"Scottish-Asian woman returns home to save her family's ailing restaurant." That was the scant, not to mention inaccurate synopsis that I read before viewing. I rather expected a dull, perhaps gritty story of a dysfunctional family with likely a bit of outside racism thrown in for good measure. But hey, it was set in Scotland and we don't see too many films like that so I sat down to watch... So what a treat I got!! This film is well-acted (especially by the two leads) and utterly engaging. I agree parts of the plot were wafer thin but it presented as a fairytale and a cracking good one at that. It was just joyful and poignant and above all uplifting. I am Scottish but neither Asian or gay so others can discuss any significance about such matters, for me it was just a great watch and that is all I care about.

This is a very forgettable film. It's so fluffy it very nearly became unbearable to me, and I have a very high tolerance for fluffy, trust me! There are two things it does well, however. The photography of the cooking, which is luscious, and the strong sense of chemistry between the two leading ladies.Apart from that it felt limp and poorly constructed. The direction, I think, was the key problem.The characters weren't fleshed out much at all, there was little sense of history, little sense of cohesion. It felt like it suffered from jumping narrative. There were a number of scenes where I wasn't quite sure what was going on, everything was so vague. What was Lisa's background? Why did she assume control of her father's interest in the restaurant? Was she not giving up a job of some kind to suddenly become Nina's kitchen hand? Or was it all done on the weekends? Why was the brother hiding his marriage, the explanation was odd...why didn't Lisa confide in Nina earlier about her situation with Kary? There was just so much that I felt we had to imply into events ourselves...Ultimately, it's a fairy tale, as long as you go in expecting that, rather than expecting a realistic romance, then you should find this film moderately enjoyable.

Love this movie,just saw it at our Gay & Lesbian Film Festival here in Wellington.Love the story and it is a movie that should go to general release.Music good,Story awesome and I really don't think people can get offended by the story line.It is just a great love story. I would have like to got more of the recipes,they were wonderful. Managed to get the DVD from England so will be playing every night.Soundtrack is wonderful as well,so will be keeping the eye out for that. Thank you for finally getting the film to the screen.Only took the director 5 years to get someone to fund it.unbelievable.Keep up the good work and looking for more. Chris

If you ask me, the crux of the matter in _Nina's Heavenly Delights_ is revealed when Ms. Lady G's comments that the small battery-operated plastic Taj Mahal was a giant testament of grief. Parmar's film revolves around mourning and the comforts of beauty, love, aesthetics, family. And at the core of the film: is grief. Grief for her her father, yes, and also for the all that needs to be rewound: communication, home, deep friendship, solidarity, respect. If you've watched her documentaries over the years, you've found activist poetic diasporic politics running through, for her work is dutiful. But the films are always full of the other side of activism -- yearning -- and the other side of community -- grief. This film articulates those complicated emotions beautifully.I find in this move to the feature film (which I applaud Kali films for with both hands clapping) a perfect topic: the loss of the father, the fall of queer idealism (we can't be gone for ever), and a return to the intricate and difficult subject of integrity and community integration. Less I sound too sophomoric to you, think again: Parmar and her crew are smart filmmakers: they've seen "Bend it Like Beckham" and "Fire" and many other important lesbian-type films ... and then delved into what drives us to love. No, Mia Hamm isn't in the limelight these days anyway, but more importantly didn't attempt the epic architectural overhaul of resovling the question of privacy and respect. Or, more poignantly, she and her writers did attempt the overhaul, but they did so in such subtle and lovely ways -- wouldn't you love for your future lover to discover something written behind the wallpaper? -- that the past becomes a sweet companion to the grief of the present. How is it possible to live without our memories? It is not. Patience is a virtue in this film, and I would love to hear your comments about mom and brother in light of such a topic as patience. I refuse to believe that honor is dead. Shed Lacan -- _Nina's Heavenly Delights_ is not a typical, vacuous tale of lesbian and/ or progressive family who show their feathers when the big guy goes out. There seems, actually, to be a more important story going on about what shifts, and how we shift, through death, love and respect. To consider this a flat tale about "the law of the father" would be to belittle death and the dense process of mourning.Quick last note: Three cheers for the best friend. Pratibha has finally given a body and character to her love of dance. Finally we can celebrate this with her.