INDIA SWEETS AND SPICES

Writer-director Geeta Malik’s family dramedy, set in an affluent Indian-American suburb, feels like an irresistible peek behind an ornate silk curtain. The film offers a biting portrayal of the snobbery, pettiness, keeping up with the Joneses, and general drama in posh Ruby Hill, NJ; it’s not pretty. But underneath the social rebuke lies an adult coming-of-age story as college student Alia (Sophia Ali) comes home for the summer. The progressive firebrand confronts the jarring reality that parents are human, too, when shocking and complicated family truths come to light. The revelations rock Alia’s core, all while she’s also navigating pressures, boundaries, and expectations, and figuring out how tradition fits into her very modern life. There are laughs along the way, but this is a game-changing journey—for Alia, her parents, and maybe even for Ruby Hill itself. –Celia C. Peters