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ONE FOR THE TABLE: French and Indian cuisines meet and meld in this sumptuous film

By Lisa Dinsmore on

Oneforthetable.com

Working for a food magazine, your life pretty much revolves around eating and drinking. Not as much as people might think, but more than the average person in America. I am more of an oenophile than a foodie, but I know great food when I taste it. It's food that lingers in your imagination for days after the experience and that you just can't seem to stop telling other people about. Flavors that come right back to you, when you think about THAT bite and how surprisingly delicious it was. It doesn't have to be fancy to be memorable, but true culinary genius is, like most talents, not a common thing -- and that is the theme of this sweet and sumptuous little film.

"The Hundred-Foot Journey" has big backers behind the scenes -- anyone heard of Oprah and Spielberg? -- but the story of a young Indian chef on his path of culinary self-discovery is simple, funny and heartfelt, and it will leave you hungry for more.

It tells the story of Hassan Kadam and his family. Forced by tragedy to leave India, they find themselves in the small village of Saint-Antonin-Noble-Val in the south of France. The locals don't know what to make of the family, and they certainly are not lining up to enjoy the Kadams' Indian cuisine, but the family refuses to give up and slowly begins to make headway in the village.

Though he has no formal training, Hassan, who learned everything he knows about taste and spices from his mother, is made the chef of the family restaurant, Maison Mumbai. The family's loud and ethnic presence makes neighbor across the street, Madame Mallory, the chef/owner of a Michelin-starred restaurant, Le Saule Pleureur, very, very unhappy. What ensues for the first half of the film is a comic War of the Roses, with both sides trying to make the others' lives miserable while gaining business for themselves.

The only two people who refuse to take sides are Hassan -- who's begun to delve into the subtle mysteries of French haute cuisine -- and his counterpart, Marguerite, an up-and-coming chef working under Madame Mallory, who shares his love for the simple pleasure of food and a passion for their craft. Their budding love blinds them initially to the world around them, but when Hassan's ambition and exquisite natural talent finally wins over Madame Mallory, the ambitions of these two young chefs collide, sending Hassan into a world he never imagined he could be part of and away from what truly matters -- family, true love and cooking from the heart.

 

The story is not exactly complicated or filled with surprises -- everyone and everything ends just where you know they will -- but the film has a great cast that makes these characters not only unique but utterly charming as well. The Kadam family could have been portrayed as caricatures and for comic relief (and at points they clearly were), but their traditions and love for each other are never disrespected -- and you wish they lived next door to you (except for the loud music). The smells would be amazing.

Madame Mallory could have been a one-note haughty character, but Helen Mirren brings a clever subtlety, intensity and grace to the role. Her restaurant is her whole life, and you don't want to like her; however, it's her class and standards that help propel Hassan to greatness and also give him the confidence to trust his own palate and creativity. There is a spark between the two young lovers, but you'd be hard-pressed to call theirs a deeply felt romance. I wished for a greater connection, yet that would have made the film more about love and less about the journey or the food, so....

Speaking of the food, it is certainly one of the main characters of the film, and it will make your mouth water and stomach rumble. Don't come to this flick hungry. The scenes in the markets, both in Bombay and France, are just so lush, fresh and beautiful, filled with so many amazing ingredients it's hard to think straight. I was making lists in my head -- a little bit of this, definitely some of that. You just want to grab a basket and start filling it. I do not have the patience or palate for cooking at the level showcased here, yet I could watch them chop and sauté all night long. The film gives each cuisine -- Indian and French -- their proper due, though clearly it's the French recipes that win out in the end, although with just a little spicy kick to let you know there's an artist in residence in the kitchen.

If you love food, looking at food or are just yearning for a film about real people with honest ambitions and human emotions, then "The Hundred-Foot Journey" is the perfect plate of summer fare. A delightful contrast to all the mind-numbing, soulless movies filled with superheroes, robots, mayhem and mutant turtles served up this time of year. It will inspire you to get in the kitchen and get creative -- or at least go enjoy a proper French meal.

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