Review of The Hundred-Foot Journey (2014) by Eyal D — 29 Nov 2014

Lasse Hallström has had a prolific career as a filmmaker. He directed ABBA THE MOVIE (which is not much of a movie but, in fact, a visual document of its time), gained international film-festival status with MY LIFE AS A DOG in '85, built a solid reputation as an English language auteur with WHAT'S EATING GILBERT GRAPE which helped make Johnny Depp a serious actor and introduced Leonardo DiCaprio to the Oscar derby.

Since then, he's been responsible for many popular films, mostly of the feel good, romantic variety. I have not loved all of his work but I do appreciate his Scandinavian sensibilities, imprinted through many of his films.

THE HUNDRED-FOOT JOURNEY is no exception. While it's always a bonus to have the exquisite Helen Mirren featured in a movie, here she is most definitely matched equally by Indian superstar Om Puri as the patriarch of a family that has immigrated to a quaint community in France, trying to open an Indian restaurant across from a reputable Michelin-starred, fine dining restaurant, much to the chagrin of the restaurant's owner played by Mirren.

The spats and, later, sparks that flare up this tense relationship are only part of the story but are certainly the high points in this romantic dramedy that allows people of a certain age to feel goosebumps all over again.

And all this to, what seems to be Hallström speciality, a backdrop of delectable food, glorious food. Even with a cynic-at-first as a central character, one would have to be a real cynic to not enjoy THE HUNDRED-FOOT JOURNEY, a film that does contain a high level of saccharine manipulation yet, as it turns out, justifiably and enjoyably so.