The 100 FOOT JOURNEY - 2014 When I was younger I was a chef for a while, it wasn’t my first choice in career but it was something I was very lucky to fall into. I have never actually worked out though whether I enjoyed the job or hated it. I recall the relentless hours of prep, the long nights, the early mornings, the more than incompetent staff but I have never known within myself how I truly felt about the career, but now every time I watch some silly film that involves cooking the idea of being a chef and heading back into a kitchen to suffer all the atrocities that I have already lived through once just seem so welcoming. I do have an idea for a food van that I’ve mulled over for several decades but yet to do anything with, perhaps that’s where I should leave those thoughts, lay. This is another one of those films that makes me want to slap the hat and apron back on and get all hot and sweaty over a stove once again. The 100 foot journey tells the story of the Kadam family and and in particular their second eldest son Hassan. The Kadam family run a very popular Indian restaurant where the mother is preparing her son Hassan to take over so she can retire. After an election has been held some not so happy people go on a rampage and throw a Molotov cocktail at the restaurant, unfortunately the Kadam’s loose more than their restaurant during the process, they decide moving to Europe is the answer. As the family are travelling through France in an old run down van, the brakes suddenly give way and they find themselves in a picturesque village with a small town with a few hundred residents. The family is taken in by a young woman Marguerite who houses and feeds the family, Papa Kadam decides he loves how fresh and luscious everything is and arranges to buy an old abandoned restaurant and reopen his Indian based restaurant once again. 100 feet away directly across the road is a Michelin Star restaurant Le Saule Pleureur (The Weeping Willow) which is run by Madam Mallory, a very uptight business owner who has no intention of letting the Kadams run their restaurant and does what she can to sabotage them. There is a lot more that takes place but I really dont want to give anymore away. The 100 foot journey is a tale as old as time it’s a story where you know how it will finish as soon as it begins, it has its tragedy, its love, its dishonour, and of course it’s more than predictable happy ending. I’m not saying that’s a bad formula because we all know how romantic comedies tend to travel along, I just wish there was a surprise from time to time to change things up a little unfortunately though this is the same formula no surprises anywhere. Lasse Hallström (Chocolate, What’s Eating Gilbert Grape) directed this one and once again I feel he has done a great job, the scenery and city locations he has chosen are gorgeous for all the right reasons, as are the two very different restaurants where the majority of the film takes place. The actors do their best with a simple script, there are some great moments especially between Madam Mallory played by Dame Helen Mirren (The Queen, RED)and Papa Kadam played by Om Puri, (Gandhi, East is East) Manish Dayal who plays Hassan is very good in his role, I would have liked to see more but I’m not sure if that is his fault or the directors, also his love interest Marguerite played by Charlotte Le Bon was very good. All in all, you won’t miss much if you don’t see this film. It is a good fun film for the family to enjoy and kept me entertained for many reasons, it does have enough to make it unique in what it offers but not enough to make it stand out amongst an ever growing field of competition. The 100 Foot Journey – 3 out of 5 BanShee Screams Thanks for reading. X
Posted on: Wed, 14 Jan 2015 07:00:58 +0000
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