Greece, Turkey · 2003
1h 48m
Director Tassos Boulmetis
Starring Georges Corraface, Ieroklis Michaelidis, Renia Louizidou, Stelios Mainas
Genre Comedy, Drama
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"A Touch of Spice" is a story about Fanis, a young Greek boy growing up in Istanbul, whose grandfather, a culinary philosopher and mentor, teaches him that both food and life require a little salt to give them flavor. They both require... A Touch of Spice. Fanis grows up to become an excellent cook and uses his cooking skills to spice up the lives of those around him. 35 years later he leaves Athens and travels back to his birthplace of Istanbul to reunite with his grandfather and his first love. He travels back only to realize that he forgot to put a little bit of spice in his own life.
Spice is full of colorful family moments and flavored with observations like the role of spices in provoking wars. Takis Zervoulakos' elegant camerawork serves up painterly, magical shots of condiments, lavish banquets and mysterious spaces.
Using the familiar device of cuisine as a metaphor for national identity and personal feelings, bitter-sweet pic about a man torn between his ethnicity (Greek) and the country of his birth (Turkey) makes its points lightly and entertainingly, with only a routine third act letting down the package.
New York Daily News by Joe Neumaier
Don't expect to taste anything surprising.
One big hunk of cinematic moussaka with lots of appetizing shots of food.
The New York Times by Neil Genzlinger
It does have some sweet touches and a droll sense of humor.
San Francisco Chronicle by Walter Addiego
There's more than a touch of whimsy in A Touch of Spice, a sentimental Greek offering that's been immensely popular in its home country but doesn't translate well.
A man, thoroughly dissatisfied with his life, finds new meaning when he forms a fight club with soap salesman Tyler Durden.