The Hundred-Foot Journey Analysis

The Hundred-Foot Journey

Directed by: Lasse Hallström

Starring: Helen Mirrer, Om Puri

This film is about an Indian family who move to France and set up a restaurant opposite a Michelin star rated French restaurant. This film starts with the Indian family being underdogs, they are small yet unique and their approach towards food is: No one has tasted our home food yet, let's serve them that. The French restaurant is a fine dining restaurant where they can't afford to experiment at this stage. But soon the film moves from this conflict, like a cat and mouse game between the two restaurants into something else. Although the theme remains the same, about food coming from a sense of feeling of home - but the setting entirely changes, it turns from a rivalry between two restaurants into self-actualization of a person. That's the only problem I had with the film, the conflicts it sets up didn't pay off that well. We never get to see how well does the Indian restaurant does. But having said that, the world of the film is so endearing and sweet that it's difficult to not like this film. It opens with a woman who invites them home and feeds them delicious food, after they have a small car accident. Kadam played by Om Puri says that I'm afraid if I died in the accident and just entered heaven. We also see the theme of inclusivity and equality, the Indian family's backstory and what they face there in France, is the same thing and that makes us ask, where do they go and feel at home? The visuals are so good, they capture the landscapes of that place very well; a lot of the film happens in low light and colors like blue and green are seen in the background most of the times, it's interesting because usually films with such slice-of-life tonality, are shot in daylight.

This film approaches self-actualization very carefully, it doesn't blatantly say that Michelin stars, symbolizing money and success, is not important. It says that it is important, but not at the cost of not feeling at home. So when he quits his job and comes back home, he says that he will get those stars here - he doesn't say that he doesn't care anymore and that he's happy with what he has. In this film, they consider food to evoke emotions - a lot of times we see people eat food and almost cry. I haven't experienced that ever and after watching this film, I badly wish I do. Here they say that food can evoke a sense of nostalgia, it can remind you of your first love and it's apparently more than just taste. It's interesting to see that angle, because I haven't ever thought about food that way. I really wish I could see more of how the Indian family manages to get more customers and run the restaurant decently. They understand the Indian nuances decently, it doesn't feel entirely authentic - of course mainly because the characters are speaking English, but apart from that the nature of bargaining, speaking for their children and such nuances are decently portrayed.