Ginger and Cinnamon
Ginger and Cinnamon
NR | 04 April 2003 (USA)
Ginger and Cinnamon Trailers

Stefania works in a bookshop. Shortly before closing for summer holidays, Andrea, who was left behind by his fiancée, enters the store.

Reviews
lastliberal

Thousands of backpackers descend upon Greece in the summer. This time it was an Aunt (Stefania Montorsi) and her niece (Martina Merlino) that joined them. Stefania was getting over the breakup of an eight-year relationship with Andrea (Giampaolo Morelli), and Megghy (Merlino) was looking to lose her virginity.It was a very light romantic chick-flick that took place on Ios. It had a great soundtrack from Boy George to Mozart, from The Village People to Debussy.Ultimately, it was a light salad; just enough humor to keep you interested, but little else.I did like Montorsi and would like to see more of her in the future.

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MartinHafer

Wow, did I feel torn about this film! On one hand, the film had some exceptional characters (in particular the aunt). But, on the other, the play was so inappropriate and sick in how it dealt with teen sexuality it really made me angry. If you look at this film from a completely amoral standpoint, it is a very good film with a lot to recommend it. As a parent and teacher, I was just horrified at times as I watched.First, what I liked. Aunt Stefania was a great character. At the beginning of the film, she was extremely rigid and controlling and so naturally her relationship with her boyfriend, Andrea, was falling apart. This opening sequence was extremely funny as they contrasted how both viewed the health of their relationship. He was miserable and yet all the terrible things she did, she saw them as the strengths of their relationship! Later, towards the end, there was a cute little twist that brought them back together. Throughout the film, some very good (but morally suspect) writing really kept my interest. Plus, having the beautiful backdrop of the Greek Isles made this film exciting to watch.Now as for the bad. Stefania's niece, Megghy, was a horrible mess of a character. Although she was not quite 15, her sole ambition in life was to love her virginity with ANYONE and lose it quickly! In addition, she was a habitual liar and a self-absorbed little jerk. Now had she faced any consequences for this, it could have been funny or interesting--but this never happened.What bothered me in particular is that Stefania is supposed to be an adult. Megghy lies to the aunt about a girl scout trip in order to go to the Greek Isles to get laid. When this supposedly responsible aunt discovers the ruse as well as why Megghy wants to go, she basically allows Megghy to run amok through the very horny island trying to find a willing partner and drink herself into oblivion! While Megghy looked older than her chronological age, her judgment was completely unsound and she was a child--and she was a likely candidate to get raped or get an STD or become pregnant (even if she went with her aunt to pick up boxes of condoms). This was supposed to be cute and funny--but to me it just seemed sleazy and morally bankrupt. Had Megghy been an adult, then perhaps you might have felt uncomfortable about her dippy behavior but you'd agree that as an adult she's free to mess up her own life. But to have the aunt help facilitate? This is just sick. Had Megghy wanted to become an assassin or sexually abuse farm animals, would Aunt Stefania have said 'no'? This film desperately needed some adults who were willing to behave as adults.Excellent but depraved writing--I worry what messages this film might be sending to young and impressionable kids.

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star_e5

I really like this movie.Stefania has just broken up with her beau of 8 years, Andrea. Her rebellious 14-year-old niece Martina, scusi Megghy, bails out of her girl scout trip to convince her mom to let her romp through Europe alone. But her grandmother decides that Megghy should stay with her aunt since she will be alone. Megghy persuades Stefania to take her to Ios in Greece, the island of love. But Stefania doesn't know that Megghy plans to lose her virginity to a stranger because she believes that she turns off guys because they can tell she's still a virginStefania is absolutely gorgeous and her sense is humorous. Megghy on the other hand got slightly annoying. All her whining was getting on my nerves. Also she runs with her arms flailing. Very funny. Andrea is lovely and you can really tell he loves his girlfriend. I didn't expect the end to turn out the way they did. I love the bus scene. It's so cute!I was wondering about that Indian music. I guessed I was getting Greek and Indian music confused but I was right that it was Indian. I actually learned the song at the end by a lot of playbacks.I highly recommend this movie.

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etherkiss

The film is full of beautiful scenery and a fun, though sorta out-of-place soundtrack (mainly consisting of upbeat Indian music...which doesn't really go with the language OR the location, but is fun nonetheless). The 14 year old girl was sort of painful to watch...mostly because she was on the borderline between "awkward" and "kinda cute". The whining got old after a while though.I LOVED the last scene though. Enough said. Go see it if you want to know what I mean.Overall it was a cute film.I'd give it somewhere between a 6 and a 6.5

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