The Hundred-Foot Journey (2014)
Certified: 12A
Duration: 122 minutes
Directed by: Lasse Hallström
Starring: Helen Mirren, Om Puri, Manish Dayal, Charlotte Le Bon, Amit Shah, Farzana Dua Elahe, Dillon Mitra, Michel Blanc, Shuna Lemoine, Clément Sibony, Juhi Chawla
KRS Releasing Ltd
Times have not been good for the Indian family Kadam. They had moved from Mumbai to London where success eluded them due to the upheavals that had left the family’s matriarch dead.
They are led by Papa (Om Puri) and made up of Hassan (Manish Dayal), Mahira (Farzana Dua Elahe), Mansur (Amit Shah) and Aisah (Aria Pandiya) and Mukthar (Dillon Mitra), the youngest of the family. Now Papa has decided to take the family to mainland Europe.
When they arrive near the village of Saint-Antonin-Noble-Val in France, their car breaks down and they have to stop.
A young woman named Marguerite (Charlotte Le Bon) helps them and gives them to eat. Papa sees that on the edge of town there is a restaurant that has gone out of business and also notes that there are no Indian restaurants in town. So he immediately thinks of settling in this quiet town.
Mansur does not think this is a good idea, especially due to the fact that opposite their restaurant is a well-reknowned French restaurant. The owner here is Madame Mallory (Helen Mirren) who is focused, unbendable and aims at culinary perfection. The idea of an Indian restaurant does not sit well with her. So she and Papa are soon at ‘war’ with each other.
This film resembles Chocolat in the way Hallström tackles the subject of food and with its bevy of charming characters
Marguerite works in Madame Mallory’s place as sous-chef where she dreams of taking over Jean Pierre’s (Clément Sibony) position of head chef. Romance between her and Hassan starts to bloom even though they know that they may well be facing off against each other.
Meanwhile, Madam Mallory and Papa try to outdo each other in order to get the mayor’s (Michel Blanc) attention.
Lasse Hallström, who has directed excellent film adaptations of several splendid books, such as The Cider House Rules (1999), Chocolat (2000) and The Hoax (2006), here brings to the screen Richard C. Morais’s 2010 novel. This film resembles Chocolat in the way Hallström tackles the subject of food and with its bevy of charming characters.
The main difference here is that the main protagonists are not young and sexy stars but rather two seasoned actors that bring a forceful and strong personality to the screen.
The film also brings in some sensibilities that had made Ratatouille such a great movie.
Puri and Mirren balance each other perfectly. One is the patriarch, the glue that holds the family together and is fun and entertaining in a way that is almost infectious. On the other hand, Mirren is the personification of efficiency and of the love towards the art of cooking.
The romance between the attractive Le Bon and Dayal is made up of the right mix of ingredients to lure the audience into this modern fairy tale kind of story.