Cloud of Muses

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                                                                   Image taken from Wikipedia

Beef bourguignon or tikka masala?

The Hundred-Foot Journey has indeed placed me in the biggest dilemma I have ever faced; deciding whether French or Indian cuisine is the better choice. As an avid food lover, it is normal for me to be indecisive over my choice of food. However, after watching the film, I ended up at a total loss.
I simply can’t choose one.

However, that is not the main point of the film. Directed by Lasse Hallstrom, anyone who knows this Swedish director would definitely be able to predict what kind of genre will be served to. In 2000, Hallstrom presented us with Chocolat and in 2011, we are introduced to Salmon Fishing in Yemen. Those are just a few notable novel adaptations produced by Hallstrom not forgetting two films based on Nicholas Sparks’s novels.

Joining the list of the films produced by the master of adaptations is The Hundred-Foot Journey, originally written by Richard C. Morais.

It is rather difficult to judge what is the story is about from the title. At first, I was rather skeptical to watch the film after seeing the title. When I saw the word ‘journey’, I quickly assumed that it was just another film about some exploration group or adventure (like the film Everest or Lost Horizon).

I was certainly taken aback when I realized the story was the total opposite of what I was expecting.
In The Hundred-Foot Journey, viewers are shown about life harsh realities. The Kadams were forced to leave India after a tragic accident at their family restaurant. After several attempts of entering the borders of many Europe countries, they finally reached a small town in France.

The story doesn’t end there.

Soon, Papa Kadam (the head of the family) decided to re-open their family restaurant in France. Though it was considered an obnoxious idea by his children, Papa Kadam insisted of buying the rundown restaurant in the town. The problem didn’t stop there. Soon, they realized that their restaurant was just a hundred foot away from a Michelin star French restaurant. (which explains the title of the film)

Look how close the two restaurants are Image taken from Google Images

That is where the film’s plot heightened up.
We are introduced to the arrogant and eccentric Madame Mallory played by the great actress, Helen Mirren. Her reputable fine dining restaurant was indeed a huge threat to the Kadams’ homely Indian restaurant.

Basically, the film’s storyline is rather as what I expected of. This two restaurant began their wars, sabotaging each other until the town’s mayor had to interfere. I predicted that someone from Maison Mumbai, the Kadam’s restaurant will work for Madame Mallory and that was where the conflict start. And I was right.

Papa Kadam arguing with his kids about setting up a restaurant Image taken from Google Images

Our main character, Hassan Kadam, the talented cook went over to Madame Mallory’s restaurant, seeing it as a chance to further his culinary knowledge and career in Europe. Though his actions were seen as a betrayal by the Kadams, Hassan was able to convince the Frenchwoman with his impressive beef bourguignon (which made her cried, hahaha).

However, although the story fits my prediction, I must say I felt rather entertained by the film. Yes, it is a simple film about a family trying to begin a new life in a foreign land but it is a fun film to watch especially during the scenes where the loud Papa Kadam fights (by sabotaging) with bitter Madame Mallory.

Hassan at the height of his career as a top chef in France Image taken from Google Images

Other than that, the film also contains elements which show viewers of the ugly side of the French society. Due to jealousy, a few of the French chefs began to hurt Hassan physically by setting Maison Mumbai on fire and forcefully telling them to leave France. One of the characters, Jean-Pierre even claimed that the Kadams used cat food to cook.
Though the racism against the Kadams was great, the film has also shown us to the brighter side of France through the character, Marguerite (Charlotte Le Bon), a female chef at Madame Mallory’s restaurant. She was quite open to the Kadams presence and even offered to help Hassan in his cooking.

The characters were also wonderfully cast. With Helen Mirren as Madame Mallory, viewers are present with the realistic portrayal of an eccentric French widow. Although Mirren isn’t French, she had shown her effort in keeping up with the character by polishing her pronunciation of her French lines. For those who doesn’t know Mirren’s nationality, they might have thought of her as a native French speaker.

On the other hand, the other main characters, Hassan (Manish Dayal) and Papa Kadam (Om Puri) were quite alright though not as impressive as Mirren.

The negative side of the film is that there isn’t enough conflict. I felt that the producers were in a rush to film that there were so little emotional or drama scenes. This can be seen mainly on Hassan and Marguerite's love affair. It seemed that their relationship was kinda forced and weren’t given much time to develop. I just can’t feel the chemistry between the two!


It is also applied to the love between the two arch rivals, Papa Kadam and Madame Mallory. Though it was nice to see the two having feelings for each other, their portrayal in the film looked rather odd and was as forceful as Hassan and Marguerite. Hallstrom is really bad at making romantic scenes realistically.

Though it wasn’t an entirely great film, I did enjoy my time watching the dramas between two races, French and Indian and the eye-catching cooking scenes. The next time Hallstrom makes another adaptation, I hope he wouldn’t make the same mistake with the romance scenes.

Image source taken from Google Images

Cloud of Muses Ratings : 7.6/10

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Drew

Watch the trailer here!