-By Doris Toumarkine
For movie details, please click here.
Writer-director Tassos Boumletis’ charming “A Touch of Spice,”
Greece’s 2005 Oscar entry and the country’s all-time Greek
box-office hit, doesn’t achieve the magic and impact of the
similarly themed foodie classic
Babette’s Feast, a more
concentrated adventure in culinary passion. But his cinematic
evocation of the allure of spices and how they provide a critical
through-line in the life of a middle-aged teacher packs delectable
elements.
Without quite biting off more than it can chew, the film also works
as a coming-of-age tale, a short history lesson of late 20th
century Turkish-Greek conflicts, and a romance that may or may not
end so sweetly.
No doubt autobiographical, the story centers on Fanis Lakovides
(George Corraface as an adult), who grows up in a tight-knit Greek
Orthodox family in Turkey’s Constantinople (now Istanbul). The
seven-year old Fanis first learns about spices and their many
meanings (cinnamon, sweet and bitter, is like a woman; salt makes
everything come to life yet is invisible, etc.) from his beloved
grandfather Vassilis (Tassos Bandis), who owns a spice store.
Tragedy strikes in the early ’60s when Turkish-Greek tensions force
the deportation to Greece of Fanis and parents Savas (Leroklis
Michaelidis) and Soultana (Renia Louizidou). Left behind are
Vassilis and Fanis’ adored friend Saime.
When later in the decade the Greek military junta takes over, the
young uniformed Fanis moonlights as a cook in a brothel. The
Turkish invasion of Cyprus only creates more barriers between Fanis
and his mentor/grandfather. Finally, the present holds hope, as
successful academic Fanis learns that Vassilis is really on his way
and he prepares a wonderful feast for their long-awaited
reunion.
A Touch of 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.
Boumletis’ direction masters all elements and his choice of
structure, bolstered by Fanis’ occasional voice-overs, provides the
appropriate chronological chapters of “appetizers,” “main course”
and “dessert.”
Film Review: A Touch of Spice
This handsome widescreen production about a spice-obsessed Greek professor’s journey to adulthood mixes food, history and family ties very palatably and poetically.
April 24, 2009
-By Doris Toumarkine
For movie details, please click here.
Writer-director Tassos Boumletis’ charming “A Touch of Spice,” Greece’s 2005 Oscar entry and the country’s all-time Greek box-office hit, doesn’t achieve the magic and impact of the similarly themed foodie classic
Babette’s Feast, a more concentrated adventure in culinary passion. But his cinematic evocation of the allure of spices and how they provide a critical through-line in the life of a middle-aged teacher packs delectable elements.
Without quite biting off more than it can chew, the film also works as a coming-of-age tale, a short history lesson of late 20th century Turkish-Greek conflicts, and a romance that may or may not end so sweetly.
No doubt autobiographical, the story centers on Fanis Lakovides (George Corraface as an adult), who grows up in a tight-knit Greek Orthodox family in Turkey’s Constantinople (now Istanbul). The seven-year old Fanis first learns about spices and their many meanings (cinnamon, sweet and bitter, is like a woman; salt makes everything come to life yet is invisible, etc.) from his beloved grandfather Vassilis (Tassos Bandis), who owns a spice store.
Tragedy strikes in the early ’60s when Turkish-Greek tensions force the deportation to Greece of Fanis and parents Savas (Leroklis Michaelidis) and Soultana (Renia Louizidou). Left behind are Vassilis and Fanis’ adored friend Saime.
When later in the decade the Greek military junta takes over, the young uniformed Fanis moonlights as a cook in a brothel. The Turkish invasion of Cyprus only creates more barriers between Fanis and his mentor/grandfather. Finally, the present holds hope, as successful academic Fanis learns that Vassilis is really on his way and he prepares a wonderful feast for their long-awaited reunion.
A Touch of 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.
Boumletis’ direction masters all elements and his choice of structure, bolstered by Fanis’ occasional voice-overs, provides the appropriate chronological chapters of “appetizers,” “main course” and “dessert.”
