Product Details

• Actors: Aishwarya Rai, Dylan McDermott, Anupam Kher, Chitra Banerjee
• Format: Color, Subtitled
• Subtitles: English, Spanish
• Region: All Regions
• Run Time: 95 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000QWAEV2
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #35,896 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

THE MISTRESS OF SPICES is a universal immigrant story told through magical realism in the vein of LIKE WATER FOR CHOCOLATE and CHOCOLAT. It is a sensual love story building on the cultural themes of the writers of BEND IT LIKE BECKHAM and WHAT'S COOKING? - what as an immigrant do you choose to keep or leave behind as you assimilate. TILO is an outsider from India who has to come to terms with her new country, America. But as a 'mistress of spices', there are certain rules she must follow. TILO runs a spice store in San Francisco and has a magical gift of seeing into her 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 - 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. She begins to feel passion for the American 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 begins to defy 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? Aishwarya Rai, star of Gurinder Chadha's upcoming BRIDE & PREJUDICE, is confirmed to play TILO. A leading American actor will play DOUG. An exciting range of British Asian actors complete the strong ensemble cast. TILO must decide. Will she choose forbidden love for an American over devotion to her spices and her traditions?

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "Everyone Has A Spice" ~ An Intoxicating Fragrance To Be Absorbed As Much As Viewed, December 21, 2007

By	Brian E. Erland "Rainbow Sphinx" (Brea, CA - USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

The rather obscure '05 release 'The Mistress of Spices' is a wonderfully engaging romance filled with magic and Hindu mysticism that caught my full attention from the beginning and carried me transfixed to the end. Aishwarya Rai and Dylan McDermott make an endearing couple trying to not only bridge the cultural gap between the two but also overcome the mystical connection between the beautiful Tilo (Aishwarya) and the exotic spices that fill her shop.

The key to the success or failure of this film is Aisharya's ability to make her spice store appear a magical space where she communicates with the fragrant essences surrounding her and exude a mystical essence about herself and her sacred duty as Spice Mistress. She does a magnificent job at both.

A rare treat awaits the unsuspecting viewer, I can't wait to watch it again!

4.0 out of 5 stars Mistress of Spices; a love story surrounded by tradition, May 31, 2007

By	Stacy Koenig "BoundandPressed" (Phila Suburbs, PA) - See all my reviews

The Mistress of Spices, is raised to know all spices and their values. She has a gift to read exactly what people need in their lives. By offering up spices and a recipe to cook, she can replace what they are missing; or assist in opening up their 'senses' to find it on their own.

I was immediately sucked in to the characters transplanted from India, to find a better life in the land of freedom (USA). The story line was a little slow at times, but original. The struggle that Tilo faces as she grows up in India, becomes an orphan, then trained as a Spice Mistress, and then transplanted to California to run a spice shop is both heartbreaking and breath-taking. The rules of the spice shop are strict.

Tilo may never leave the store, may only use her powers for others; never herself and she must never touch another humans skin. With a constant movement of customers with whom she develops strong connections, her life is fulfilled, until one day, a stranger walks in to her shop...

This movie is from the creators of "Bend it Like Beckham" and was colorful, energetic and full of tradition, change, growth and acceptance.
A very good weekend movie!