The Hundred Foot Journey, a movie directed by Lasse Holstrom and starred by Helen Mirren, Om Puri, and Manish Dayal, hits homes everywhere with its unique story line and incredible actors.
The Hundred Foot Journey follows the life of boy named Hassan, a native of India with a passion for cooking. Hassan learned all of his cooking techniques from his mother, and from a young age decided that cooking was what he wanted to dedicate his life to. After his mother dies in a tragic fire, Hassan’s family moves to France. Knowing of his son’s strong passions for cooking, Hassan’s father buys a restaurant, and makes Hassan’s its head chef. While this may seem like the perfect set up for Hassan, a problem arises when he realizes that across the street is a famed French restaurant, his competition. The French restaurant’s owner, Madame Mallory, becomes very bitter with her new competition. While she and her staff initially try to sabotage Hassan’s new restaurant, a love interest arises between Hassan and a chef at the French restaurant, Marguerite. Viewers are torn between loving the innocent Marguerite and hating her for the restaurant that she belongs too. However, Madame Mallory watches the dispute between the two restaurants get taken too far, and she learns to reconcile their differences in more way than one.
The actors and setting of the movie come together to create a beautiful story line and keep viewers interested throughout. Following the story of Hassan, through both love and his cooking journey, makes the movie feel real. Viewers grow a love for Hassan and his family by the climax of the movie, and even a love for Hassan’s love interest, Marguerite. Viewers watch as Madame Mallory learns compassion, and Hassan learns forgiveness and acceptance. Accompanied by the beautiful settings, the story line falls perfectly into place.
One thing that detracted from the movie was the length. While nearly two hours is not necessarily extensive, the movie dragged out the life of Hassan farther than needed. The movie could have been improved upon if it had stopped once it reached a resolution; however, the movie continued far beyond its resolution and there was no longer a plot. This mishap does not necessarily take away from the uniqueness of the story; it is still a must see.
The Hundred Foot Journey is a movie that families everywhere would enjoy. Tastefully tying together personal passion and love interest, the movie is overall family friendly. Spanning for two hours and four minutes, the movie is perfect for watching with the whole family and definitely worth the watch. The Hundred Foot Journey can be found at www.target.com or www.bestbuy.com, or nearly any DVD retailer near you.
