"The quiet life of an Indian seaside town in the 1940s is thrown into turmoil by the appearance of the tax collector, and his minions. The taxman, a petty tyrant who twirls his moustache and terrifies the villagers, finds himself lusting after the town beauty, who flees to the local chili factory. Director Ketan Mehta uses this melodramatic story, which is leavened with snatches of Indian folklore, to make a serious point about oppression. The factory, which employs most of the village women, becomes a kind of fortress where the victim of the taxman's attentions hides out. But in order to buy peace, most of the men of the town-the factory's aged watchman is an honorable exception-would be willing to turn the woman over to her pursuer. The director comes from a background in theater, and he is eloquent in defense of melodrama and stock characters. Such characters, he says, are the products of centuries of performing arts traditions, and if they are looked down upon, it is only because they have been poorly used by writers and directors. Spices, however, employs them with the highest imagination." -Walter V. Addiego