Review: The One Hundred Foot Journey

Posted by Anura Samara, 25 October 2014

Our second movie in a week, and a complete contrast from the solidly earnest The Judge.

The basic plot of The One Hundred Foot Journey is of an impoverished Indian family who buy a disused restaurant in a French village directly across the road from a Michelin-rated French restaurant. The Indian family restore the restaurant and bring Indian food to the village, much to the disgust of the haughty restaranteur across the road. The film is about the clash of cultures, brought to us through not only food but also an approach to life, but while the two older characters clash head on some of the younger people are exploring their connections. To some extent, the clash is between the staid, conservative French and the colourful, lively and risk-taking Indians – I’m not sure whether French people watching this film would appreciate that.

It’s an easy film to watch and doesn’t demand much intellect to follow along. The best parts are the colour that the Indian family bring – in their clothes, in the decor for their restaurant and in the spices they introduce to their French customers. I’m worried about falling for an ethnic stereotype here, I’m sure Indian people have some moments of grey in their lives.

The weakest part of the film is whether the talented Indian son goes to Paris to become a celebrated chef – it just seemed to have a slower pace than the rest of the film.

While it’s an easy film to watch, it really seemed to be just a series of plot points linked together, with scene to match each one; each scene seemed designed to deliberately reinforce a particular point in the story, and then it ended. Sort of like movie-making by numbers.

And I really can’t handle when people in their own country mysteriously choose to speak a foreign language to each other. I guess it gives the actors a chance to practice their French accents!

Categories: Movies

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