Les recettes du bonheur

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.

The movie is titled "A Hundred Foot Journey", and it's not just the protagonists in the movie who will embark on a journey, but so will you, the moviegoer. You will laugh, you will smile, you will wonder, and you will be immersed in the surroundings of a picturesque small town in the mountains of France where two beautiful (and delicious!) cultures clash, mingle, and eventually harmonize. In short, you will view a Hollywood – Bollywood fusion that is done so well that you will ask for more.

The movie weaves in light-hearted humor throughout, yet honestly depicts the awkwardness and tension between the newly arrived Indian family and the local French townspeople. The struggles faced by the Indian diaspora, so prevalent in Bollywood today, is explored with sincerity and comedy. Helen Mirren was great, but for me the star was Om Puri, who pulled off the role of an immigrant father to perfection. Having grown up with an Indian father abroad, I know that the struggle of adjusting to a new country while holding dearly to your values and culture is not an easy one, and often results in a complicated mix of motives, values and ideals in those individuals. Yet Om Puri strikes a perfect note. His lines are probably the most memorable in the movie.

To summarize, the movie is a must watch!

The only thing which bothered me a little bit about this movie was that the restaurant owner of a French restaurant somewhere in the countryside is played by an English actress. And I love Helen Mirren. There are some weird language situations which do not make sense. Otherwise I thoroughly enjoyed this little comedy about two of my favorite foods. I could not decide on which side of the street I wanted to eat.

As a senior citizen myself I am always happy when a movie is carried by people my age. And boy do Helen Mirren and Om Puri carry this movie. If you want to spend pleasant two hours in the company of entertaining people and pictures of delicious food, you will have a good time seeing this movie.

I enjoyed this movie. I thought it was well-done. But the movie seems to completely change into another movie when the son moves away. Perhaps they could have done it better as a parallel story, or just dropped it altogether, and just tried to expand the small town part instead. Overall, still an enjoyable, feel good movie.

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.