Madame Mallory (Helen Mirren) who runs Le Saule Pleureur, a Michelin-starred French restaurant, is bugged when the Kadam family opens an Indian restaurant, Maison Mumbai, 100 feet across from her restaurant. Hassan Kadam (Manish Dayal) and Papa (Om Puri) take this as a challenge. However, soon Madame Mallory recognizes that young Hassan is a top chef in the making. She tells him to join her restaurant albeit this doesn’t go down too well with Hassan’s father. Meanwhile, Hassan is attracted towards Marguerite (Charlotte Le Bon), sous chef, who is working with Madame Mallory. Can Madame Mallory persuade Hassan to join her? As we follow the journey of the Kadam family, and in particular that of Hassan, we come to savor this Lasse Hallstrom film just like a well-cooked dish.
The Hundred-Foot Journey is based on Richard C. Morais’ novel by the same name. Having said that, Lasse Hallstrom has tweaked the story a little. For instance, he introduces a touch of romance between Papa and Madame Mallory that doesn’t appear in the book. By and large, The Hundred-Foot Journey follows a predictable path, which is not to say that it isn’t engaging. The culinary journey of young Hassan particularly keeps you interested, as does his relationship with Marguerite. Apart from that, Papa’s relationship with Madame Mallory is also one of the highlights of the film, which shows that despite belonging to different cultures, there are more similarities in individuals than there are differences.
The Hundred-Foot Journey is a feel-good film, which will appeal to those moviegoers who like this type of cinema. Albeit a bit slow at times, the film manages to keep you engrossed from the start right till the end. Although Lasse Hallstrom’s direction follows a course not very different from that of his other films, it is nevertheless immaculate. There are two stalwarts of cinema in Om Puri and Helen Mirren acting in this film, which to a great extent is the reason for its success. We also get to see Manish Dayal and Charlotte Le Bon playing their roles admirably. The rest of the supporting cast also effectively enact their parts in the film.
Overall then, The Hundred-Foot Journey doesn’t disappoint you. It does have its highs and lows just like any other film, and if you overlook the lows, it makes for an excellent accompaniment to your weekend at the movies.
What do you think?