesses a powerful relationship with the spices in her shop.
The magic realism genre is tricky in nature. If done well, it can come off as mysterious, profound and beautiful (think Chocolat). Unfortunately, The Mistress of Spices lacks the passion of some of its predecessors, but it is delightfully charming to watch nonetheless.
The film focuses on Tilo, played by Aishwarya Rai, one of India’s most beautiful exports. As a child, Tilo has mystical powers and soon becomes the talk of her town. Tilo is sent to San Francisco, where she runs a Spice Bazaar shop. It is gorgeous to behold and would surely excite the dullest of olfactory systems, with spices and herbs displayed in all of their colourful glory.
Tilo possesses a powerful relationship with the spices in her shop, that, in turn, makes her a sort of healing spice guru to her clients. The power to heal people’s problems via spices comes with a few stipulations – three to be precise. She can never touch another’s skin, never leave the shop or use the spices for her own desires or benefit.
Everything is going swimmingly for Tilo until a handsome stranger named Doug (Dylan McDermott) crashes his motorcycle outside her store. She helps him and both are stricken with love at first sight. Tilo eventually lets Doug touch her, and the ramifications of this act are felt in the lives of her clients. Tilo decides not to pursue Doug in order to save her relationship with the spices, then she gives in to love and so on.
As much as this is a mystical tale about love, magic and spices, it is also about an immigrant’s struggle to hold onto the traditions of the old country while trying to fit in to the new one. We are introduced to various people in the movie, whom Tilo assists. All try to keep their customs alive while seeking out a better life in America.
Rai does a good job portraying a childlike innocence alongside a very sophisticated sense of mysticism. The chemistry between her and McDermott is palpable, but not over the top. Directed by Paul Mayeda Berges, The Mistress of Spices is a lovely movie to watch, even if it errs on the lighter side of magical realism and doesn’t get too dark or deep. |
Copyright ©2006 FFWD. All rights reserved.