A Touch of Spice

  • Georges Corraface: Fanis Iakovides
  • Ieroklis Michaelidis: Savas Iakovides
  • Renia Louizidou: Soultana Iakovidou
  • Stelios Mainas: Uncle Aimilios
  • Tamer Karadagli: Mustafa
  • Basak Köklükaya: Saime
  • Tassos Bandis: Grandpa Vassilis
  • Markos Osse: Fanis as a child

A Touch of Spice ( Original title: Πολίτικη Κουζίνα - Politiki kouzina ) is a Greek film from 2003 directed by Tassos Boulmetis, who also wrote the screenplay.

Action

Fanis Iakovidis is a Greek professor of astrophysics, who lives in Athens. When his still in Constantinople Opel, now Istanbul, living grandfather Vassilis ill to Fanis reflects on his childhood, the expulsion from Turkey, to cooking and his girlfriend.

In flashbacks we are told how the family of Greek origin living in 1959 in Constantinople Opel, is reported in 1964 to Greece and Greece everything else is taken as friendly. In Constantinople Opel they were regarded as Greeks in Athens, she now regarded as Turks.

The film shows a family tragedy along with many tragic, but also comic moments, the problem of the Greek-Turkish conflict as the Cyprus issue.

Background

  • Both the German and the English title pun of the original movie title is lost. The Greek title means in the notation " πολίτικη κουζίνα " about " cuisine of Constantinople " ( Konstantin Opel is in Greek usually referred to only as " η Πόλη " = "the City " ), in the notation " πολιτική κουζίνα " contrast "political cooking "; phonetically the two versions differ only by the emphasis.
  • Theatrical release in Greece was on 24 October 2003. In Germany the movie was released on April 28, 2005 in theaters. In Austria, the premiere took place on 1 June 2005.
  • In Austria, the film was shown in original version with subtitles.
  • The film is divided into chapters that " Starters ", "The Main Course " and " Desserts " call themselves.

Reviews

"The film does memory work to abet without revanchist sentiments. Characterized by fine melancholy and humorous lightness, he tells unobtrusive of expulsion and exile and makes the pain of homelessness felt. "

Awards

At the Thessaloniki Film Festival 2003, the film won ten awards.

  • The Greek Competition Award for Best Cinematography - Takis Zervoulakos
  • Best Director - Tassos Boulmetis
  • Best Editing - Yorgos Mavropsaridis
  • Best fiction film - Tassos Boulmetis
  • Best Music - Evanthia Reboutsika
  • Best Screenplay - Tassos Boulmetis
  • Best Set Design - Olga Leontiadou
  • Best Sound - Dimitris Athanassopoulos

The film was sent as a Greek competition entry for the Oscar in 2005 for Best Foreign Language Film, but was not nominated.

The film received the " Öngören Prize" of human rights at the 4th Nuremberg Turkish-German Film Festival in 2005.

International Film Festival Karlovy Vary 2004: " Variety Critics Choice Award" as one of the ten best European films of the year.

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