If someone were asked to describe what Canadian Cinema is, they might respond that there are two Cinema's in Canada; one being from Quebec, and the other being, well, from the rest of Canada. But if you had to pick one element of Canadian Cinema that permeates both of these realms; an element that proves to be a reflection of Canadian Society as a whole- it would be that of the "Diasporic" film, of which Dilip Mehta's "Cooking With Stella" is a wonderfully funny example."Diasporic Cinema" (diaspora's are mass migrations of people from one place to another) has become an important part of Canadian Film Culture, as it reflects our nation's rich diversity and multiculturalism, of which we are so proud. These films are made by recent immigrants or first generation Canadians who have grown up in an immigrant family; whose stories and storytelling techniques reflect how they are dealing with the culture blend (as opposed to clash) that comes with immigrating from "the old world" to a place like Canada.Dilip Mehta's sister Deepa is one of our best and most renown filmmakers. The influence that her films have had on her brother's style of filmmaking are obvious. This film could be canonized alongside two of Deepa's films to form the, "Mehta Diaspora Trilogy". Starting with the moving and funny "Sam & Me (1991), followed up by what could be described as the epitome of the Diaspora film, her part Western Romantic Comedy part Bollywood "Bollywood/Hollywood" (2002), and concluded here with this great bizarro-Diaspora Film.What's so great about "Cooking With Stella" is that it is like a Diaspora Film, but everything is in reverse. It is a film that shows how Western- in this case Canadian- culture has immigrated to other places, where it has had an influence on and blended with these well established cultures on their home front.It tells the story of Maya (Lisa Ray), who is working for the Canadian government as a diplomat in Delhi with her husband Michael (Don McKellar)- a chef looking to broaden his horizons- and their newborn baby, where they will be living on the grounds of the Canadian Consolate. While Maya goes to work Michael acts as the homemaker, which is quite a shock for their cook and servant Stella (Seema Biswas). A second shock hits Stella when she realizes that Maya- who is half-Indian, Half-Polish and all Canadian- speaks no Hindi and has had practically no immersion into Indian culture whatsoever (she's always too busy to care, it seems, anyways). Their condo is decorated with Canadian decor, from posters from the Montreal Olympics to an Ottawa Senators picture and portrait of the Canadian hockey team. Mehta plays with this concept throughout the film, like when the Gardener is wearing a Montreal Canadians toque and, of course, Stella's taste for Molson Canadian.Stella is an aging servant that works as a cook for the Canadian Consulate, and is not exactly who she seems. At first glance she is an extremely devout Catholic woman, living a hermitic lifestyle, other than when she is cooking for her bosses. But in reality, she is a cunning and manipulative woman who is little other than a clever, conniving, hustler driven by a lustful desire for money. Her schemes range from petty theft, to organized crime, and end up culminating in the films unexpected conclusion.Some stylistic elements of the film that reflect it's Diasporic nature include how Bollywood conventions are twisted in with what is mainly a Western style film- like when Tannu is rescued by the charming "stranger"- and how the Indian characters will go from speaking Hindi to English in the same conversation. Some other notable Diasporic aspects of the film include when Michael first teaches his cooking class and receives objections for having beef on the table (hindu's don't eat the sacred cow); how Michael is trying to become more Indian while all the Indians he meets are trying to be more Western; and how the Indian servants' interactions with Westerners seem to corrupt them. My absolute favourite part though, is when Stella is taking "orders" and the person on the phone asks for rice wine, to which she replies, "Ice wine, not rice wine you idiot. This is a Canadian shop, not Chinese"."Cooking With Stella" is a brilliantly entertaining feature debut from Dilip Mehta. I am looking forward to see more from him. The story and humour keeps you hooked from the beginning and the twist at the end is clever (and even a bit heartwarming). Both McKellar and Biswas do an excellent job with their performances. This film is an excellent example of both Diaspora and Canadian Cinema, which like the blend of the film's multicultural elements, has itself become an amalgamation that has spawned a "new" form of culture- what one might call "Indo-Canadian", in this case. If you enjoy this film, be sure to check out the work of Deepa mehta and the other great Canadian filmmakers who make films through a Diasporic lens. You won't be disappointed!!! Canadian Cinema RULES!!! 8.5 out of 10

The charm and heart of this movie shines through the mild cultural stereotypes that are necessary to tell this story, which is at least partly based on fact, from what I've read. Here's my report card:Screenplay - B : Direction - A : Story - B : Acting - A- : Cinematography - A : Music - B+ : Production values - A :It is an east meets west story, and west gets pick-pocketed. It's only just deserts for the abuse the east took from the west. But it's done in a light hearted way, with the requisite love interest, that ultimately is about forgiveness for all involved. Some of the secondary characters are like cardboard cutouts, but the main characters are well founded and nuanced. I found it a refreshing Indian desert, not overly sweet, with just enough spice!

There are two gorgeous actresses in this movie, a cooking tip I'll have to try, and lots of quirky Canadiana in the interiors. That was the joy of this movie. Otherwise as has been posted, very bleak story about Canadian trust being portrayed as advantageous gullibility and Indian greed and corruption portrayed as universal, with a very weak story about someone like Lisa Ray playing a dedicated and accomplished diplomat being attracted to : Don McKellar!As always, the yak-like McKeller speaks annoyingly and slowly like a stoned hobbit pondering the importance of everything he says in close-up. His character is even more loathsome: entitled, self-absorbed and useless to his bright wife, he can't cook and look after his own child at the same time. Fortunately they didn't even attempt to portray any chemistry between them, like oil and Ray + Mehta's only slightly better film 'Water'. At least there were little stings throughout the movie that the diplomat is expected to be the husband, i.e., male, but I was shocked with a feeble plot point about this accomplished character played by an actress with cancer whining about feeling fat in a sari was left in. She is literally left to fight her battles alone, and is portrayed as deserving what she gets as trying to be the bread-winning working mother. Both the writer and editor seem to be caught in an 80's or sub-continental sensibility, which is frankly repulsive to a 21st century Western eye.I groan aloud when I see Maury Chaykin is in a movie, but fortunately his role was minuscule and completely overshadowed by the whispers of his hot aide-de-camp. The passive-aggressive cheating servants corrupting another gorgeous woman as a PG 'Dangerous Liasons' was also difficult to watch: sometimes the plot tried to swerve into a genuine or touching moment, but quickly veered back into the venal. The ending is eye-rollingly bad: won't give away the non-surprise, but the long shot where the gorgeous, bright wife says an anachronistic 'I love you' to her useless hobbit husband is obviously a post edit and has no place in the story. They could have made an Indian 'Eat/Drink/Man/Woman', with gorgeous people, scenery and food shots: but they didn't. A perfect opportunity to make a pretty and thoughtful film: fail. The film rolls from kitchen drama to political satire with some almost Bollywood video setups: it doesn't know what it wants, either. Mehta's films are always very polarised, obvious and ham-handed, and I gave up on them long ago, but I still feel obliged to watch Cancon as it sits there being awful in its own Canadian way. But for you, gentle reader, if you want to see a great little Canadian comedy/drama, go rent 1995's 'Blood and Donuts'.And if I find out cooking fenugreek with tomatoes doesn't work, I'm reducing the stars to 3/10.