Un viaje de diez metros

The hundred foot journey

  A fabulous meal is incomplete without a word of compliment to the chef.   The fine dining etiquettes might not mention anything about the compliments to the chef. But a fabulous meal is the one which serves the correct amount of flavors satisfying your soul. And when a soul is satisfied you praise..  

Such a meal is served when you see the movie, 'the hundred foot journey'. And so is the flavor correctly served at all times throughout the movie that it binds you through all five courses of your meal. The actors Om puri and Helen  do a fabulous job by providing that correct masala to the french cheesy love story of Hassan and Marguerite.  

The film is beautifully shot with good writing. Overall the movie is a good watch for audience willing to watch something different than normal tadka films being served to them.

I had not planned to watch this movie. It was just out of pure boredom that I opened my local newspaper to check for the list of movie shows in the next hour and decided to go for it. There was a show of The Hundred- Foot Journey and am I glad that I went to watch it.

The director was able to successfully depict the initial struggle of an Indian family, that has moved to France, after losing their matriarch to the fires of the local riots; their belligerent yet funny competition and subsequent truce with the owner of a local and famous restaurant right opposite theirs; and finally nurturing the talent of the Indian boy who had a gift of cooking by the very same French lady and his rise to stardom .

The film also has a touching moment that all the people staying away from their loved ones must have felt in their lives. Actor Manish Dayal did a splendid role in that scene and gave a good performance,overall. The trio of Om Puri, Helen Mirren and Charlotte Le Bon did a splendid job and kept me laughing(Puri and Mirren to be specific) and intrigued the whole time. Not a moment of boredom.

Charlote Le Bon is not only an ocean of talent, but, is insanely gorgeous. Looking forward to seeing her in more movies.

This movie is filled with the joys and sorrows that accompany a full life. The acting is excellent. I could not fault a single actor. Even those delivering one liners seemed divested in the story. The photography and music are spectacular. A. R. Rahman showed even more depth and diversity than usual in his deep and varied score, and I kept wishing that I could freeze frame some of the amazing shots from the film so that I could take them home to use as inspiration for a painting. Plus, food has never looked more yummy! The story is touching and kept my interest from beginning to end. The messages contained within are subtle but definitely there, and they are positive and uplifting, which is a welcome change in today's challenging world. I fell in love with it all! Kudos! Kudos! Kudos to all!

It's a well made movie. It really brings that warm romantic flair that fits the movie. But the dialogs and characters are quite uninspiring and the story line is quite predictable. It's all laid on too thick in terms of romantic, fuzzy, warm feeling and it's overloaded with clichés. There's no subtlety or layers in the characters and their dialogues. Which really is a shame, because the potential was there to be a great movie. Also I felt that Hassan had trouble carrying the movie. Yes he has puppy eyes, but his acting was quite mediocre.

So all in all it sound like a lot of critique, but it's only because the rest was so well done it deserved more. It's just that very simple but warm and cosy romantic movie for on a lazy Sunday but it just lacks any complexity to be more than that. So, just a 6.5 which on imdb. I'll go for 7 then, because after a few 'oh yeah, really?' cliché annoyances it somewhere halfway did bring me to France and their situation. It's enough to give me a warm and somewhat satisfying feeling.

When this movie was announced, I was honestly just going to watch because of Om Puri. However, the plot of the movie is so well written, Om Puri was just a extra bonus. This movie has humor that just comes out naturally, but it also shows lots of emotions. This movie hit me home and I am pretty sure it will hit home to others as well. The casting is very well picked and I really enjoyed this film with my family. It is one of those movies you can watch with your family, and just relax and enjoy. There were some plot holes and other things you might find odd, but the whole movie as a whole was well made. A R Rahman also never disappoints with the movie score.

Verdict: Well Written, Well Made, Enjoyable film. For foodies and the families of anyone.