Variety
Beautiful but lifeless, poetic but unelevated, "The Mistress of Spices" reps a brave but flawed attempt at that most unforgiving of contemporary genres, magical realism...
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The Mistress Of Spices
Billed as an Indian immigrant version of 'Chocolat' - a magic realist fairytale about a woman and her spice shop.
Tilo (Bollywood beauty Aishwarya Rai) is new to America, and holds a magical powers over the spices she sells in her store. Provided, that is, she adheres to the rules of being a 'mistress of spice' - never leave the store, never touch anyone, love only the spices. Then she meets Doug (McDermot). The spices affect seems linked to Tilo, and the more she falls for him, the more the spices start to misbehave for her customers.
Tilo (Bollywood beauty Aishwarya Rai) is new to America, and holds a magical powers over the spices she sells in her store. Provided, that is, she adheres to the rules of being a 'mistress of spice' - never leave the store, never touch anyone, love only the spices. Then she meets Doug (McDermot). The spices affect seems linked to Tilo, and the more she falls for him, the more the spices start to misbehave for her customers.
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200596 minsUSA, UK
DramaFantasy
- Director:
- Paul Mayeda Berges (writer: Bride & Prejudice, Bend It Like Beckham)
- Writer:
- Gurinder ChadhaPaul Mayeda Berges
- Cast:
- Aishwarya RaiDylan McDermottAyesha DharkerNitin Chandra Ganatra
The Mistress Of Spices | Reviews
11%9 reviewsRotten Tomatoes® Score
All reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
New Zealand Herald
The most that can be said for the film is that it will put you in the mood for a curry...
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Hollywood Reporter
Despite the ethereal presence of Aishwarya Rai, this dose of magic realism es off almost from the start, plagued by an artificiality that extends to a central romance crucial to the story...
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Empire Magazine
An ambitious attempt at an Indian immigrant version of Chocolat, this has amiable romance but little magic. Aishwarya Rais undoubted screen presence keeps this consistently watchable...
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BBC
Despite its colourful eastern palette and amiable performances from Bollywood starlet Aishwarya Rai and American hunk Dylan McDermott, the drama is as bland as a cucumber sandwich...
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