Review by John Delia
Centered in the awesome French countryside, The Hundred-Foot Journey is the most entertaining comedy drama of the year. Nicely acted and directed the film captures the romance of the country while delivering a heartwarming story. Sublime cinematography throughout creates a festive atmosphere for this war of the delectable foods. You don’t have to be a romantic to appreciate the film however, just sit back and plunk the Blu-ray into your player and enjoy the feast of sight and sound (if only Blu-ray’s could add taste and smell to the home video experience).
The Kadam family gets has troubles when their restaurant in Mumbai, India gets burned to the ground and experiencing the death of their mother during the melee. They immigrate to England first and finally on to France were we find them roaming the countryside in search for ingredients and a place to set up a restaurant. After a close call when their brakes on their van fail they get assistance by Marguerite (Charlotte Le Bon), a French girl, who assists them to a quaint village of Saint-Antonin-Noble-Val.
There Papa Kadam (Om Puri) gets drawn to a deserted restaurant and announces to his children that this is where he will build his dream, Maison Mumbai. One big problem lies between his success and another failure. Across the road from his planned restaurant sits one of the most coveted restaurants in France, Le Saule Pleureur run by Madame Mallory (Helen Mirren).
The film plays out creating situations of comedy, romance and even a food war between the two competitors. Director Lasse Hallstrom turns up the volume on this drama interweaving comedy and a lot of contests between both parties. He surprises with romance that’s multifaceted, but even that becomes a challenge as well. He works his actors with his demanding script that fills a little over two hours of shrewd interplay between Madame Mallory and Papa Kadam.
The ensemble cast works very nicely together under Hallstrom’s direction. Mirren gives her audience what she’s famous for, a strong woman who has to face the odds. At first not worrying about the upstart Indian restaurant that only serves its ethnic food, but as the plot develops she takes to the offense in order to keep her clientele. In support, Manish Dayal who play’s Papa’s cooking genius son Hassan gives an excellent performance. He’s torn between helping his family and a new love interest who’s also his competitor. Choosing sides is tough, and he hopes he never has to make the difficult decision.
BONUS FEATURES
“The Hundred-Foot Journey With Steven Spielberg & Oprah Winfrey†in this feature – Producers Steven Spielberg & Oprah Winfrey go over the how they arrived at the project together.
“The Recipe, The Ingredients, The Journey†director Lasse Hallstrom go over the making of the film. Included in the comments are some of the cast, crew and even the chefs.
“On Set With Oprah Winfreyâ€Â Oprah chats with the Production designer David Gropman as they Maison Mumbai.
“Coconut Chicken†this alone is worth the extras on the Blu-ray. A chance to find out how to make coconut chicken.
The video quality of the Blu-ray is very good displaying the awesome countryside, quaint villages and the food. I especially like the food markets and the making of the meals in the huge kitchens. The contrast between the restaurants that are complete opposites from bright and white French Le Saule Pleureur to colorful interiors of Maison Mumbai helps to make the film enjoyable to watch.
The sound quality is very good using the Blu-ray’s 5.1 DTS HD Master Audio with a broad sound spectrum that fills the whole room. The clanging of the pots and pans in the kitchens, patrons in the restaurants and conversations between the actors can be heard without distortion.
The Hundred-Foot Journey has been rated PG by the MPAA for thematic elements, some violence, language and brief sensuality. Watch the film first before allowing immature children see the film as there are some scenes that may not be suitable for them.
FINAL ANALYSIS: A delectable film and some fine bonus features. (B+)
Specifications and additional video information:
Cast: Helen Mirren, Om Puri, Manish Dayal, Charlotte Le Bon, Amit Shah, Farzana Dua Elahe, Dillon Mitra, Aria Pandya
Director: Lasse Hallstrom
MPAA Rating: PG for thematic elements, some violence, language and brief sensuality
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Running Time: 2 hrs 2 min
Video Release Date: December 2, 2014
Original Film Release Date: August 8, 2014
Language: English and Hindi
Format: Blu-ray
Audio: 5.1 DTS HD Master Audio, 2.0 Descriptive Audio
Video: 1080p Widescreen Aspect Ratio 2.39:1
Subtitles: English SDH, French, Spanish
Number of Discs: 1 Disc plus Digital Download
Distributed by: Buena Vista Home Entertainment