The Hundred-Foot Journey

The trailer for this movie was good and so was the show itself. While "The Hundred-Foot Journey" wasn't perfect, I was worth seeing in the theater. Oscar-nominated director Lasse Hallstrom has an impressive resume so it wasn't a surprise how this show turned out. Plus, it was backed by Steven Spielberg and Oprah Winfrey as executive producers. Familiar story motifs are well adapted from the book such as rags-to-riches, hope & dreams and culture clashes.

Spielberg and Winfrey have collaborated before. Winfrey was an actress in the Spielberg-directed film "The Color Purple" back in the 80's. Basically what is happening is that Oprah is adapting one of her books of the month. At the start of the film, I could feel the Spielberg influence. As the film progressed however, I could sense the Oprah connection more. Oprah's story herself one of the underdog and Spielberg has been known for themes of faith in his movies. Whenever I go to see a movie about cooking, I try hard not to compare it with "Ratatouille". In the case of "The Hundred-Foot Journey", which takes place in France and involves high cuisine & food critics, it was hard not to compare. The chefs in both movies come from "the gutter" and through hard work and luck end up in charge at a restaurant that is far different from their origins. I feel "Ratatouille" is better because it is a film for all ages and has more suspense. One thing that "The Hundred-Foot Journey has going for it is the idea of two cultures coming together to create something special. The focus of the film was the story and I am very thankful for that because the filmmakers could have gotten carried away with the romantic setting and appearance of the movie. The exposition was well handled but the biggest plot hole I saw was that the family from India was able to set up a restaurant so easily. Where did they get the money for that? They seemed to be living in hardship next to Heathrow a few moments before. I guess they were just being thrifty like Papa says until they found the right place. It may not be safe watching this show hungry. I was able to control my appetites just fine because while I enjoy some Indian food, I am not a huge fan. Others however may need to munch on something as they watch so as to not go mad. I was also grateful that the character development in this movie was also genuine. The character of Madame Mallory is established to be just as stubborn as Papa but she has a line that she will not cross in this war. One of her chefs does cross this line by trying to destroy the Maison Mumbai and while it is a tragic moment in the film, it leads to many peaceful hundred-foot journeys. I found it dramatic how Hassan auditions for Madam Mallory. He can't do the cooking himself because of his injured hands and so Madam Mallory must act as his hands. Madam Mallory already knows that Hassan is a good cook but she was too proud to say it before. Now that she is exercising humility and contrition just like Hassan displayed earlier, she is able to see how Hassan's talent can help both of them. It would have been one thing for Hassan to make the omelet himself but because Madame Mallory acted as his hands, the dish is especially unique. One of the best lines in the film comes as Papa tries to reject Madame Mallory's offer to train Hassan. He says that cultures should not mix but Madame Mallory reminds him that she just cleaned up a similar message written in graffiti on his wall. Rags-to-riches is a very attractive plotline and this movie uses contrast to effectively portray this. At the start of the film, Hassan was having trouble entering into France from Switzerland. Later, his face is in French culinary magazines. He went from cooking outside in the English rain under the flight path of jets landing at Heathrow to becoming the head chef at a modern two-star restaurant in Paris. This film does speak to me personally because while I have aspirations, I will never forget my roots. While I may be able to someday afford the best food out there, nothing will beat my mom's home cooking. I don't want to become rich for selfish reasons but instead to bless the lives of others, including my family and hometown.

The actors in "The Hundred-Foot Journey" were well cast Helen Mirren was surrounded by equally talented actors and that was important. As good as this Oscar-winning actress is, no one performer can carry a movie. I applaud the work of Om Puri and Manish Dayal. Dayal was able to effectively communicate to the audience why cooking is an art form. It seems like whenever a Hollywood film is about India, Oscar-wining composer A. R. Rahman is hired to do the score. This film has a great story and great characters so I have no major objections to it. I felt motivated watching it.

4 Stars