2.5 out of 5 stars (decent)
The Theory of Spice is an odd confection that tastes fine, but leaves you little to remember. It’s a collection of stylishly-edited shorts that attempt to tie in the starts of several spices you probably have in kitchen cabinets with some major historical events I’d previously been unaware of, but doesn’t have the time to dive into any of them.
Through a series of shorts, we get rapid-fire origins cardamom, cinnamon, and ginger. Each segment is narrated by a Grammy-winning musician (Rizo, Jon Batiste, and Gaby Moreno) and has its own vibe, with the common threads being atmosphere, snip-its of history, and gorgeous shots of food that are sure to leave you starving.
I’m not sure who The Theory of Spice is made for. Spice afficionados may want to check it out, but the information is delivered so quickly that nothing has a moment to sit with you. It feels like a proof-of-concept for longer documentaries about its subjects that would go more in-depth about the historical context and intricacies of each spice. As it is, I can admire the editing and flow, but needed more informational spice or saffron to sweeten the pot. I dare anyone not to come away from this short wanting to raid the kitchen for a snack and hopefully the filmmakers behind each segment can go on to bigger and better things, but the attempt to mix history, the importance of these spices to the culture they originated in, and give plenty of food glamor shots in so little time, its ambitious plate is overstuffed. The Theory of Spice may intrigue people wanting a taste of food history and is put together well enough, but I wish it had more time to season the morsels of information it brings up.