The Hundred-Foot Journey - A Feast of Laughs, Love, and Beautiful Food

I was recently lucky enough to attend an early screening of the newest Dreamworks movie The Hundred-Foot Journey starring Helen Mirren and Om Puri as competing restaurant owners in a beautiful French village. I brought my sister along knowing that she loves Indian food since I had heard this movie is a feast for the eyes. I sat down in the theater not really knowing what to expect but I left the movie feeling inspired, cheerful, and hungry!

In The Hundred-Foot Journey, the Kadam family leaves India after a tragedy that cost them everything. The family patriarch, Papa, takes his family to Europe to try to begin again and re-open their family restaurant. Fate lands them in a picturesque French village and, against the rest of the family’s wishes, Papa decides to open the restaurant in an abandoned building directly across the street from an award winning French restaurant. What happens next will make you laugh, shake you head, sit on the edge of your seat, and even salivate.

The Hundred-Foot Journey is a movie about family, loss, love, food, passion, and cultures coming together against the odds. It is a deeply human story that most of us can relate to. It is two hours of delightful fun and truly is a feast for the eyes and the soul. The cast is amazing and works well together. Helen Mirren perfectly portrays the seemingly hard-hearted Madame Mallory, the owner of the Le Saule Pleureur, a Michelin-starred, classical French restaurant. Om Puri is endearing and hilarious as the Kadam family patriarch (Papa) who opens his restaurant, the Maison Mumbai, and never gives up his dream. The scenes between these two actors really steal the show.

The Hundred-Foot Journey was my introduction to Manish Dayal who plays Hassan Kadam, the culinary genius whose love for food and cooking works to bridge the gap between the two seemingly opposing cultures. The movie follows his evolution from a boy learning at his mother’s side to a culinary sensation. I highly recommend that you take the journey with him this weekend and go see The Hundred-Foot Journey. The movie is rated PG and opens in theaters on August 8, 2014.