2.5 Disappointingly-Unsatisfying-Meals out of 4
The Hundred-Foot Journey is a film with extraordinary pedigree that ultimately proves to be a fascinating disappointment. Produced by Steven Spielberg and Oprah Winfrey, directed by Lasse Hallstrom, written by Steven Knight, scored by A. R. Rahman, and starring Helen Mirren and Om Puri, it is a film created by some of the most cinematically talented people on the planet.
However, bad movies are not a rarity in an industry that regularly churns out disappointing adaptations, sequels, and remakes. For every Richard Linklater drama that captivates critics and audiences alike, there are four Michael Bay films that do nothing to advance the cinematic cause. The Hundred-Foot Journey, however, is not a bad movie by any means. Instead, it’s an excellent movie that lacks an indescribable something that ultimately makes it worth avoiding. I believe film students years from now will reflect on The Hundred-Foot Journey as a film that was perfect, but not.
Telling the story of the restaurant-owning Kadam family, Lasse Hallstrom’s film is about the family’s struggle as they are displaced from their home in Mumbai and are forced to settle in a small French village between Switzerland and France. Playing the role of stubborn but well-meaning patriarch Papa Kadam is legendary Indian actor Puri. Joined by Manish Dayal as his second-oldest son, (and talented cook) Hassan, Papa Kadam’s plan is to settle in the village and open an Indian restaurant.
In the process, the Kadams meet Madame Mallory, the stubborn and very French owner of the Michelin-star restaurant across the road. Helen Mirren plays Madame Mallory with a cold and acerbic insistence on culinary perfection – her goal being a legendary second Michelin star.
My issues with the film begin with Madame Mallory’s treatment of foreign cuisine. In France, chefs are regarded as gods and food regarded as ambrosia – as the film repeatedly claims – but for reasons unexplained by the characters, Indian cooking is deemed an inferior invention. Surely a chef and restaurant-owner of her stature and standard would appreciate foreign food. That is to say, surely a chef so dedicated to gastronomic spectacle would take it upon herself to learn about other cultures and other styles of cooking. Instead, the character takes xenophobia to new extremes by criticizing and denouncing all foreign foods.
The film attempts to grapple with questions of identity, nationality, and home, but does very little with these ideas. Instead, Hallstrom and his cast are more content to squander their talent by portraying yet another heart-warming story of a thick-headed racist forced to rethink her obviously irrational views.
What truly pulls the film down is its odd and often sporadic pacing. Based on a book by Richard C. Morais, The Hundred-Foot Journey’s scenes often feel disjointed and unrelated to one other. Like a book with frequent skips forward in time, Hallstrom’s film feels like a collection of chronologically unrelated sequences pasted together. The plot jumps forward, offering the audience little time to emotionally connect with the characters onscreen.
With the sole exceptions of Madame Mallory and Papa Kaddam – whose stories are far more interesting and deserve far more screen-time – the characters feel very much like stereotypes. A script by Knight, whose writing is normally known for forming a deep connection between audience and character, does little to bridge the gap between screen and viewer.
Despite these issues, however, cinematography by Linus Sandgren brings an otherwise bland story to life. Gorgeous long-shots of the French countryside are juxtaposed with close-ups of delicious food being carefully prepared. Characters and sequences are illuminated with contrast in mind – in some sequences, the film is a hard drama, in others, a warm foodie-comedy.
Finally, praise must also be given to Rahman, whose score is frankly the only thing giving scenes emotional depth. With an eclectic mix of tablah, sitar, strings, and drums, Rahman’s talent is on full display.
Ultimately, The Hundred-Foot Journey seems to suffer from being too subdued. Subtlety and nuance are important lessons for artists to learn, but there comes a point when subtle ideas become bland. Much like a meal with too little spice, Hallstrom offers audiences a movie with too little emotion to illicit much of a reaction.