LouHomey From my favorite movies..

Adeel Hail Unshakable, witty and deeply felt, the film will be paying emotional dividends for a long, long time.

Mandeep Tyson The acting in this movie is really good.

Gary The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.

Je re Was Dylan McDermott just the biggest 'name' actor they could afford? Young beautiful Aishwarya Rai Bachchan: according to her bio on IMDb "Crowned Miss India 1994 runner-up, she was a hot favorite in the run for miss world title". Its easy to see what McDermott's character sees in her. She is paired with old (12 years older) bearded, not that attractive at all, biker McDermott. He's about as suitable for her as a street tramp. It doesn't work. Even in terms of the plot - he does nothing that could possibly make her fall in love with him. He isn't even polite and respectful - he just sticks his grubby paw in some of her spices for example.This is billed on the DVD as a romantic comedy. There is no comedy in this film... unless... and I don't like being this cruel... but the movie deserves it... unless you include laughing at it. The point where I did that was where she cuts her finger and she goes into the back. And he follows her (creepy), and saves her by telling her to put it under the tap. This is the Mistress of Spice who's got these amazing magical powers and can rustle up cures for everything and she's at the sink already... and he has to follow her to give her this amazing first aid tip everyone in the world knows about washing a cut! (Which of course conveniently means they get to be in close proximity for a moment. )It has the cinematography, the colours, the visuals... an interesting underlying plot idea... but its not comedy, and its not a plausible romance either.

marsjones Saw all the reviews. This movie is a great exposition of Indian culture. Like the complaints about lack of chemistry. No way was Rai going to smooch with that mellecha. It was actually rich, full and deep for those with an interest and understanding of things Indian. And seeing Rai was great. McDermott always seemed like he needed a bath and knew it. You just couldn't grade it the same way as a Hollywood production. It was earthy and sloppy and colorful and confused, complicated, beautiful and revolting just like India. Where else can you get a lot of spice knowledge, see Aishwarya Rai close up and a nice eggplant recipe all in the same movie.

Claudio Carvalho In India, Tilo (Aishwarya Rai) has the ability of foreseeing the future. When their parents are killed by bandits, she is kidnapped but escapes and is raised by the First Mother (Zohra Segal) in a sort of traditional cult of spices. She becomes the Mistress of Spices and is sent to the Spice Bazaar in San Francisco, with the mission of following three basic rules: help her clients to accomplish their desires with the spices, but never hers; never leave the store; and never be touched in the skin. When she meets the handsome American architect Doug (Dylan McDermott), she feels a great attraction and desire for him, breaking the first rule and being punished by the spices."The Mistress of Spices" is a predictable but pleasant film that uses the idea of movies like "Chocolate", "Woman on Top", "Como Agua Para Chocolate" blending romance with food or spice or chocolate or cookies. Therefore, the flawed story has no originality and is quite boring and messy in many moments. However, the cinematography is wonderful, with magnificent colors highlighted on DVD. Further, the gorgeous Miss World 1994 and Queen of Bollywood Aishwarya Rai makes this little film worth with her beauty and participating in most of the scenes. My vote is six.Title (Brazil): "O Sabor da Magia" ("The Flavor of Magic")

alan-culpitt What to say of this film? Well first the good bits. The story is an engaging fairy tale shot through with the kind of messy but engaging humanity that only India and Indians can bring. A sensuous feast for the eyes (I enjoyed the film whilst downing a bottle of wine with my other half) there are some gorgeous shots with piles of spices and herbs you can almost smell on the screen. Zhora Sehgal is always great and pops up in all sorts of films as "miscellaneous old Indian lady" and Aishwariya Rai is quite astonishingly loose-the-thread-of-what-you-were-talking-about beautiful.On the other hand Dylan McDermott is awful, utterly wooden and unconvincing as the architect-biker. Check out one shot where he looks utterly ridiculous with his crash helmet on. The ending's a bit of a disappointment too.All in all worth getting out on video and sitting back and revelling in the sensuous side of the film