THE HUNDRED FOOT JOURNEY

Reviewed by Patrick Gibbs

GRADE: A
Helen Mirren, Om Puri, Manish Dayall, Charlotte Le Bon, Farzana Dua Elahe, Amit Shah, Michel Blanc
Based on the novel by Richard C. Morais
Screenplay by Steven Knight
Directed by Lasse Hallstrom
Rated PG

Lasse Halstrom, once a perennial nominee who specialized in maufactured Oscar bait for Miramax, has kind of been pushed into the background and is not generally viewed as a relevant director these days. But with the right material and cast, Hallstrom's penchant for light, charming character based stories may be exactly what this summer needed, and together with producers Steven Spielberg and Oprah Winfrey, he serves up a delicious new dish that is just the antidote for all of the mayhem and and explosions going on in the auditorium next door.

Displaced from their native India, the Kadam family, led by Papa (Om Puri) wanders throughout Europe looking for the right place to settle. Papa's second son, Hassan (Manish Dayal) is an amazing cook, and the Papa is looking to get back into the restuarant business. After leaving England (where the vegetables "have no soul") they set up a new home in the village of Saint-Antonin-Noble-Val in the South of France, and Papa determines that this is the perfect place to set up an authentic Indian Restaurant. The rest of the family argues that the French have their own food and their own restaurants, but Papa's believes that when the people get a taste of Indian food, they'll discover what they have been missing all this time, and the family opens up the Maison Mumbai.

But Papa's plans are quickly complicated when Madame Mallory (Academy Award Winner Helen Mirren) the proprietress of Le Saule Pleureur, a Michelin starred, classical French Restaurant that happens to be right across the street, takes objection to the presence of her new neighbors. Meanwhile, Hassan develops an interest in French cuisine, not to mention Madame Mallory's enchnating young sous chef, Marguerite (Charlotte Le Bon.). After a few chance meetings between Papa and Madame Mallory, it isn't long before a full scale culinary war breaks out.

The Hundred Foot Journey is not just a story about culture clashes, it's about reconiling the Chocolat, the Best Picture nominated film that is either considred to be the Academy Award nominated highlight of Hallstrom's career or the hammy, heavy handed and overplayed personification of Miramax's "let's buy another Oscar" period.). Helen Mirren is wonderful as the pompous Madame Mallory, who (big surprise) has a much warmer side than we initially suspect. Mirren turns what could have easily been a by the numbers character into an understated and endearing performance that deserves to be remembered at Oscar time, and Om Puri as Papa is genuinely terrific and completely lovable. It is very nice to see this film side step the obvious cliches of the domineering, oppressive patriarch and subjugated women one expects in a depiction on Indian culture. Early on, when a customs agent questions daughter Mahira (the dazzling Farzana Dua Elahe) as to whether she is travelling to France for an arranged marriage, she replies "Please. NOTHING in this family is arranged." Dayall is quite likeable as Hassan, the rising star of the family, and the chemistry between Dayall and LeBon is almost as good as that between Mirren and Puri.
unreconcilable. Family duty versus ambition, tradition versus innovation,  and curry versus wine. Director Hallstrom is in top form with this delightful tale, and his cast all works will each other, never against each other (as was the case in

The Hundred Foot Journey is certainly not on anyone's blockbuster must see list for the summer, and it's also unlikely to be a major awards contender. But if you want to sit back and enjoy a sincere and enjoyable film that will make walk out feeling happy, this is easily your best bet for the season.

The Hundred Foot Journey is Rated PG for thematic elements, some violence, language and brief sensuality  (kissing.).