CHOCOLAT director Lasse Hallstrom’s delicious culture clash in THE HUNDRED-FOOT JOURNEY makes for this summer’s most charming new surprise…
If you enjoy old world foodie fairy tales and loved THE BEST EXOTIC MARIGOLD HOTEL then this one’s for you.
Helen Mirren stars as chef/proprietress of a classical, very elegant French restaurant on the outskirts of a small town in the south of France.
Enter the Indian Kadam family which, faced with a deadly uprising, has fled their not so idyllic life of running their own restaurant in Mumbai. First stop, London however settling down in the path of Heathrow airport’s main runway just doesn’t cut it.
So it’s on to southern France where papa Kadam buys a rundown and decrepit closed restaurant.
His plan?
To resurrect the place and introduce Indian food fare with his son who’s got most of the old man’s kitchen skills.
Just one problem.
The restaurant is right across the street from Helen Mirren’s refined, upscale eatery and she’s ready for war.
We’re talking a gastronomic battle of culinary proportions here!
Hot, spicy ethnic Indian fare versus elegant French cuisine.
Making matters worse, Mirren now steals papa Kadam’s son to chef in her kitchen just a 100 feet away—only to have her Michelin starred restaurant improve from one star to two.
There’s much more to this story including romance and picture perfect scenery.
But whatever you do don’t eat BEFORE you see this movie. It’ll make your meal taste that much better AFTERWARDS.
So who is behind this pleasant culinary culture clash?
None other than co-producers Steven Spielberg and Oprah Winfrey.
I enjoyed this cinematic gourmet offering and recommend it to adult audiences.
THE HUNDRED-FOOT JOURNEY—a gastronomic gem scoring a delicious B.
(Reviewed at Cinetopia 18 in Overland Park)
JACK GOES TO THE MOVIES: Kansas City’s weekly movie magazine Friday mornings at 6:40 a.m. and 8:40 a.m. on Newsradio KMBZ FM & AM.
