Friday, November 27, 2015

Worthwhile Movie #12 - The Hundred-Foot Journey

Where has this movie been hiding? I had not heard of it before it came up on my suggestion list at Amazon. Still, I wasn't interested at first because Hundred-Foot Journey was made in 2014 and I have trouble with all the gratuitous junk in modern movies. Then I saw that Helen Mirren was in the lead and that it was about food and decided to give it a chance.

The Kadam family left India after violence broke out in their hometown of Mumbai. As they travel through Europe, looking for a new place to live, their car breaks down in a small French town. Papa Kadam decides to buy an abandoned restaurant and settle there. Unfortunately the restaurant is directly in front of a chic French eatery and the owner, Madame Mallory, is not a bit pleased with their invasion.

What follows is a sometimes hilarious, sometimes painful story of the war between the two eating establishments. But it's more than that. It's the story of how a young man realizes his dreams. It's the story of the clash of cultures and how people learn to live together in harmony in spite of them. And it's the story of the poetry of good food.

Helen Mirren is amazing.

If you are used to modern-day action films, this two hour flick may seem to plod at times, but I highly recommend it. Because it has no sex and just a smattering of violence and profanity, you can actually relax and enjoy yourself while watching. It's a great story, well-acted and beautifully filmed.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

My husband and I enjoyed it very much! I actually read the book first and I must say the movie is just loosely based off of the book. This is one of the few times, I would say the movie is MUCH better than the book. Thanks again!