The Hundred Foot Journey (2014)
The Kadam family leaves India for France where they open a restaurant
directly across the road from Madame Mallory's Michelin-starred eatery.
Director:
Lasse Hallström
TRAILER: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yEO1TWeM5JU
Recent addition to my collection. Watched sola.
I'd been interested in this movie since I saw the trailer. I've been to both France and India, enjoy their cultures and cinema .... and I can't cook worth shit, so I appreciate good cinema about food. (Please note... during my watching of the film, I ate Special K Chocolate chunk cereal, carrot chips and spinach artichoke hummus, a re-heated slice of Hawaiian pizza from a gas station and four mini mint chocolate Milano cookies. I know, your mouth is watering at the thought of the culinary sacrilege.) So I'd been eying the movie at Le Mart du Wal (French way of saying Le Gran Market du Walmart...gosh I'm good at this fake French!) and fighting my super-cheap impulses for about three or four visits. Today I caved and bought the movie, knowing that it would be quality, if not predictable. I'm glad I spent the money.
The film was beautifully shot with some very creative frames. There was a shot where we could see, in the reflection of a food scale at a market, an unhappy Helen Mirren getting in a vehicle, and, behind the scale, a smug Om Puri. That was a great shot. And of course, the food was a star all on its own. The colors popped and looked delectable. I wanted to shop in those markets. I wanted to eat that food.
The film started off with a bit of action: a bustling Indian market, followed by a scary fire that showed us what our main characters suffered before they found themselves far from home. This helped us to feel for the characters, which is quite important, otherwise we don't care about what happens.
The actors were also quite wonderful. It was difficult to ascertain if the children were siblings to lead character Hassan, or his niece and nephew. I suppose I missed the subtle relationship revelation in the airport at the beginning. (The customs agent telling the young woman he hoped she wasn't be putting into an arranged marriage and she made a comment about her family). And at the beginning, it took me a moment to distinguish between Hassan and his brother. And to know the difference between the brother's 'M' name, and the sister's 'M' name. Sometimes it's hard to portray large families on screen and show relationships without being blunt. It is realistic of course, because I'm also one of five siblings.
Each element of the film came together quite nicely. Like I said, it's basically a predictable story of two warring sides that come together in new appreciation of each other. A protagonist who must choose between moving forward with his talent, or keeping his talent closer to home. But it was a nice journey to watch. I do believe I'd watch this film again, and I'm not just saying that because I invested $20 in it. ;) I usually only buy films that I've seen and know that I'll enjoy (and only when they are around $10... yeah I have a death grip on my money), but sometimes I take a chance on thrift store finds without knowing. In this case, I paid full price because I knew that it was going to be a quality feel-good film with elements I enjoy: cultures and the idea of someone cooking for me. I'm now hungry again. Darn.
The movie was a bit long at the two hour mark, hence all my food breaks, but the story worked. Oh, after watching the 'making of' documentary at the end of the film, I was pleasantly surprised to find Indian composer A.R. Rahman was in charge of the score. You'll remember him from Slumdog Millionaire. And to know the cheats that they did in Le Monde du Cinema (aka filmmakers cheating the shot with new constructions, blue screens and alternate locations)
I did like the determination of the character of Hassan. It rang true for me and my screenwriting goals. If you want something, and you have a modicum of talent at it, you need to follow through and make something of it. And use it for goodness in a way that makes you happy.
I hope you've enjoyed this lengthy description of my impression of the movie. Hopefully it will lead you to a choice about the movie. Have you seen it? What did you think? Or, if you haven't seen it, will you see it now?
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