I loved the new Greek film ‘A Touch of Spice’ which is currrently playing at Dendy at the Quays. This is a charming, touching film. It is autobiographical in nature being loosely based on the life of its writer/director Tassos Boulmetic . Tassos’s story is told through the journey of its main character, Fanis. A take on Fanis’s journey is that it is a trip down memory lane story. As a young Greek boy , Fanis, a was forced to leave Constantinople, Istanbul and move to Greece because of a political dispute between Greece and Turkey. Now a successful and mature man, a 40 year old astrophysics professor, Fanis decides its time to revisit Istanbul to see his dying grandfather who he has not seen since he left.

For Fanis the trip down memory lane proves to be a deeply emotional experience. He connects with his grandfather…he catches up with a woman Saim, now married, who used to be his playmate cum girlffriend. But most of all it is the city of Constantinople that Fanis falls for, the city he never wanted to leave in the first place. It is certainly a time of reflection for Fanis as he comes to realise that though his life has been successful, he hasn’t really been adventurous enough in his life. He takes more liberties when he cooks than he does in general life.
One of the arching themes in ‘A Touch of Spice’ is of food and cooking, well to extend the metaphor ‘A Touch Of Spice’ is a movie to savour and enjoy.

(c) David Kary