The Hundred-Foot Journey, based on the novel by Richard C Morais, is a foodie movie from start to finish. Although there are a couple of human romances in the film, the true romance is between the cooks and their culinary creations ranging from stuffed pigeon with truffles to spicy masala.
The story begins with Hassan Kadam (Manish Dayal) and his family being displaced from India and relocating to Europe to find a new place to live and open a restaurant. After their brakes fail in Saint-Antonin-Noble-Val in the south of France, Hassan’s father (Om Puri) accepts it as fate and buys an abandoned restaurant in the village.
They open the Maison Mumbai, but when their snooty across-the-street neighbor and Michelin-starred restaurant owner Madame Mallory sees that she has competition, she calls for a culinary war.
The Kadams and Madame Mallory battle for a good while, but after Madame Mallory realizes their rivalry has gone too far, she takes Hassan under her wing. With Hassan working in Madame Mallory’s kitchen, it takes the restaurant only one year to receive its second Michelin star.
Hassan gains sudden fame and ventures to other culinary pursuits in big-time Paris, but, in the end, he can’t help being pulled back toward his home, family and love interest, Marguerite (Charlotte Le Bon).
The film is charming in its stunning scenery set in France (but filmed in the Netherlands), attention to detail regarding French and Indian cooking and the satisfying storybook ending that makes it as feel-good as you were hoping for.
This story isn’t so much a film as it is an experience. I felt whisked away to the France countryside the entire time. Just don’t come hungry—you won’t be able to concentrate on the movie plot if you’re drooling over the gorgeous food onscreen.
The Hundred-Foot Journey was produced by Oprah Winfrey and Steven Spielberg and directed by Lasse Hallström (What’s Eating Gilbert Grape, The Cider House Rules). It will be in theaters on Friday, August 8.