Image
Camera IconImage Credit: Supplied/Supplied

FILM REVIEW The Hundred-foot Journey

Staff ReporterWeekend Kwinana Courier

The film tells the story of an Indian family who move to a small village in France after political strife at home forces them to abandon their family restaurant.

They buy a property across the road from a Michelin-starred French restaurant ” run by Dame Helen Mirren’s character Madame Mallory ” and open the town’s first Indian restaurant.

The competition between the two results in an intriguing and, at times, hilarious battle for supremacy.

PerthNow Digital Edition.
Your local paper, whenever you want it.

Get in front of tomorrow's news for FREE

Journalism for the curious Australian across politics, business, culture and opinion.

READ NOW

But the movie, directed by Lasse Hallstrom, is about more than just two restaurants going head to head.

At its core it is about food and the intense range of emotions that can be inspired by it.

The line ‘food is memory’ is used more than once throughout the film and it is this theme that captures the essence of the script and the book by Richard C. Morais, from which it was adapted.

Mirren is excellent as always and veteran Om Puri matches her in his performance as the head of the Indian family.

Manish Dayal ” who plays Hassan Haji, the young son with a flair for flavours ” plays the role reasonably well but is at times unconvincing.

Where The Hundred-Foot Journey falls slightly short in some areas, it delivers in |others.

Its beautiful depictions of the French countryside, the importance of love as an ingredient in cooking and the value of family are all themes that are well woven into the plot.

But it fails to properly capitalise on the rich tapestry of emotion that is linked with food and ultimately feels like it can’t quite get into fifth gear.

The Hundred-Foot Journey is a lovely and at times cute film that will leave you feeling warm and fuzzy ” and most definitely hungry.