The Hundred-Foot Journey

There are commercial films and there are independent films, but what if you could go see a movie that combined these two worlds? Most films are one or the other, but once in a while, one will come across a film that is what "The Hundred-Foot Journey" actually is. And that is the best of both worlds.

Hassan Kadam (Manish Dayal) is a culinary ingénue with the gastronomic equivalent of perfect pitch. Displaced from the native India, the Kadam family, led by Papa (Om Puri), settles in the quaint village of Saint-Antonin-Noble-Val in the south of France. Filled with charm, it is both picturesque and elegant--the ideal place to settle down and open an Indian restaurant, the Maison Mumbai. This is, until the icy chef proprietress of Le Saule Pleureur, a Michelin starred classical French restaurant run by Madame Mallory (Helen Mirren), gets wind of it. Her cold protests against the new Indian restaurant a hundred feet from her own, escalate to all out war between the two establishments--until Hassan's passion for French haute cuisine and for Mme. Mallory's enchanting sous chef, Marguerite (Charlotte Le Bon), combine with his mysteriously delicious talent to weave magic between their two cultures and imbue Saint-Antonin with the flavors of life that even Mme. Mallory cannot ignore. Even though Hassan, at first, was a culinary rival, she soon recognized his gift as a chef and takes him under her wing.

Others to round out the cast are Amit Shah as Mansur, Farzana Dua Elahe as Mahira, Michel Blanc as Mayor, Clement Sibony as Jean-Pierre, Dillon Mitra as Mukthar, Aria Pandya as Aisha, Vincent Elbaz as Paul, Juhi Chawla as Mama, Alban Aumard as Marcel, Shuna Lemoine as Mayor's Wife, and Antoine Blanquefort as Thomas.

It was directed by the consummate veteran of films, Lasse Hallstrom ("A Guy and a Gal" '75, "Tuppen" '81, "My Life as a Dog" '85, "Once Around" '91, "What's Eating Gilbert Grape" '93, "The Cider House Rules" '99, "Chocolat" 2000, "The Shipping News" '01, "An Unfinished Life" '05, "Casanova" '05, "Dear John" '10, "Salmon Fishing in the Yemen" '11, "The Hypnotist" '12, "Safe Haven" '13) plus others. One thing one can count on with Hallstrom is that he always has something to say, and that the characters, through his visionary direction, are shaped into the people that they really need to be especially if they don't even realize it, which makes his subtlety that much more poignant. It was equally well written by Steven Knight based on the book by Richard C. Morais. This story flowed effortlessly with rich characters that no one could have ever imagined could connect or relate with each other at all, but this writer did so with wit, heart, poignancy, and ultimately resolution. Now I see why producers, Steven Spielberg, Oprah Winfrey and Juliet Blake jumped all over this one--they know quality when it slaps them in the face. This has the feel of an independent film, but the commercial clout i.e. actors, director, writer, and producers.

This is a film all must see, if for no other reason than the lush locales. But seriously, this film has everything one could be looking for in a film, and once you leave the theater, it will give you that all around good feeling which is worth the trip to the multiplex.

Out of 4 Stars: 4                                  Rated: PG                              122mins.