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“The Hundred-Foot Journey” is a film that demands that you take it seriously. With its feel-good themes of multicultural understanding, it is about Something Important. It even comes with the stamp of approval from titanic tastemakers Oprah Winfrey and Steven Spielberg , who both serve as producers. What more convincing could you possibly need?

There’s something familiar about the treacly and sanctimonious way this film is being packaged. It reeks of late-‘90s/early ‘00s Miramax fare: films with tasteful yet ubiquitous ad campaigns and unabashed Oscar aspirations which suggested that seeing them (and, more importantly, voting for them) would make you a better person. Films like “The Cider House Rules,” “Chocolat” and “The Shipping News.” Films by Swedish director Lasse Hallstrom.

Hallstrom just happens to be the director here, as well, and the similarities to “Chocolat” are inescapable. Stop me if think you’ve heard this one before: A family moves into a quaint but closed-minded French village and shakes things up with an enticing array of culinary delicacies. This new enterprise happens to sit across the street from a conservative and revered building that’s a town treasure. But the food in question isn’t a bon bon this time—rather, the movie is the bon bon itself.

But despite being handsomely crafted, well acted and even sufficiently enjoyable, “The Hundred-Foot Journey” is also conventional and predictable. And for a film that’s all about opening up your senses and sampling spicy, exotic tastes, this comic drama is entirely too safe and even a little bland.

What livens things up, though, is the interplay between Helen Mirren and Om Puri as battling restaurant owners operating across the street from each other—100 feet away from each other, to be exact, a short but fraught trip that various characters take for various reasons. Watching these veteran actors stoop to sabotage each other provides a consistent source of laughs. She’s all sharp angles, piercing looks and biting quips; he’s all round joviality, boisterous blasts and warmhearted optimism. The contrast between the British Oscar-winner and the Indian acting legend offers the only tension in this otherwise soft and gooey dish—that is, until the film goes all soft and gooey, too.

Mirren stars as Madame Mallory, owner of Le Saule Pleurer (The Weeping Willow), an elegant and expensive French restaurant that’s the winner of a prestigious Michelin star. But one star isn’t enough for the coldly driven Mme. Mallory—she wants another, and then another.

But her bloodless quest for gourmet grandeur is interrupted by the arrival across the street of an Indian family: the Kadams, who’ve been wandering around Europe ever since their beloved restaurant back home burned down during political rioting. When the brakes on their car malfunction on a treacherous stretch of spectacular countryside, Papa (Puri) insists it’s a sign from his late wife and decides to open a new eatery in the charming town at the bottom of the hill.

Never mind that one of the most celebrated restaurants in all of France is sitting right across the street from the empty building he rents. Never mind that they are in an insular part of the country where the residents probably don’t even know what Indian cuisine is, much less like it, as his children point out. He has faith in his food—and in his son, Hassan ( Manish Dayal ), a brilliant, young chef.

Just as Papa and Mme. Mallory strike up a sparky rivalry, Hassan enjoys a flirtatious relationship with French sous chef Marguerite ( Charlotte Le Bon , who played an early model and muse in the recent “Yves Saint Laurent” biopic). The script from Steven Wright (who also wrote the far trickier “ Locke ” from earlier this year, as well as “ Dirty Pretty Things ” and “ Eastern Promises ”) is full of such tidy parallels, as well as trite and overly simplistic proclamations about how food inspires memories. Dayal and Le Bon do look lovely together, though, and share a light, enjoyable chemistry.

Then again, it all looks lovely—both the French and Indian dishes as well as the lush, rolling surroundings, which we see through all four seasons; the work of cinematographer Linus Sandgren , who recently shot “American Hustle.” This sweetly pleasing combination of ingredients would have been perfectly suitable if the film didn’t take a wild and needless detour in the third act. That’s when it becomes an even less interesting movie than it already was, in spite of its loftier aspirations.

Christy Lemire

Christy Lemire is a longtime film critic who has written for RogerEbert.com since 2013. Before that, she was the film critic for The Associated Press for nearly 15 years and co-hosted the public television series "Ebert Presents At the Movies" opposite Ignatiy Vishnevetsky, with Roger Ebert serving as managing editor. Read her answers to our Movie Love Questionnaire here .

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Film credits.

The Hundred-Foot Journey (2014)

122 minutes

Helen Mirren as Madam Mallory

Om Puri as Papa

Manish Dayal as Hassan Haji

Charlotte Le Bon as Marguerite

Amit Shah as Mansur

• Lasse Hallström
• Steven Knight
• Richard C. Morais

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Movie Reviews

Movie review: 'the hundred-foot journey'.

Kenneth Turan

Films that mix food and romance have become a staple of recent movie-making. The Hundred-Foot Journey, starring Helen Mirren , is the latest example.

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

Food and romance. That's the recipe in the new film "The Hundred-Foot Journey." Here's Kenneth Turan's review.

KENNETH TURAN: "The Hundred-Foot Journey" is a sweet and unapologetic fairy tale for adults. Its story of cuisines and cultures and conflict has been polished to the highest possible sheen. Journey stars canny veterans Helen Mirren and Om Puri, who play competing restaurateurs named Madame Mallory and Papa Kadam. Their establishments create such mouth-watering dishes, that seeing this film on an empty stomach is not recommended. Tragedy causes the Kadam family to relocate from India to France. They end up in a tiny town where Madame Mallory, proud proprietor of a restaurant with a Michelin star, cracks the whip at her staff.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "HUNDRED-FOOT JOURNEY")

HELEN MIRREN: (As Madame Mallory) In this restaurant, the cuisine is not an old, tired marriage. It is a passionate affair of the heart.

TURAN: Despite the intimidating presence of Madame Mallory, Papa Kadam opens an Indian restaurant just 100 feet from her door. Then the focus shifts to Hassan, Papa Kadam's oldest son and an individual with exceptional culinary gifts. Soon enough his father and Madame Mallory are fighting about Hassan's future and the merits of their respective national cuisines.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "HUNDRED-FOOT JOURNEY)

OM PURI: (As Papa Kadam) You seduce his mind with your awful, tasteless, empty sauces - with your pitiful little squashed bits of garlic.

MIRREN: (As Madame Mallory) That is called subtlety of flavor.

PURI: (As Papa Kadam) It's called meanness of spirit. If you have a spice, use it. Don't sprinkle it, spoon it in.

TURAN: It would be foolish to pretend the result of all these labors is not effective entertainment. But enjoyable as "Hundered-Foot Journey" can be, it's still possible to wish that its gloss was not quite so shiny, that everything about it was not so exactly on the nose, to wish that the film had more of the messy juices of life flowing through its veins.

GREENE: Kenneth Turan reviews movies for MORNING EDITION and also for the Los Angeles Times. You're listening to MORNING EDITION from NPR News.

Copyright © 2014 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information.

NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.

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The Hundred-Foot Journey Reviews

Mirren is drily funny, deploying an arsenal of MasterChef-style horrified reaction shots.

Full Review | Apr 7, 2023

How wrong can you go with a comedy about beautiful people making beautiful food in the south of France? And Helen Mirren? The woman can turn 105 and she'll still be alluring, even when she's being haughty. Lots of laughs.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/5 | Apr 19, 2022

It's an enjoyable film about passion; the passion for food, passion for culture but most of all, passion for life.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Feb 1, 2021

This isn't your usual summer fare, because it cares far too much about the people whose story it is telling and it takes the time to let you get to know them.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.0/4.0 | Sep 11, 2020

If you're into simple, pleasant movies that offer two-hour escapist entertainment, this may be for you.

Full Review | Original Score: B | Jul 20, 2020

[A] beautifully written story.

Full Review | Feb 5, 2020

Fulfilling, rich and delicious, The Hundred Foot Journey is an effervescent delight, sizzling with cinematic and emotional flavor.

Full Review | Dec 14, 2019

If films about the culinary arts revolved around the same strictures to obtain something like a Michelin star rating, The Hundred-Foot Journey would always and forever be a big fat zero.

Full Review | Original Score: 1.5/5 | Aug 30, 2019

For foodies and folks looking for the cinematic version of a poolside paperback, THE HUNDRED-FOOT JOURNEY delivers. If you're seeking something with a little artistic nutrition, you'll need to look elsewhere.

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5 | Apr 8, 2019

Overall, The Hundred-Foot Journey is not a bad dish, but considering its rich ingredients, it still lacks a bit of spice.

Full Review | Feb 27, 2019

There's an in-built contradiction between the film's attempt to position itself as an ode to cultural understanding while also being a commercially twee depiction of that tale

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Feb 25, 2019

As you might imagine, visually, it's a stunning film, and the story is endearing. Dayal and Le Bon are charming, and Helen Mirren, well, is Helen Mirren.

Full Review | Original Score: 8/10 | Dec 11, 2018

"The Hundred-Foot Journey" is a delicious love story portraying the melting and blending of two opposing cultures.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/4 | Aug 21, 2018

This underachieving cooking infomercial left me starving for a decent movie experience. Cancel your reservations to this rancid soufflé.

Full Review | Aug 21, 2018

Has a lot of pedigree behind it, but is sadly unable to transcend its habit of skimming through information and any form of drama whatsoever.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Aug 13, 2018

If you don't leave the theatre wanting to visit France and eat Indian food, then you didn't enjoy it as much as I did. [Full review in Spanish]

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | Jan 30, 2018

With its fine cast, glorious setting, and countless scenes of mouthwatering menus, The Hundred-Foot Journey is an appetizing alternative to summer's superheroes and zombies.

Full Review | Original Score: 7.5/10 | Dec 3, 2017

If you can deal with the uneven narrative - and in this case there's no reason you shouldn't - there is a lot to like about this film.

Full Review | Nov 28, 2017

Reality-bites are fleeting here. This is a food fairytale which prefers the sweet to the tart, cream to the karelas of life. Yet, it takes all those tastes to create a great dish.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Nov 14, 2017

It may play out predictably, and feature more fake fireworks than it should, but The Hundred-Foot Journey is charming, with enough heart and genuine laughs to forgive its formulaic nature.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Sep 7, 2017

Film Review: ‘The Hundred-Foot Journey’

Lasse Hallstrom returns to 'Chocolat' territory with this overlong serving of cinematic comfort food.

By Justin Chang

Justin Chang

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Beef bourguignon or tandoori goat? Career success or family loyalty? You can actually have it all, according to “ The Hundred-Foot Journey ,” a culture-clash dramedy that presents itself as the most soothing brand of cinematic comfort food. As such, this genteel, overlong adaptation of Richard C. Morais’ 2010 novel about two rival restaurants operating in a sleepy French village is not without its pleasures — a high-energy score by A.R. Rahman, exquisite gastro-porn shot by Linus Sandgren, the winningly barbed chemistry of Helen Mirren and Om Puri — all prepared to exacting middlebrow specifications and ensured to go down as tastily and tastefully as possible. With the formidable backing of Steven Spielberg and Oprah Winfrey (who produced with Juliet Blake), the DreamWorks concoction should cater to a broad array of arthouse appetites, particularly among those viewers who embraced the similar East-meets-West fusion cuisine of “The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel.”

If this Old World foodie fairy tale feels like an odd fit for screenwriter Steven Knight — best known for his gritty London underworld thrillers, and coming off an unusually adventurous directing debut with “Locke” — it’s worth recalling that his scripts for the much edgier “Eastern Promises” and “Dirty Pretty Things” were directly concerned with the hostilities bred in and around specific immigrant communities. Still, with its cozy, crowd-pleasing temperament, the new film represents all-too-familiar territory for director Lasse Hallstrom, whose superficially similar “Chocolat” offered up a smug little parable about the triumph of sensual indulgence and liberal tolerance over stifling small-town conformity. The culture war examined in “The Hundred-Foot Journey” is a bit less one-sided: It contrasts the heat and intensity of Indian cooking with the elegance and refinement of French haute cuisine, then balances the two with a feel-good lesson in ethnic harmony.

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Fleeing a tragic uprising in their native Mumbai for a more idyllic life in Europe, the Kadam family, led by their proudly outspoken Papa (Puri), decide to open an Indian restaurant in the South of France. Alas, they soon find that they have merely abandoned one war zone for another, as their scrappy new Maison Mumbai, with its open-air seating and free-wandering chickens, is soon locked in a fierce competition with the classy Michelin-starred establishment located just 100 feet across the road. That restaurant, Le Saule Pleureur, is run by the widowed Madame Mallory (Mirren), an unyielding perfectionist and proud defender of Gallic tradition whose first glimpse of her brown-skinned neighbors prompts her to sniff, “Who are zees people?”

Zees people, little does she realize, include one of the most talented young cooks in Europe. That would be our protagonist, Hassan Kadam (Manish Dayal), who soon begins a sly flirtation with Le Saule Pleureur’s beautiful sous chef, Marguerite (Charlotte Le Bon); she in turn introduces him to the venerable tradition of French cooking, which he becomes determined to master. The tension between these two characters, sexual as well as professional, is something the film keeps on a low simmer behind the more fiery confrontations between Papa and Madame Mallory, neither of whom is afraid to resort to all manner of competitive sabotage — whether it means sneakily buying up all the crayfish at the farmers market, or filing complaints with the mayor (Michel Blanc), humorously depicted as something of a gourmand himself.

Amid all this fun but childish oneupsmanship, Knight and Hallstrom gently milk all the expected stereotypes for humor and conflict: The French are snobs with their hoity-toity manners and expensive food, and they’re deeply affronted by the thrifty, tacky Indians with their colorful clothes and loud music. France’s ugly history of racial aggression and unrest, particularly relevant at the present moment, briefly punctures the film’s placid surface when local thugs attack and nearly burn down Maison Mumbai. But rather than lighting a fuse, this trauma is what begins to unite the Kadams and Madame Mallory, who soon realizes that Hassan is not only an exceptional cook, especially when armed with his family’s prized spice box, but possibly the missing ingredient that could earn Le Saule Pleureur its second Michelin star.

And so “The Hundred-Foot Journey” becomes a story in which cultural opposites not only learn to coexist, but are in fact triumphantly and even romantically reconciled. It may be set in France, but really, it could be taking place in any movie-manufactured fantasyland where enemies become the best of friends, and an embittered old shrew turns out to have a heart of gold (and, as Papa appreciatively notes, looks rather fetching beneath the glow of computer-generated Bastille Day fireworks). Morais’ novel was described by the New York Times’ Ligaya Mishan as a hybrid of “Slumdog Millionaire” and “Ratatouille,” and Hallstrom seems to have taken that Hollywood formulation to heart: Like “Slumdog,” the film is an underdog story set to the infectious backbeat of Rahman’s music (fun fact: Knight created the original British version of “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire”), and like “Ratatouille,” it brings us into an irresistible world of culinary sophistication and features gorgeous nighttime views of Paris, where Hassan eventually arrives in search of his destiny.

Where the film really overreaches is its attempt to reproduce “Ratatouille’s” glorious Proustian moment, that perfect bite of food that induces a heartbreaking recollection of childhood. This wannabe epiphany arrives deep into a draggy third act, during which the script and the handsome Dayal struggle to give Hassan some semblance of a conflicted inner life, but the character, much like his meteoric rise to the top ranks of international chefdom, remains something of a sketch. It’s the older, top-billed leads who manage the heavy lifting: Though she’s encumbered somewhat by her French accent, Mirren is superb at both projecting an air of hauteur and expressing the vulnerability beneath it, and she brings out a similar mix of pride and feeling in Puri’s Papa, an excellent sparring partner whose stubbornness and drive to succeed never come at the expense of his love for his family.

Shot on 35mm in luminous, sun-dappled tones in the French village of Saint-Antonin-Noble-Val (with some second-unit work in India), and handsomely appointed by production designer David Gropman and costume designer Pierre-Yves Gayraud, the film is also distinguished by its mouth-watering visual buffet, whether lingering on vats of steaming red curry or a perfectly plated pigeon with truffles. This is, no question, an easy picture to succumb to — perhaps too easy, if its tidy narrative symmetries and its belief in the socially redemptive power of pleasure are any indication. Scrumptious as it all is, it hurts to watch chefs so committed to excellence in a movie so content to settle for attractive mediocrity.

Reviewed at Disney Studios, Burbank, Calif., July 23, 2014. (In Locarno Film Festival — Piazza Grande.) MPAA Rating: PG. Running time: 122 MIN.

• Production: A Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures release of a DreamWorks Pictures and Reliance Entertainment presentation in association with Participant Media and Image Nation of an Amblin Entertainment/Harpo Films production. Produced by Steven Spielberg, Oprah Winfrey, Juliet Blake. Executive producers, Caroline Hewitt, Carla Gardini, Jeff Skoll, Jonathan King. Co-producers, Holly Bario, Raphael Benoliel.
• Crew: Directed by Lasse Hallstrom. Screenplay, Steven Knight, based on the novel by Richard C. Morais. Camera (color, widescreen, 35mm), Linus Sandgren; editor, Andrew Mondshein; music, A.R. Rahman; music supervisor, E. Gedney Webb; production designer, David Gropman; supervising art directors, Karen Schulz Gropman, Alain Guffroy; set decorator, Sabine Delouvrier; costume designer, Pierre-Yves Gayraud; sound (Datasat/Dolby Digital), Jean-Marie Blondel; supervising sound editor, Michael Kirchberger; sound designers, Dave Paterson, Kirchberger; re-recording mixers, Michael Barry, Paterson; special effects supervisor, Philippe Hubin; special effects coordinator, Jean-Christophe Magnaud; visual effects supervisor, Brendan Taylor; visual effects producer, Mitchell Ferm; visual effects, Mavericks VFX, Mr. X, Lola VFX; stunt coordinator, Dominique Fouassier; assistant director, Mishka Cheyko; second unit camera, Hugues Espinasse; casting, Lucy Bevan.
• With: Helen Mirren, Om Puri, Manish Dayal, Charlotte Le Bon, Amit Shah, Farzana Dua Elahe, Dillon Mitra, Aria Pandya, Michel Blanc. (English, French, Hindi dialogue)

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‘the hundred-foot journey’: film review.

Helen Mirren and Om Puri play rival restaurateurs in Disney's big-screen adaptation of a food-forward novel.

By Sheri Linden

Sheri Linden

Senior Copy Editor/Film Critic

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With its picture-postcard setting and mouthwatering Indian and French delicacies, The Hundred-Foot Journey is a movie designed to comfort. Stimulating taste buds and little else, Lasse Hallstrom ’s latest film picks up where his 2000 hit Chocolat left off, in terms of the affectionate shaming of provincial Gallic villagers. Starring Helen Mirren and  Om Puri as rival restaurateurs in the Midi-Pyrenees region of France, the film tracks a tension-free lesson in cultural exchange that culminates, predictably, in romance. Fans of the source best-seller and seekers of non-challenging counterprogramming to summer’s genre fare will savor the offering. But colorful locales and exotic spices can’t hide its essential blandness.

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The comic drama follows a Mumbai family’s move to France, where a conveniently available run-down mansion/restaurant gives them the chance to resurrect the business they lost back home in devastating circumstances. Papa (Puri), a father of five and an unstoppable force who still communes with his deceased wife, soon butts heads with Mirren’s Madame Mallory, who runs the elegant eatery directly across the road. Hers is a bastion of classical French cuisine and the proud bearer of a Michelin star. Madame wants a second one. She’s so downright spiteful that the eventual melting of her heart is a given.

The thawing begins halfway through the movie, with an act of xenophobic violence against the Indian family that proves only a minor blip for the characters, even for Papa’s injured son Hassan ( Manish Dayal ). A gifted cook who’s fascinated with French culinary tradition, he falls for Marguerite ( Charlotte Le Bon ), Madame’s sous-chef, as they explore the bounty of the farmers’ market and the local terrain. Their story’s trajectory is as unsurprising as most everything else in the fairy-tale-tinged film, but Le Bon brings a nice touch of passive-aggressive competitiveness to her role when Hassan’s career takes off.

Screenwriter Steven Knight ’s adaptation of the foodie-friendly novel by Richard C. Morais resolves conflicts quickly and places morsels of platitude about the “flavors of life” in characters’ mouths. For anyone who didn’t see Ratatouille , there are helpful reminders that “food is memories.”

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But the main course is the dance between Madame Mallory and Papa, however transparent the clash between her carefully composed plates and his bold flavors. Whether they’re filing ridiculous complaints about each other with the unflappable mayor ( Michel Blanc ), arguing over the proper presentation of ingredients or sharing a cafe table, Mirren and Puri bring an effortless command to their roles. 

Production companies: Amblin Entertainment/Harpo Films Cast: Helen Mirren, Om Puri, Manish Dayal, Charlotte Le Bon, Amit Shah, Farzana Dua Elahe, Dillon Mitra, Aria Pandya, Michel Blanc, Clement Sibony, Vincent Elbaz, Juhi Chawla, Alban Aumard, Shuna Lemoine, Antoine Blanquefort Director: Lasse Hallstrom Screenwriter: Steven Knight Producers: Steven Spielberg, Oprah Winfrey, Juliet Blake Executive producers: Caroline Hewitt, Carla Gardini, Jeff Skoll, Jonathan King Director of photography: Linus Sandgren Production designer: David Gropman Costume designer: Pierre-Yves Gayraud Editor: Andrew Mondshein Composer: A.R. Rahman

Rated PG, 122 minutes

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The Hundred-Foot Journey review – food wars in the south of France

E ver-ravenous critics attending the press screening of Lasse Hallström 's sweetly spicy dish were served tasty bowls of vegetable curry. It was a smart move – with its droolsome depictions of briskly fluffed omelettes, plump ripe fruits and richly sauced meats, this isn't a film you'd want to watch on an empty stomach. Set in an obscenely bucolic south of France (the misty-eyed views make Ridley Scott's A Good Year look like a gritty Ken Loach production), the story centres on culinary whiz Hassan Kadam (Manish Dayal), whose father opts to open a curry house across the street from a celebrated French restaurant. Food and culture wars ensue as proud Papa (Om Puri) and hoity Madame Mallory (Helen Mirren) bicker and squabble while Hassan starts to break eggs with sous chef Marguerite (Charlotte Le Bon) who teaches him the saucy secrets of "classic" French cuisine. Despite boasting Steven Spielberg and Oprah Winfrey (who championed Richard C Morais's source novel ) as producers, this remains more of an amuse-bouche than a hearty meal – as delicately presented as the dishes in Madame Mallory's Michelin-starred establishment, and with more than a tang of The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel . Puri is great fun as the indomitable head of the family, and Mirren convinces as the grand dame, despite dishing out her lines in an accent that staunchly refuses to set.

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The Hundred-Foot Journey

• The Kadam family leaves India for France where they open a restaurant directly across the road from Madame Mallory's Michelin-starred eatery.
• The family of talented cook, Hassan Kadam (Manish Dayal), has a life filled with both culinary delights and profound loss. Drifting through Europe after fleeing political violence in India that killed the family restaurant business and their mother, the Kadams arrive in France. Once there, a chance auto accident and the kindness of a young woman, Marguerite (Charlotte Le Bon), in the village of Saint-Antonin-Noble-Val inspires Papa Kadam (Om Puri) to set up a Indian restaurant there. Unfortunately, this puts the Kadams in direct competition with the snobbish Madame Mallory's acclaimed haute cuisine establishment across the street where Marguerite also works as a sous-chef. The resulting rivalry eventually escalates in personal intensity until it goes too far. In response, there is a bridging of sides initiated by Hassan, Marguerite, and Madame Mallory (Dame Helen Mirren), both professional and personal, that encourages an understanding that will change both sides forever. — Kenneth Chisholm ([email protected])
• The Kadam family after leaving India due to a fatal tragedy finally settle in a small town in southern France. They set up a traditional family run Indian restaurant just like they had always planned but opposite a competitive French restaurant. This initial rivalry creates unexpected twists for the better and for the worse in the lives of both the Kadam family and Madame Mallory (Dame Helen Mirren), the owner of the Michelin star restaurant a hundred feet away. — Viir khubchandani
• Hassan Kadam (Manish Dayal), the oldest of five siblings, was taught how to cook, but more importantly truly taste and love food, by his mother. Their entire family works together in their open air eatery in Mumbai. In his role, Hassan considers himself a cook and not a chef as he was never professionally trained. Following the tragic death of Hassan's mother, his well-off but frugal Papa Kadam (Om Puri) decides to pack up the family and move to Europe to open a restaurant, the business to keep to his wife's memory in their love of South Asian cuisine. After an initial business misstep in London, Papa believes it is fate that their van breaks down just outside of the French town of Saint-Antonin-Noble-Val, that they meet a local foodie, a young woman named Marguerite (Charlotte Le Bon), who introduces them to the abundance of fresh locally sourced produce, seafood and meats, and that there is an abandoned restaurant property on the outskirts of town for sale. Against the wishes of the family, Papa decides to purchase the property for their business, even after learning that the previous owners could not make a go of it because it is a mere one hundred feet from Le Saule Pleureur, a Michelin-starred restaurant where Marguerite works as a sous-chef, she trying to work her way up to chef-de-cuisine. Papa's resolve is strengthened as he believes their style of food is not only different than the French, but better in their bold flavors, something he wants to show the locals. Madame Mallory (Dame Helen Mirren), Le Saule Pleureur's proprietress, took over its running following the death of her husband. The restaurant is now her entire life, and she has waited close to thirty years for it to receive its second Michelin-star, so far without success. Madame Mallory does not take too kindly to her new neighbors, not only as potential competition, but in the Kadams', most specifically Papa's, brash and forward approach to life, unlike the refined French. An initial action by Madame Mallory to make sure Maison Mumbai, the Kadams' restaurant, doesn't succeed, leads to an all out war between her and Papa. But a potential bridge emerges between the two restaurants with the budding friendship and possible romance between Hassan and Marguerite. Beyond that friendship and romance, Hassan believes, to survive, they have to meld their bold flavors to local ingredients and techniques, he who wants to learn the art of French cooking from Marguerite. A singular action in that war results in what could be a fundamental shift between all the players at Le Saule Pleureur and Maison Mumbai. — Huggo
• Put young Hassan Kadam (Manish Dayal) in a kitchen, and he's bound to emerge with a dish that will dazzle. When Hassan's family is forced to move from their native India, his Papa (Om Puri) relocates to a peaceful hamlet in Saint-Antonin-Noble-Val in the south of France. Determined to give his new neighbors a little taste of home, Papa decides to open an Indian restaurant in the village, and names it "Maison Mumbai". Meanwhile, across the street at the traditional French restaurant Le Saule Pleureu, uptight proprietor Madame Mallory (Dame Helen Mirren) doesn't exactly welcome the competition. When Madame Mallory ignites a bitter feud that quickly escalates, the only hope for a peaceful resolution lies in Hassan's talent for French haute cuisine, and his growing affections for Madame Mallory's pretty young sous chef Marguerite (Charlotte Le Bon). Subsequently impressed by Hassan's undeniable culinary talents, Madame Mallory agrees to become Hassan's mentor, in the process providing the perfect creative environment where his unique fusion cuisine can thrive.
• In the opening scene, at a customs office, Hassan Kadam ( Manish Dayal ) explains to French Immigration why he and his family want to live in France: his family had owned a restaurant in Mumbai, but on an election night, there was a riot and their restaurant was set on fire, killing his mother who was the chef. He learned everything about cooking from her and has been trying to teach himself as his Papa moves the family about Europe. He fondly remembers buying sea urchins, the seller exclaiming that he gets cooking. Admitting he doesn't have any proof that he knows how to cook, except to offer a homemade samosa and saying that English produce isnt good enough, the Kadam family is allowed in. Papa ( Om Puri ) is driving the family throughout the French countryside, trying out random vegetable gardens, when their old van finally gives out in the hills above Saint-Antonin-Noble-Val, a small village. A young woman passes by, offering to take them to the local mechanic. The family (also brothers Mansur and Mukthar and sisters Mahira and Aisha) push the van into town. Marguerite ( Charlotte Le Bon ), the woman, brings them to her apartment and offers a snack- a huge platter of radishes, butter and salt; home baked bread; large, fresh tomatoes; olives she picked and cured herself and little pastries. Delighted, Papa eagerly looks forward to bargaining with the hotel in town, much to Mansurs dismay. In the morning, Papa discovers an abandoned restaurant. As he and Hassan are exploring, Madame Mallory ( Helen Mirren ) announces they are trespassing. She admits she is not the owner either, but keeping an eye on the property for the owner who is in Paris. Again, Papa wants to bargain with the owner and soon we see the family cleaning up the restaurant to turn it into Maison Mumbai. The family finds out the reason why Madame is so hostile- she owns the restaurant just across the street: Le Saule Pleureur, a one star Michelin restaurant. Hassan finds mildewed French cookbooks in the kitchen as they prepare for the opening and strikes up a friendship with Marguerite, who he discovers is the sous chef at Madame's. Madame runs a tight ship, scolding employees for serving limp asparagus, saying food should be passionate. She visits her competition, demanding they turn down their Indian music and studies a menu which she takes with her. On opening day, Papa and Hassan travel to market only to discover Madame has snatched up all the crawfish, mushrooms and everything else in town on their opening night menu. Scrambling to save the day, the family forages the river and forest for the needed ingredients and manages to snag customers with native costumes, Mahira's smile and forceful behavior. Madame appeals to the mayor to close Maison Mumbai for various citations, but he appreciates the food too much. Papa turns the tables on Madame and purchases all the ingredients in town for pigeon truffle, one of the restaurant's renowned dishes. Marguerite tells Hassan that Madame doesn't interview job applicants, but asks them to prepare an omelet, knowing from one bite whether or not they have it. Hassan cooks a dish of pigeon with truffle sauce, (the recipe stolen with a bribe from Papa from one of the cooks), which he presents to Madame, and she then dumps in the trash. This is now war (cue the angry chopping). Madame tells her head chef, Jean-Pierre that he is a soldier, which he takes too seriously and has friends torch Maison Mumbai. Horrified, she personally scrubs their wall free of graffiti, fires Jean-Pierre and accepts when Hassan asks to make her an omelet, although he has to direct her since he severely burned his hands in the attack. His omelet includes Indian spices, onions, cilantro and spicy peppers. She raves after one bite and humbly admits that chefs must study for years for what he instinctively knows and admits that his pigeon was wonderful too. After a brief haggle with Papa over salary, Hassan moves across the street (one hundred feet), leaving behind his disappointed younger sister and hesitant older brother (who now has to cook) to polish off his cooking skills with Madame and Marguerite. At the end of one year, Hassan and Le Saule Pleureur have received the much coveted second Michelin star and Marguerite's controlled anger for she has been working for years to be head chef and also because Hassan will now be courted by many Parisian restaurants. The widowed Madame has clearly warmed to the Kadam family, calling Mahira a beauty, cooing to the younger children and feeding Papa a truffle. Another year later and Hassan is burnt out. He is much applauded, but he has taken up drinking (wine is considered strange in Indian culture). One night before Michelin stars are announced, he scolds a sous chef for ruining a sea urchin dish and finds a fellow Indian co-worker enjoying food sent from home. Soon he is taking a train back to Saint-Antonin-Noble-Val, where he tells Marguerite that he has a business proposition for her. Secretly cooking sea urchin for Bastille Day, they consummate their relationship before Madame (who is now Papa's "almost" girlfriend) introduces them as the new partners of her restaurant to her guests and the Kadam family, who didn't even know that Hassan was back in town. When Hassan's phone rings, Papa sees that the call was from Michelin and implores him to call them back, but Hassan insists that he and Marguerite will get a third star next year at Le Saule Pleureur.

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• DVD & Streaming

The Hundred-Foot Journey

• Comedy , Drama , Romance

Content Caution

In Theaters

• August 8, 2014
• Helen Mirren as Madame Mallory; Om Puri as Papa; Manish Dayal as Hassan; Charlotte Le Bon as Marguerite; Amit Shah as Mansur; Farzana Dua Elahe as Mahira

Home Release Date

• December 2, 2014
• Lasse Hallström

Distributor

• Walt Disney

Movie Review

Madame Mallory has wished upon a star. A second Michelin star, to be exact.

For 30 years, Madame Mallory’s swanky restaurant has worn its single Michelin star rating as a badge of honor, as well it should. Michelin does not readily dole out its stars. As Madame’s sous chef Marguerite says, one star means the food is good. Two stands for great. “Three is only for the gods.”

The acquisition of those stars requires talent, hard work and single-minded dedication. They do not fall unbidden. And they do not stumble into town along with a pack of loud, uncouth vagabonds. Madame is quite certain of that .

The vagabonds, a certain displaced Indian family—Papa and his grown sons Hassan and Mansur, along with Mansur’s wife and kids—has indeed seen better days. Their restaurant in Mumbai was burned to the ground. Their stay in London was unfruitfully damp. They came to the Continent looking for a fresh start—a chance to open another restaurant and introduce new friends to the spicy, sublime pleasures of Indian cuisine.

France wasn’t initially a contender. They all know that the French have their own food, and it’s said to be pretty good. But when the brakes go out on their dump of a vehicle (just outside Madame Mallory’s village) and Papa stumbles upon a property just perfect for a restaurant (just across the street from Madame Mallory’s fine dining establishment), he sees it as fate. And so, quicker than Madame can crack eggs for a nice hollandaise, she has boisterous new neighbors—and competitors to boot.

Well. For Madame and her perpetual quest for a second star, this new Indian restaurant is the stuff of nightmare. Its garish decor clashes with her refined sensibility. Indian music now blares over her violin-drenched ambiance. The odor of curry and cardamom overwhelm the subtle scents of her kitchen. She launches a cold war before Papa even opens his restaurant—waged through fish and pigeons and formal complaints to the village leaders.

As Papa and Madame battle and bully each other, Hassan humbly cooks his extraordinary Indian food for guests. Then he retreats to his room and combs through French cookbooks, absorbing the secrets of continental cuisine page by page.

Madame has her eyes fixed on a second Michelin star, but searching for it has blinded her to the quiet culinary light across the street.

Positive Elements

As Hassan’s father and his entrenched French rival escalate their gastronomical disagreement, Hassan tries to turn down the flame. He gives Madame a menu as a friendly gesture (which she uses as a guide to stripping the local market of all the ingredients they need). When Papa strikes back by snapping up the pigeons Madame needs for a special dish for a special guest, Hassan cooks one himself and brings it over as a peace offering. (Madame tastes it and throws it in the trash.) And when he and his family are subjected to racist attacks, Hassan doesn’t get angry or vengeful. He’s single-minded, it would seem, on his quest to bring new tastes to light—and his idea that food can bring people together. (Note that the film is flecked with hints of racism for the purpose of showing the trials Papa and his family must suffer through—and to show us how wrongheaded it all is.)

Food does bring Hassan together with Marguerite. Even though she jokes that Hassan’s now “the enemy,” she helps him hone his talents—loaning him books, giving him tips and tasting his creations. Indeed, it’s her kindness that’s partly to blame for Papa staying in town, having helped tow their car and serving them some pretty amazing local food.

Madame herself proves to be a kinder person than we initially see. When Papa’s restaurant is attacked by vandals who set fire to the building and scrawl racist slogans across the front wall, Madame takes steps to literally mend fences. She fires a culprit who works for her (“You are a chef—I do not pay you to burn things”) and trudges out in the rain to scrub the vile slogans off Papa’s wall.

Madame’s actions lead to a thaw in relations, and we eventually come to see that Hassan was only partly right: Yes, food helped bring these two disparate parties together. But it also took good will, trust and respect—a good recipe for us all to follow.

Spiritual Elements

Papa and his family are not presented as being overtly religious, certainly not in a traditional Indian sense. Hassan’s mother hints at the spiritual while teaching him to cook, saying the things he must kill to create the cuisine become ghosts in the stew, as it were. After this matriarch dies, Papa admits that he still talks with her. He believes his late wife wants (in the present tense) to settle down in the French village and buy the for-sale restaurant. “She says brakes break for a reason,” he tells one of his sons, and later gives Hassan his mother’s spices, saying, “She wants you to have it.” He and others briefly talk about praying and/or heaven.

As mentioned, the Michelin stars are several times casually linked to “gods.” When Hassan seeks Marguerite’s “blessing” for a new culinary adventure, Marguerite snaps that she’s not a saint. “Neither am I,” Hassan says.

Sexual Content

Hassan and Marguerite are rivals, friends and sometimes more. Hassan steals a smooch when they hunt for mushrooms. Later, the two share a passionate kiss in the kitchen. Then the two retreat to another room and emerge a bit later looking a little ruffled.

Madame Mallory holds up a limp asparagus spear to illustrate what her restaurant will not put up with: “Food is not an old, tired marriage,” she says. “It is a passionate affair of the heart.”

Violent Content

We see rioters invading Papa’s restaurant in Mumbai, overturning tables and setting the place on fire. Papa’s wife is caught in the blaze, and we see her surrounded by flames. She dies in the inferno.

In France, racist attackers again try to set Papa’s place ablaze, throwing Molotov cocktails into the building. Papa and the rest extinguish the flames, but not before Hassan’s hands are badly burned and his pant leg catches on fire. An out-of-control car nearly crashes. A bicyclist smashes into a truck. Recited lyrics from the French national anthem reference slit throats and blood flowing in the fields.

Crude or Profane Language

One s-word. One “h—.” Several uses of “bloody.” God’s name is misused a handful of times.

Drug and Alcohol Content

Wine and champagne are integral parts of classic French cuisine, and we see most of these characters drink. When Hassan goes to Paris, he seems to drink more than usual—swallowing wine as he cooks and downing what appears to be a beer after hours. (These particular indulgences are intended to make a statement about Hassan growing more distant from his roots and the things he loves.)

Other Negative Elements

Papa is sometimes not treated with the greatest respect. “I am still head of this family!” he reminds his brood. A kitchen porter is bribed.

Food has always been a unifying agent. We bond over bacon, swap stories over sarsaparilla. When I want to talk with someone about business, we do lunch. If my wife and I want to get together with friends we’ve not seen for a while, we invite ’em for dinner. Almost every social experience I can think of, be it the Super Bowl or Thanksgiving, is at least partly about the food.

Food brings us together.

The Hundred-Foot Journey is about a clash of cultures in which the food becomes a metaphor. Madame Mallory is a picture of elegant cuisine, boasting polished presentation and restrained, subtle vitality. Papa is an embodiment of his beloved Indian tastes—full of forceful flavors and boisterous life. Hassan, in melding these two different gastronomical delights, brings disparate cultures closer together. Both are still distinct and unique. But we realize that each has merit and, when blended, can create a taste heretofore unimagined.

The Hundred-Foot Journey , based on the novel of the same name by Richard C. Morais, is a sweet and savory treat of a film with only hints of content-derived sourness—a love story ragoût of romance, family and food. It stresses the importance of all those things, while suggesting that fame and fortune and even Michelin stars aren’t that filling after all.

Paul Asay has been part of the Plugged In staff since 2007, watching and reviewing roughly 15 quintillion movies and television shows. He’s written for a number of other publications, too, including Time, The Washington Post and Christianity Today. The author of several books, Paul loves to find spirituality in unexpected places, including popular entertainment, and he loves all things superhero. His vices include James Bond films, Mountain Dew and terrible B-grade movies. He’s married, has two children and a neurotic dog, runs marathons on occasion and hopes to someday own his own tuxedo. Feel free to follow him on Twitter @AsayPaul.

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The hundred-foot journey, common sense media reviewers.

Cultures clash in the kitchen in warm family drama.

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Home is wherever your family is. The film also str

Hassan is briefly seduced by fame and fortune, but

An angry mob storms a restaurant and burns it to t

Two characters share a few kisses, and in one scen

Some characters use the British exclamation "blood

Repeated mentions of the Michelin guide to French

Adults often drink wine with meals. One character

Parents need to know that Lasse Hallstrom's The Hundred-Food Journey follows the journey of Hassan (Manish Dayal), a young and extremely talented chef, and his/his family's culture clash with rival restaurateur Madame Mallory (Helen Mirren). The many mouth-watering food scenes are often accompanied by wine,…

Positive Messages

Home is wherever your family is. The film also stresses the importance of accepting differences in other people, including cultures and cuisines. Love of family and cooking are prominent themes.

Positive Role Models

Hassan is briefly seduced by fame and fortune, but he eventually realizes that family is more important. A snobby woman learns that she should be more open to accepting people who have different customs.

Violence & Scariness

An angry mob storms a restaurant and burns it to the ground, leading to a sad death. Later, two men deface and try to burn down another building in the dead of night; a main character is injured as a result of the fire.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

Sex, Romance & Nudity

Two characters share a few kisses, and in one scene, they emerge from a back room hastily putting their clothes back on, suggesting they've shared an intimate moment.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.

Some characters use the British exclamation "bloody"; also a mumbled use of "s--t," plus "hell" and "oh God."

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

Products & Purchases

Repeated mentions of the Michelin guide to French dining and its famous star system for rating restaurants.

Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

Adults often drink wine with meals. One character is later shown drinking frequently to suggest that he's slipping into depression.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that Lasse Hallstrom 's The Hundred-Food Journey follows the journey of Hassan (Manish Dayal), a young and extremely talented chef, and his/his family's culture clash with rival restaurateur Madame Mallory ( Helen Mirren ). The many mouth-watering food scenes are often accompanied by wine, and there are some scenes in which one character starts to drink a bit more heavily (to suggest depression). Two brief moments feature some violence (including one in which men throw fire bombs) -- one of which causes a sad death. There are also a few romantic kisses and suggestions of intimacy and language along the lines of "bloody." To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails .

Where to Watch

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Community Reviews

• Parents say (5)
• Kids say (11)

Based on 5 parent reviews

Absolutely fantastic!

Excellent clean movie, what's the story.

After unrest drives them away from their native India to London, Hassan (Manish Dayal) and his family take to the road and find themselves stranded when their brakes fail in a small French town. Hassan's father decides it's just the spot to open an Indian restaurant. Directly across the street, Madame Mallory ( Helen Mirren ) runs another restaurant, one with a long, proud tradition of fine French dining -- and possessed of a famed Michelin star. She's not happy with her new neighbors and declares war on their rival eatery. Meanwhile, Hassan starts to fall for Marguerite, the sous chef in Mallory's kitchen, who teaches him the basics of French cuisine.

Is It Any Good?

Like beef bourguignon, one of the many dishes filmed so delectably in this production, THE HUNDRED-FOOT JOURNEY is a crowd-pleasing classic. The family story, told with empathy and love here, is its base; the food scenes that are odes to the art of cooking, framed through a cross-cultural prism, are its mea; and the gorgeous French countryside and melodic Indian music are its garnish. It's a delight to watch, especially because of the cast.

But, also just like beef bourguignon, it's not particularly inventive, even if the story centers around a young man's ingenuity in the kitchen. You know what you're getting. A true master chef -- as director Lasse Hallstrom has revealed himself to be in many previous turns at the helm -- would take a classic and turn it into something transcendent, adding elements that transform, rather than just substituting one ingredient (the location, perhaps) for another and hoping it feels different. Still, the film is big-hearted and filling enough -- so filling that it runs too long, actually -- to be a pleasant enough cinematic meal.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about bias. What does Madame Mallory think about Hassan and his family when she first meets them? Why? How do her opinions change?

Why are movies about food and cooking so appealing? How does this one compare to others you've seen?

Movie Details

• In theaters : August 8, 2014
• On DVD or streaming : December 2, 2014
• Cast : Helen Mirren , Charlotte Le Bon , Manish Dayal , Om Puri
• Director : Lasse Hallstrom
• Inclusion Information : Female actors, Indian/South Asian actors
• Studio : Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
• Genre : Drama
• Topics : Cooking and Baking
• Run time : 122 minutes
• MPAA rating : PG
• MPAA explanation : thematic elements, some violence, language and brief sensuality
• Last updated : April 24, 2024

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