what a.....movie..... - The Mistress of Spices (2006) Discussion

[–] liquidthalassa 18 years ago

Read the book which this was adapted from. Much better and explains it all. It's not stupid, it's supose to be magical...fairy tale like. She comes from a magical island and rode there on the back of sea snakes.
She and the others on the island are Spice Mistresses. They talk to spices--so what? People talk to cats and plants and yell at their computer. In the book it's <i>a lot</i> more clear. She feels their power, their essence. She uses them for magic and healing. That's their purpose to help people.
Sorry you didn't get it, but I really think reading the book is better. WAY better.

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[–] sarahllsjones 18 years ago

that means they were not able to adopt the book to the movie. instead of generating any excitement in the book, they have put off potential readers by making such an awful film. maybe they should stick to what they do best: make meaningless song and dance films.

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[–] shades_of_grey 18 years ago

LOL...i totally agree! ..the movie was crap-ass bad...seriously it was always going to be hard for them to adapt this book into a film...even though it was meant to be a 'magical... fairytale like'film ...it didn't come through... good thing i read the book before hand (otherwise i'd be put off for life!)

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[–] smitachakrabarti 17 years ago

i agree with the film being not good and the book being way better.yes it is indeed true...but that also does not gives you the right to insult all bollywood films like that.who says song and dance movies are always bad?depends always on how tastefully it has been made.some poeple come here only to insult indians and bad mouthing everything they do but doing that also does not makes you a superior.

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[–] Val-El 16 years ago

Folks should really give Hindi movies a try. Many of them are truly great! With wonderful music and lyrics. Anyone who says that it makes no sense to have music in movies doesn't understand what is going around them. You constantly hear music in daily life, the radio, ipod, TV, commercials, someone humming, etc. Without music our lives would be really diminished.

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[–] PenTheater 17 years ago

even though it was meant to be a 'magical... fairytale like'film ...it didn't come through

like the book

The fact that they left this out, or were unable to convey it, is why this movie came across as so implausable that it was stupid.

one question, was there an earthquake at the end?

How come no one was sneezing with all those spices flying around?, their eyes didn't even water!

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[–] sarahllsjones 17 years ago

their eyes did not even water because that would have spoiled their make-up!!! indians do not care about reality as long as actress, and in some cases actors, look like 'dolls'.

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[–] abhishekbachan_34 16 years ago

You said meaningless songs and movies. We have a huge number of movies which got awards in international film festivals such as Cannes film festival and Karlovy Vary film festival. Ardh Satya (1983), Nishant(1975), Koshish(1972), Aandhi(1975), Masoom(1983),Maachis(1997),1947 Earth(1998),Lagaan(2001)-Academy Award nominated,Sarkar (2005) Monsoon Wedding (2001),Company (2002), Ab Tak Chappan(2003), Black Friday(2004), Swades(2004), Black(2005)-"Time Magazine listed the film among the 10 best films of 2005 from across the globe", Parzania(2005),Omkara(2006), Guru (2007), Water(2005)- Academy Award nominated. These are just a few and most of these films do not have any songs. Its not our fault that our good movies do not get much publicity abroad. The songs in our movies are not meaningless at all! They have a lot of meaning in them. We use poets to make the lyrics of songs in our movies so just because you don't understand them doesn't mean they are meaningless. You being American shouldn't even be talking! Look at how meaningless your songs are.I do agree though that the Mistress of Spices(2005) is a lousy movie.

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[–] sarahllsjones 16 years ago

I will not say whether the films you have mentioned here are good or not because we all have different tastes.
But the only Indian film that has won praise from international critics, such as the well-respected Derek Malcom of Guardian newspaper, is Pakeeza. He rates it among the top 100 films of all time.
However, you are right that it was wrong of me to criticise Indian films. Maybe due to cultural differences I am not able to appreciate them they way you do. I am glad we agree that Mistress of Spices is a bad movie.

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[–] abhishekbachan_34 16 years ago

Actually Pakeezah is full of the "meaning less song and dance". The whole movie is about the art of dancing and singing. Pakeezah is actually a very mediocre Hindi film, there are a lot of films which are much better.Its just that only the lousy commercial films are seen by the west. If u have seen Pakeezah and you liked it then u should watch Umrao Jaan(1982). Its much better than this film and is in the same genre.

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[–] Wombstar 13 years ago

thats coming form someone who likes Tom and Jerry?
Talk about stupid and awful.

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[–] Rena_Mahone 12 years ago

Agreed. So bad it's funny. Well, almost.

Boycott movies that involve real animal violence! (and their directors too)

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[–] NotLily 11 years ago

I picked out this movie from Netflix. It is a pleasant rental. The culture clash could have been stronger. But I did enjoy it.