The Hundred-Foot Journey Information

The Hundred-Foot Journey is a 2014 American comedy-drama film directed by Lasse Hallstrm from a screenplay written by Steven Knight, adapted from Richard C. Morais' 2010 novel The Hundred-Foot Journey. The film stars Helen Mirren, Om Puri, Manish Dayal and Charlotte Le Bon and tells the story of a feud between two adjacent restaurants; one operated by a recently relocated Indian family and the other managed by a Michelin-starred French chef (Mirren). The film was produced by Steven Spielberg and Oprah Winfrey for DreamWorks Pictures through their respective production companies, Amblin Entertainment and Harpo Films, in association with Participant Media and Image Nation. The film was released by Touchstone Pictures on August 8, 2014. The film received generally positive reviews and earned nearly $90 million at the worldwide box office.

Plot

The Kadam family has run a restaurant in Mumbai for several years. The second-oldest son, Hassan (Manish Dayal), is being groomed to replace his mother (Juhi Chawla) as the restaurant's main cook. The family's dreams are disrupted when a mob attacks and firebombs the restaurant over an election dispute. Papa Kadam (Om Puri) and his family successfully evacuate the guests, but Mama is killed in the fire. Seeking asylum in Europe, the family first settles in London, where their residence proves ill-suited for a restaurant. They depart for mainland Europe.

Shortly after crossing the border between Switzerland and France, the brakes on Papa's van fail near the village Saint-Antonin-Noble-Val. Marguerite (Charlotte Le Bon), a sous chef at an upscale French restaurant named "Le Saule Pleureur" (literally "The Weeping Willow"), passes by and offers to help the Kadams to find an auto repair shop and a guest house. She also brings the Kadams to her apartment and treats them to cold food from the larder. Papa is amazed at the quality of the food in the village and its availability and discovers that Marguerite made them herself.

He learns of an abandoned restaurant building on the outskirts of town available for purchase. Madame Mallory makes her first personal encounter with the Kadams here, when she asks them to leave the lot because it was "private property". Seeing this as divine providence, Papa decides to buy it, even when the rest of his family is against it. He names the restaurant "Maison Mumbai".

The building is directly across the street, a hundred feet from "Le Saule Pleureur" (hence the name "The Hundred Foot Journey"). Its widowed owner, Madame Mallory (Helen Mirren), comes over to Maison Mumbai to ask for a menu, then tries to sabotage the Kadams by purchasing all the locally available ingredients needed to cook their dishes on opening night. A cold war erupts between Papa and Madame Mallory. The war peaks on Bastille Day, when one of Madame Mallory's chefs, Jean-Pierre, and two others vandalize the Kadams' restaurant by spray-painting the outer wall and firebombing the interior (Mallory has nothing to do with it). Hassan catches the would-be arsonists in the act and scares them off, but his hands and legs are burned in the process.

That evening, after the Kadams calm down from the incident, Madame Mallory convenes a meeting of her chefs and asks if they know the words to "La Marseillaise". After citing lines from the national anthem, focusing on defending the country from invaders, she claims that there are other ways to being French"?equality, justice and fraternity. Knowing it was Jean-Pierre who bombed Maison Mumbai, Mallory fires the chef, then voluntarily cleans up the graffiti on Maison Mumbai's outer wall. Hassan, having heard from Marguerite that Madame Mallory hires potential chefs by taste-testing an omelette they prepare for her and decides whether it's a "Oui ou non", asks if he may cook an omelette for her to his recipe. Due to his injured hands, he asks Madame Mallory to help him crack the eggs. After sampling Hassan's omelette, Madame Mallory concedes Hassan's potential to be a great chef and invites him to work for her. Papa is initially dead set against the move, but asks Mallory what she will pay Hassan. After throwing counter-offers to each other (Mallory and Papa) ranging from 200 to 600 Euros, Hassan stops the financial debate and grabs Madame Mallory's offer of "320 Euros, 350 after three months".

Hassan's cooking proves popular and unconventional enough to result in Madame Mallory's restaurant receiving its second Michelin Star, an elite honor bestowed on only a handful of restaurants in Europe. The award draws national attention to Hassan's cooking, and he is offered a job in Paris, which he accepts. Papa and Madame Mallory make amends and ultimately begin romancing each other.

Hassan's cooking quickly receives critical acclaim, fueling speculation of a third Michelin Star for the Paris restaurant, but his work is increasingly bogged down by thoughts of his family and Marguerite (with whom he has an ongoing romance), especially after tasting an Indian co-chef's packed dinner (an authentic meal made with spices sent from India). Hassan decides to return home and reunites with Marguerite. He invites Marguerite to join him in a business venture"?buying a stake in Madame Mallory's restaurant, along with operational control. Hassan believes this will help Madame Mallory's restaurant earn its third Michelin Star. That evening, Hassan and Marguerite prepare dinner for Hassan's family at Madame Mallory's restaurant. As the two young chefs bring out the dishes for the meal across the road, everyone anticipates an evening of romance and fine dining in the courtyard of Maison Mumbai.

Cast

• Helen Mirren as Madame Mallory
• Om Puri as Papa
• Manish Dayal as Hassan
• Charlotte Le Bon as Marguerite
• Amit Shah as Mansur
• Farzana Dua Elahe as Mahira
• Dillon Mitra as Mukthar
• Aria Pandya as Aisha
• Michel Blanc as Mayor
• Shuna Lemoine as Mayor's wife
• Clment Sibony as Jean-Pierre
• Juhi Chawla as Mama
• Rohan Chand as Young Hassan
• Vincent Elbaz as Paul, Manager of the Parisian molecular cuisine restaurant

Production

On June 3, 2013, DreamWorks Pictures hired director Lasse Hallstrm to helm an adaptation of Richard C. Morais' novel The Hundred-Foot Journey about two rival restaurants in France. Steven Spielberg, Oprah Winfrey and Juliet Blake produced the film adaptation scripted by Steven Knight. In an interview, Winfrey was quoted, "Food blends cultures and allows us to have just a little peek into someone else's life... It is about a hundred foot divide between cultures." Winfrey chose the book on which the film is based as a "favorite summer read" in 2010. She said, "It"?s about human beings coming to understand other human beings and more importantly, after you get to experience or step into somebody else"?s shoes or see them for a real human being, how you understand that you"?re really more alike than you are different" Mr. Sanjeev Lamba the CEO of Reliance Big Entertainment stated that the film was a much celebrated release and is a close partnership with DreamWorks, reflecting a cross country association.

On June 3, 2013, Helen Mirren was in negotiations to join the cast. On July 1, DreamWorks confirmed the casting of Mirren and Manish Dayal.

Filming

The principal photography began on September 23, 2013, in the South of France, precisely in Saint-Antonin-Noble-Val, lasted for nine weeks and proceeded in Netherlands and in the Cit du Cinma studio complex, located in Saint-Denis, north of Paris.The Hundred Foot Journey was extensively shot at scenic locales of Midi Pyrenees. Prior to actual filming, actors Manish Dayal and Charlotte Le Bon spent a considerable amount of time going to restaurants and observing and learning in kitchens. To sign off on the food featured in the film, producer Juliet Blake consulted an Indian-born chef Floyd Cardoz who understands "fusing together two cultures through cooking."? Indian actress Juhi Chawla plays Om Puri's character's wife in the film. The makers felt the need for her to look 15 years older than her present age. That's why she has been made to age digitally on screen with the help of post-production techniques.

Soundtrack

See The Hundred-Foot Journey (soundtrack) for more information A.R. Rahman composed the music for the film. Hollywood Records released the soundtrack on August 12, 2014.

Release

The first trailer for the film was released on May 13, 2014. The film's New York premiere was held at the Ziegfeld Theatre on August 4, 2014. The film was released on August 8, 2014. Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures distributed The Hundred-Foot Journey globally through its Touchstone Pictures label, except for territories in Europe, Africa and the Middle East, where the film's rights were sold by Mister Smith Entertainment to independent distributors. Reliance Entertainment distributed the film solely in India. The film was released in France as Les Recettes du bonheur (translates to The Recipes for Happiness).

Home media

The Hundred-Foot Journey was released by Touchstone Home Entertainment on Blu-ray Disc and DVD on December 2, 2014.

Reception

Box office

The film grossed $10,979,290 in its opening weekend, finishing in 4th. As of December 6, 2014, the film has grossed $54.2 million in North America and $34.6 million in other countries, for a worldwide total of $88.8 million.

Critical response

The film has been met with mixed to positive reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a rating of 68%, based on 124 reviews. The site's consensus reads: "Director Lasse Hallstrm does lovely work and Helen Mirren is always worth watching, but The Hundred-Foot Journey travels predictable ground already covered by countless feel-good dramedies." On Metacritic, the film has a score of 55 out of 100, based on 36 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Salis Afaque of Salis Magazine gave the film 3 stars.

The Wrap's Alonso Duralde called the film "a surprisingly bland slumgullion of food porn and emotional manipulation, filtered through the middlebrow sensibilities of director Lasse Hallstrm." Variety's Justin Chang called the film "the most soothing brand of cinematic comfort food." Film critic Edwin Arnaudin of the Asheville Citizen-Times gave the film a "B-plus".

The NPR's film critic Kenneth Turan said, "The film is a sweet and unapologetic fairy tale for adults. Its story of cuisines and cultures and conflict has been polished to the highest possible sheen. Journey stars canny veterans Helen Mirren and Om Puri, who play competing restaurateurs named Madame Mallory and Papa Kadam. Their establishments create such mouth-watering dishes, that seeing this film on an empty stomach is not recommended. Tragedy causes the Kadam family to relocate from India to France. They end up in a tiny town where Madame Mallory, proud proprietor of a restaurant with a Michelin star, cracks the whip at her staff."