the hundred foot journey movie guide answers

Movie Reviews

Tv/streaming, collections, great movies, chaz's journal, contributors, the hundred-foot journey.

Now streaming on:

“The Hundred-Foot Journey” is a film that demands that you take it seriously. With its feel-good themes of multicultural understanding, it is about Something Important. It even comes with the stamp of approval from titanic tastemakers Oprah Winfrey and Steven Spielberg , who both serve as producers. What more convincing could you possibly need?

There’s something familiar about the treacly and sanctimonious way this film is being packaged. It reeks of late-‘90s/early ‘00s Miramax fare: films with tasteful yet ubiquitous ad campaigns and unabashed Oscar aspirations which suggested that seeing them (and, more importantly, voting for them) would make you a better person. Films like “The Cider House Rules,” “Chocolat” and “The Shipping News.” Films by Swedish director Lasse Hallstrom.

Hallstrom just happens to be the director here, as well, and the similarities to “Chocolat” are inescapable. Stop me if think you’ve heard this one before: A family moves into a quaint but closed-minded French village and shakes things up with an enticing array of culinary delicacies. This new enterprise happens to sit across the street from a conservative and revered building that’s a town treasure. But the food in question isn’t a bon bon this time—rather, the movie is the bon bon itself.

But despite being handsomely crafted, well acted and even sufficiently enjoyable, “The Hundred-Foot Journey” is also conventional and predictable. And for a film that’s all about opening up your senses and sampling spicy, exotic tastes, this comic drama is entirely too safe and even a little bland.

What livens things up, though, is the interplay between Helen Mirren and Om Puri as battling restaurant owners operating across the street from each other—100 feet away from each other, to be exact, a short but fraught trip that various characters take for various reasons. Watching these veteran actors stoop to sabotage each other provides a consistent source of laughs. She’s all sharp angles, piercing looks and biting quips; he’s all round joviality, boisterous blasts and warmhearted optimism. The contrast between the British Oscar-winner and the Indian acting legend offers the only tension in this otherwise soft and gooey dish—that is, until the film goes all soft and gooey, too.

Mirren stars as Madame Mallory, owner of Le Saule Pleurer (The Weeping Willow), an elegant and expensive French restaurant that’s the winner of a prestigious Michelin star. But one star isn’t enough for the coldly driven Mme. Mallory—she wants another, and then another.

But her bloodless quest for gourmet grandeur is interrupted by the arrival across the street of an Indian family: the Kadams, who’ve been wandering around Europe ever since their beloved restaurant back home burned down during political rioting. When the brakes on their car malfunction on a treacherous stretch of spectacular countryside, Papa (Puri) insists it’s a sign from his late wife and decides to open a new eatery in the charming town at the bottom of the hill.

Never mind that one of the most celebrated restaurants in all of France is sitting right across the street from the empty building he rents. Never mind that they are in an insular part of the country where the residents probably don’t even know what Indian cuisine is, much less like it, as his children point out. He has faith in his food—and in his son, Hassan ( Manish Dayal ), a brilliant, young chef.

Just as Papa and Mme. Mallory strike up a sparky rivalry, Hassan enjoys a flirtatious relationship with French sous chef Marguerite ( Charlotte Le Bon , who played an early model and muse in the recent “Yves Saint Laurent” biopic). The script from Steven Wright (who also wrote the far trickier “ Locke ” from earlier this year, as well as “ Dirty Pretty Things ” and “ Eastern Promises ”) is full of such tidy parallels, as well as trite and overly simplistic proclamations about how food inspires memories. Dayal and Le Bon do look lovely together, though, and share a light, enjoyable chemistry.

Then again, it all looks lovely—both the French and Indian dishes as well as the lush, rolling surroundings, which we see through all four seasons; the work of cinematographer Linus Sandgren , who recently shot “American Hustle.” This sweetly pleasing combination of ingredients would have been perfectly suitable if the film didn’t take a wild and needless detour in the third act. That’s when it becomes an even less interesting movie than it already was, in spite of its loftier aspirations.

Christy Lemire

Christy Lemire is a longtime film critic who has written for RogerEbert.com since 2013. Before that, she was the film critic for The Associated Press for nearly 15 years and co-hosted the public television series "Ebert Presents At the Movies" opposite Ignatiy Vishnevetsky, with Roger Ebert serving as managing editor. Read her answers to our Movie Love Questionnaire here .

Now playing

Terrestrial Verses

Godfrey cheshire.

Challengers

Matt zoller seitz.

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes

Tomris laffly.

Girls State

Simon Abrams

Film credits.

The Hundred-Foot Journey (2014)

122 minutes

Helen Mirren as Madam Mallory

Om Puri as Papa

Manish Dayal as Hassan Haji

Charlotte Le Bon as Marguerite

Amit Shah as Mansur

• Lasse Hallström
• Steven Knight
• Richard C. Morais

Latest blog posts

Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar Wastes Its Lavish Potential

​Nocturnal Suburban Teen Angst Fantasia: Jane Schoenbrun on I Saw the TV Glow

A Preview of the 2024 Cannes Film Festival

Driven By Love and Necessity: An Interview With Lily Gladstone

Common Sense Media

Movie & TV reviews for parents

• For Parents
• For Educators
• Our Work and Impact

Or browse by category:

• Get the app
• Movie Reviews
• Best Movie Lists
• Best Movies on Netflix, Disney+, and More

Common Sense Selections for Movies

50 Modern Movies All Kids Should Watch Before They're 12

• Best TV Lists
• Best TV Shows on Netflix, Disney+, and More
• Common Sense Selections for TV
• Video Reviews of TV Shows

Best Kids' Shows on Disney+

Best Kids' TV Shows on Netflix

• Book Reviews
• Best Book Lists
• Common Sense Selections for Books

8 Tips for Getting Kids Hooked on Books

50 Books All Kids Should Read Before They're 12

• Game Reviews
• Best Game Lists

Common Sense Selections for Games

• Video Reviews of Games

Nintendo Switch Games for Family Fun

• Podcast Reviews
• Best Podcast Lists

Common Sense Selections for Podcasts

Parents' Guide to Podcasts

• App Reviews
• Best App Lists

Social Networking for Teens

Gun-Free Action Game Apps

Reviews for AI Apps and Tools

• YouTube Channel Reviews
• YouTube Kids Channels by Topic

Parents' Ultimate Guide to YouTube Kids

YouTube Kids Channels for Gamers

• Preschoolers (2-4)
• Little Kids (5-7)
• Big Kids (8-9)
• Pre-Teens (10-12)
• Teens (13+)
• Screen Time
• Social Media
• Online Safety
• Identity and Community

Explaining the News to Our Kids

• Family Tech Planners
• Digital Skills
• All Articles
• Latino Culture
• Black Voices
• Asian Stories
• Native Narratives
• LGBTQ+ Pride
• Best of Diverse Representation List

Celebrating Black History Month

Movies and TV Shows with Arab Leads

Celebrate Hip-Hop's 50th Anniversary

The hundred-foot journey, common sense media reviewers.

Cultures clash in the kitchen in warm family drama.

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Home is wherever your family is. The film also str

Hassan is briefly seduced by fame and fortune, but

An angry mob storms a restaurant and burns it to t

Two characters share a few kisses, and in one scen

Some characters use the British exclamation "blood

Repeated mentions of the Michelin guide to French

Adults often drink wine with meals. One character

Parents need to know that Lasse Hallstrom's The Hundred-Food Journey follows the journey of Hassan (Manish Dayal), a young and extremely talented chef, and his/his family's culture clash with rival restaurateur Madame Mallory (Helen Mirren). The many mouth-watering food scenes are often accompanied by wine,…

Positive Messages

Home is wherever your family is. The film also stresses the importance of accepting differences in other people, including cultures and cuisines. Love of family and cooking are prominent themes.

Positive Role Models

Hassan is briefly seduced by fame and fortune, but he eventually realizes that family is more important. A snobby woman learns that she should be more open to accepting people who have different customs.

Violence & Scariness

An angry mob storms a restaurant and burns it to the ground, leading to a sad death. Later, two men deface and try to burn down another building in the dead of night; a main character is injured as a result of the fire.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

Sex, Romance & Nudity

Two characters share a few kisses, and in one scene, they emerge from a back room hastily putting their clothes back on, suggesting they've shared an intimate moment.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.

Some characters use the British exclamation "bloody"; also a mumbled use of "s--t," plus "hell" and "oh God."

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

Products & Purchases

Repeated mentions of the Michelin guide to French dining and its famous star system for rating restaurants.

Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

Adults often drink wine with meals. One character is later shown drinking frequently to suggest that he's slipping into depression.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that Lasse Hallstrom 's The Hundred-Food Journey follows the journey of Hassan (Manish Dayal), a young and extremely talented chef, and his/his family's culture clash with rival restaurateur Madame Mallory ( Helen Mirren ). The many mouth-watering food scenes are often accompanied by wine, and there are some scenes in which one character starts to drink a bit more heavily (to suggest depression). Two brief moments feature some violence (including one in which men throw fire bombs) -- one of which causes a sad death. There are also a few romantic kisses and suggestions of intimacy and language along the lines of "bloody." To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails .

Where to Watch

Videos and photos.

Community Reviews

• Parents say (5)
• Kids say (11)

Based on 5 parent reviews

Absolutely fantastic!

Excellent clean movie, what's the story.

After unrest drives them away from their native India to London, Hassan (Manish Dayal) and his family take to the road and find themselves stranded when their brakes fail in a small French town. Hassan's father decides it's just the spot to open an Indian restaurant. Directly across the street, Madame Mallory ( Helen Mirren ) runs another restaurant, one with a long, proud tradition of fine French dining -- and possessed of a famed Michelin star. She's not happy with her new neighbors and declares war on their rival eatery. Meanwhile, Hassan starts to fall for Marguerite, the sous chef in Mallory's kitchen, who teaches him the basics of French cuisine.

Is It Any Good?

Like beef bourguignon, one of the many dishes filmed so delectably in this production, THE HUNDRED-FOOT JOURNEY is a crowd-pleasing classic. The family story, told with empathy and love here, is its base; the food scenes that are odes to the art of cooking, framed through a cross-cultural prism, are its mea; and the gorgeous French countryside and melodic Indian music are its garnish. It's a delight to watch, especially because of the cast.

But, also just like beef bourguignon, it's not particularly inventive, even if the story centers around a young man's ingenuity in the kitchen. You know what you're getting. A true master chef -- as director Lasse Hallstrom has revealed himself to be in many previous turns at the helm -- would take a classic and turn it into something transcendent, adding elements that transform, rather than just substituting one ingredient (the location, perhaps) for another and hoping it feels different. Still, the film is big-hearted and filling enough -- so filling that it runs too long, actually -- to be a pleasant enough cinematic meal.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about bias. What does Madame Mallory think about Hassan and his family when she first meets them? Why? How do her opinions change?

Why are movies about food and cooking so appealing? How does this one compare to others you've seen?

Movie Details

• In theaters : August 8, 2014
• On DVD or streaming : December 2, 2014
• Cast : Helen Mirren , Charlotte Le Bon , Manish Dayal , Om Puri
• Director : Lasse Hallstrom
• Inclusion Information : Female actors, Indian/South Asian actors
• Studio : Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
• Genre : Drama
• Topics : Cooking and Baking
• Run time : 122 minutes
• MPAA rating : PG
• MPAA explanation : thematic elements, some violence, language and brief sensuality
• Last updated : April 24, 2024

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

Suggest an Update

Our editors recommend.

Ratatouille

No Reservations

Romantic comedies, drama movies that tug at the heartstrings, related topics.

• Cooking and Baking

Want suggestions based on your streaming services? Get personalized recommendations

Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.

• Cast & crew
• User reviews

The Hundred-Foot Journey

• The Kadam family leaves India for France where they open a restaurant directly across the road from Madame Mallory's Michelin-starred eatery.
• The family of talented cook, Hassan Kadam (Manish Dayal), has a life filled with both culinary delights and profound loss. Drifting through Europe after fleeing political violence in India that killed the family restaurant business and their mother, the Kadams arrive in France. Once there, a chance auto accident and the kindness of a young woman, Marguerite (Charlotte Le Bon), in the village of Saint-Antonin-Noble-Val inspires Papa Kadam (Om Puri) to set up a Indian restaurant there. Unfortunately, this puts the Kadams in direct competition with the snobbish Madame Mallory's acclaimed haute cuisine establishment across the street where Marguerite also works as a sous-chef. The resulting rivalry eventually escalates in personal intensity until it goes too far. In response, there is a bridging of sides initiated by Hassan, Marguerite, and Madame Mallory (Dame Helen Mirren), both professional and personal, that encourages an understanding that will change both sides forever. — Kenneth Chisholm ([email protected])
• The Kadam family after leaving India due to a fatal tragedy finally settle in a small town in southern France. They set up a traditional family run Indian restaurant just like they had always planned but opposite a competitive French restaurant. This initial rivalry creates unexpected twists for the better and for the worse in the lives of both the Kadam family and Madame Mallory (Dame Helen Mirren), the owner of the Michelin star restaurant a hundred feet away. — Viir khubchandani
• Hassan Kadam (Manish Dayal), the oldest of five siblings, was taught how to cook, but more importantly truly taste and love food, by his mother. Their entire family works together in their open air eatery in Mumbai. In his role, Hassan considers himself a cook and not a chef as he was never professionally trained. Following the tragic death of Hassan's mother, his well-off but frugal Papa Kadam (Om Puri) decides to pack up the family and move to Europe to open a restaurant, the business to keep to his wife's memory in their love of South Asian cuisine. After an initial business misstep in London, Papa believes it is fate that their van breaks down just outside of the French town of Saint-Antonin-Noble-Val, that they meet a local foodie, a young woman named Marguerite (Charlotte Le Bon), who introduces them to the abundance of fresh locally sourced produce, seafood and meats, and that there is an abandoned restaurant property on the outskirts of town for sale. Against the wishes of the family, Papa decides to purchase the property for their business, even after learning that the previous owners could not make a go of it because it is a mere one hundred feet from Le Saule Pleureur, a Michelin-starred restaurant where Marguerite works as a sous-chef, she trying to work her way up to chef-de-cuisine. Papa's resolve is strengthened as he believes their style of food is not only different than the French, but better in their bold flavors, something he wants to show the locals. Madame Mallory (Dame Helen Mirren), Le Saule Pleureur's proprietress, took over its running following the death of her husband. The restaurant is now her entire life, and she has waited close to thirty years for it to receive its second Michelin-star, so far without success. Madame Mallory does not take too kindly to her new neighbors, not only as potential competition, but in the Kadams', most specifically Papa's, brash and forward approach to life, unlike the refined French. An initial action by Madame Mallory to make sure Maison Mumbai, the Kadams' restaurant, doesn't succeed, leads to an all out war between her and Papa. But a potential bridge emerges between the two restaurants with the budding friendship and possible romance between Hassan and Marguerite. Beyond that friendship and romance, Hassan believes, to survive, they have to meld their bold flavors to local ingredients and techniques, he who wants to learn the art of French cooking from Marguerite. A singular action in that war results in what could be a fundamental shift between all the players at Le Saule Pleureur and Maison Mumbai. — Huggo
• Put young Hassan Kadam (Manish Dayal) in a kitchen, and he's bound to emerge with a dish that will dazzle. When Hassan's family is forced to move from their native India, his Papa (Om Puri) relocates to a peaceful hamlet in Saint-Antonin-Noble-Val in the south of France. Determined to give his new neighbors a little taste of home, Papa decides to open an Indian restaurant in the village, and names it "Maison Mumbai". Meanwhile, across the street at the traditional French restaurant Le Saule Pleureu, uptight proprietor Madame Mallory (Dame Helen Mirren) doesn't exactly welcome the competition. When Madame Mallory ignites a bitter feud that quickly escalates, the only hope for a peaceful resolution lies in Hassan's talent for French haute cuisine, and his growing affections for Madame Mallory's pretty young sous chef Marguerite (Charlotte Le Bon). Subsequently impressed by Hassan's undeniable culinary talents, Madame Mallory agrees to become Hassan's mentor, in the process providing the perfect creative environment where his unique fusion cuisine can thrive.
• In the opening scene, at a customs office, Hassan Kadam ( Manish Dayal ) explains to French Immigration why he and his family want to live in France: his family had owned a restaurant in Mumbai, but on an election night, there was a riot and their restaurant was set on fire, killing his mother who was the chef. He learned everything about cooking from her and has been trying to teach himself as his Papa moves the family about Europe. He fondly remembers buying sea urchins, the seller exclaiming that he gets cooking. Admitting he doesn't have any proof that he knows how to cook, except to offer a homemade samosa and saying that English produce isnt good enough, the Kadam family is allowed in. Papa ( Om Puri ) is driving the family throughout the French countryside, trying out random vegetable gardens, when their old van finally gives out in the hills above Saint-Antonin-Noble-Val, a small village. A young woman passes by, offering to take them to the local mechanic. The family (also brothers Mansur and Mukthar and sisters Mahira and Aisha) push the van into town. Marguerite ( Charlotte Le Bon ), the woman, brings them to her apartment and offers a snack- a huge platter of radishes, butter and salt; home baked bread; large, fresh tomatoes; olives she picked and cured herself and little pastries. Delighted, Papa eagerly looks forward to bargaining with the hotel in town, much to Mansurs dismay. In the morning, Papa discovers an abandoned restaurant. As he and Hassan are exploring, Madame Mallory ( Helen Mirren ) announces they are trespassing. She admits she is not the owner either, but keeping an eye on the property for the owner who is in Paris. Again, Papa wants to bargain with the owner and soon we see the family cleaning up the restaurant to turn it into Maison Mumbai. The family finds out the reason why Madame is so hostile- she owns the restaurant just across the street: Le Saule Pleureur, a one star Michelin restaurant. Hassan finds mildewed French cookbooks in the kitchen as they prepare for the opening and strikes up a friendship with Marguerite, who he discovers is the sous chef at Madame's. Madame runs a tight ship, scolding employees for serving limp asparagus, saying food should be passionate. She visits her competition, demanding they turn down their Indian music and studies a menu which she takes with her. On opening day, Papa and Hassan travel to market only to discover Madame has snatched up all the crawfish, mushrooms and everything else in town on their opening night menu. Scrambling to save the day, the family forages the river and forest for the needed ingredients and manages to snag customers with native costumes, Mahira's smile and forceful behavior. Madame appeals to the mayor to close Maison Mumbai for various citations, but he appreciates the food too much. Papa turns the tables on Madame and purchases all the ingredients in town for pigeon truffle, one of the restaurant's renowned dishes. Marguerite tells Hassan that Madame doesn't interview job applicants, but asks them to prepare an omelet, knowing from one bite whether or not they have it. Hassan cooks a dish of pigeon with truffle sauce, (the recipe stolen with a bribe from Papa from one of the cooks), which he presents to Madame, and she then dumps in the trash. This is now war (cue the angry chopping). Madame tells her head chef, Jean-Pierre that he is a soldier, which he takes too seriously and has friends torch Maison Mumbai. Horrified, she personally scrubs their wall free of graffiti, fires Jean-Pierre and accepts when Hassan asks to make her an omelet, although he has to direct her since he severely burned his hands in the attack. His omelet includes Indian spices, onions, cilantro and spicy peppers. She raves after one bite and humbly admits that chefs must study for years for what he instinctively knows and admits that his pigeon was wonderful too. After a brief haggle with Papa over salary, Hassan moves across the street (one hundred feet), leaving behind his disappointed younger sister and hesitant older brother (who now has to cook) to polish off his cooking skills with Madame and Marguerite. At the end of one year, Hassan and Le Saule Pleureur have received the much coveted second Michelin star and Marguerite's controlled anger for she has been working for years to be head chef and also because Hassan will now be courted by many Parisian restaurants. The widowed Madame has clearly warmed to the Kadam family, calling Mahira a beauty, cooing to the younger children and feeding Papa a truffle. Another year later and Hassan is burnt out. He is much applauded, but he has taken up drinking (wine is considered strange in Indian culture). One night before Michelin stars are announced, he scolds a sous chef for ruining a sea urchin dish and finds a fellow Indian co-worker enjoying food sent from home. Soon he is taking a train back to Saint-Antonin-Noble-Val, where he tells Marguerite that he has a business proposition for her. Secretly cooking sea urchin for Bastille Day, they consummate their relationship before Madame (who is now Papa's "almost" girlfriend) introduces them as the new partners of her restaurant to her guests and the Kadam family, who didn't even know that Hassan was back in town. When Hassan's phone rings, Papa sees that the call was from Michelin and implores him to call them back, but Hassan insists that he and Marguerite will get a third star next year at Le Saule Pleureur.

Contribute to this page

• See more gaps
• Learn more about contributing

More from this title

More to explore.

Recently viewed

Log in or sign up for Rotten Tomatoes

Trouble logging in?

By continuing, you agree to the Privacy Policy and the Terms and Policies , and to receive email from the Fandango Media Brands .

By creating an account, you agree to the Privacy Policy and the Terms and Policies , and to receive email from Rotten Tomatoes and to receive email from the Fandango Media Brands .

By creating an account, you agree to the Privacy Policy and the Terms and Policies , and to receive email from Rotten Tomatoes.

Email not verified

Let's keep in touch.

Sign up for the Rotten Tomatoes newsletter to get weekly updates on:

• Upcoming Movies and TV shows
• Trivia & Rotten Tomatoes Podcast
• Media News + More

By clicking "Sign Me Up," you are agreeing to receive occasional emails and communications from Fandango Media (Fandango, Vudu, and Rotten Tomatoes) and consenting to Fandango's Privacy Policy and Terms and Policies . Please allow 10 business days for your account to reflect your preferences.

OK, got it!

Movies / TV

No results found.

• What's the Tomatometer®?
• Login/signup

Movies in theaters

• Opening this week
• Top box office
• Coming soon to theaters
• Certified fresh movies

Movies at home

• Fandango at Home
• Netflix streaming
• Prime Video
• Most popular streaming movies
• What to Watch New

Certified fresh picks

• Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes Link to Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes
• The Fall Guy Link to The Fall Guy
• The Last Stop in Yuma County Link to The Last Stop in Yuma County

New TV Tonight

• Interview With the Vampire: Season 2
• After the Flood: Season 1
• Bridgerton: Season 3
• Outer Range: Season 2
• The Big Cigar: Season 1
• Harry Wild: Season 3
• The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon: Season 11.1
• RuPaul's Drag Race: All Stars: Season 9
• Spacey Unmasked: Season 1
• The Killing Kind: Season 1

Most Popular TV on RT

• Dark Matter: Season 1
• Bodkin: Season 1
• Baby Reindeer: Season 1
• A Man in Full: Season 1
• Fallout: Season 1
• Doctor Who: Season 1
• Sugar: Season 1
• The Sympathizer: Season 1
• Blood of Zeus: Season 2
• Them: Season 2
• Best TV Shows
• Most Popular TV
• TV & Streaming News

Certified fresh pick

• Doctor Who: Season 1 Link to Doctor Who: Season 1
• All-Time Lists
• Binge Guide
• Comics on TV
• Five Favorite Films
• Video Interviews
• Weekend Box Office
• Weekly Ketchup
• What to Watch

Spike Lee Movies and Series, Ranked by Tomatometer

Box Office 2024: Top 10 Movies of the Year

Asian-American Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander Heritage

What to Watch: In Theaters and On Streaming

Weekend Box Office Results: Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes Reigns Supreme

Movie Re-Release Calendar 2024: Your Guide to Movies Back In Theaters

• Trending on RT
• Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes
• The Last Stop in Yuma County
• Amazon Movies
• TV Premiere Dates

The Hundred-Foot Journey Reviews

Mirren is drily funny, deploying an arsenal of MasterChef-style horrified reaction shots.

Full Review | Apr 7, 2023

How wrong can you go with a comedy about beautiful people making beautiful food in the south of France? And Helen Mirren? The woman can turn 105 and she'll still be alluring, even when she's being haughty. Lots of laughs.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/5 | Apr 19, 2022

It's an enjoyable film about passion; the passion for food, passion for culture but most of all, passion for life.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Feb 1, 2021

This isn't your usual summer fare, because it cares far too much about the people whose story it is telling and it takes the time to let you get to know them.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.0/4.0 | Sep 11, 2020

If you're into simple, pleasant movies that offer two-hour escapist entertainment, this may be for you.

Full Review | Original Score: B | Jul 20, 2020

[A] beautifully written story.

Full Review | Feb 5, 2020

Fulfilling, rich and delicious, The Hundred Foot Journey is an effervescent delight, sizzling with cinematic and emotional flavor.

Full Review | Dec 14, 2019

If films about the culinary arts revolved around the same strictures to obtain something like a Michelin star rating, The Hundred-Foot Journey would always and forever be a big fat zero.

Full Review | Original Score: 1.5/5 | Aug 30, 2019

For foodies and folks looking for the cinematic version of a poolside paperback, THE HUNDRED-FOOT JOURNEY delivers. If you're seeking something with a little artistic nutrition, you'll need to look elsewhere.

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5 | Apr 8, 2019

Overall, The Hundred-Foot Journey is not a bad dish, but considering its rich ingredients, it still lacks a bit of spice.

Full Review | Feb 27, 2019

There's an in-built contradiction between the film's attempt to position itself as an ode to cultural understanding while also being a commercially twee depiction of that tale

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Feb 25, 2019

As you might imagine, visually, it's a stunning film, and the story is endearing. Dayal and Le Bon are charming, and Helen Mirren, well, is Helen Mirren.

Full Review | Original Score: 8/10 | Dec 11, 2018

"The Hundred-Foot Journey" is a delicious love story portraying the melting and blending of two opposing cultures.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/4 | Aug 21, 2018

This underachieving cooking infomercial left me starving for a decent movie experience. Cancel your reservations to this rancid soufflé.

Full Review | Aug 21, 2018

Has a lot of pedigree behind it, but is sadly unable to transcend its habit of skimming through information and any form of drama whatsoever.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Aug 13, 2018

If you don't leave the theatre wanting to visit France and eat Indian food, then you didn't enjoy it as much as I did. [Full review in Spanish]

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | Jan 30, 2018

With its fine cast, glorious setting, and countless scenes of mouthwatering menus, The Hundred-Foot Journey is an appetizing alternative to summer's superheroes and zombies.

Full Review | Original Score: 7.5/10 | Dec 3, 2017

If you can deal with the uneven narrative - and in this case there's no reason you shouldn't - there is a lot to like about this film.

Full Review | Nov 28, 2017

Reality-bites are fleeting here. This is a food fairytale which prefers the sweet to the tart, cream to the karelas of life. Yet, it takes all those tastes to create a great dish.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Nov 14, 2017

It may play out predictably, and feature more fake fireworks than it should, but The Hundred-Foot Journey is charming, with enough heart and genuine laughs to forgive its formulaic nature.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Sep 7, 2017

• Entertainment
• REVIEW: Does <I>The Hundred-Foot Journey</i> Deserve One Michelin Star or Two?

REVIEW: Does The Hundred-Foot Journey Deserve One Michelin Star or Two?

W ith Steven Spielberg and Oprah Winfrey serving as producers, and a story that forges warm feelings between two generations of restaurant rivals, The Hundred-Foot Journey is on a mission to make you cry. Whether you oblige will depend on your fondness for, or immunity to, the gentler stereotypes of movie romance.

But there’s one shot that should bring tears of joy to anyone who thinks of food as something more than the stuff grabbed from a plastic bag and automatically consumed on a couch during a reality show. Early in the proceedings we are shown a plate of fresh vegetables, tomatoes mostly, that a pretty young French woman offers to weary Indian travelers. Artfully arranged and glowingly photographed, the comestibles would send moviegoers rushing avidly from the auditorium to the lobby — if the concession stand were a neighborhood stall run by Edesia, the goddess of banquets .

(SEE: TIME’s flavorfully illustrated list of the Top 8 Food Movies )

The food, traditional French cuisine or the livelier Indian masala, looks delicious: what Los Angeles Times writer Jenn Harris, in an interview with Indian-American chef Floyd Cardoz, calls a “ sumptuous buffet of gastro-porn .” Although Harris was referring to the preparations by Cardoz and other cooks of the film’s incredible edibles, Spielberg and Winfrey wouldn’t mind if viewers applied the phrase to the whole movie. They want you to swallow, in one savory sitting, their tale of colliding cultures reaching an entente cordiale. That particular buffet demands a more generous palate.

Winfrey chose Richard C. Morais’ novel for her 2010 reading list and teamed with Spielberg, who had directed her in The Color Purple nearly three decades ago, to bring the story to the screen. As director they hired Lasse Hallstrom, who specializes in upmarket sentiment and in films with food-related titles: What’s Eating Gilbert Grape , The Cider House Rules , Salmon Fishing in the Yemen . His signature food movie was Chocolat , a highly caloric confection about an outsider (Juliet Binoche) who opens a pastry shop in a French village, horrifies the locals, outrages the mayor (Albert Molina) and eventually seduces all of them with her bewitching sweets. With Johnny Depp on hand as Binoche’s roguish ally, Chocolat became Hallstrom’s biggest box-office hit.

(READ: Richard Schickel’s review of Chocolat )

In The Hundred-Foot Journey , the outsiders are Papa (Bollywood stalwart Om Puri), his son Hassan (Manish Dayal) and their family of Mumbai restaurateurs, sent packing when their establishment is torched by fanatics and Papa’s wife (the great beauty Juhi Chawla) is incinerated in the fire. The French village they wind up in is the almost obscenely picturesque Saint-Antonin-Noble-Val, in the Midi-Pyrénées, and the wavering mayor this time is Michel Blanc. The family’s most obstinate rival — Mme. Mallory, who owns the one-star restaurant 100 feet across the street from where Papa sets up his noisy Maison Mumbai — is played by Helen Mirren with her chin held high in defiance; Queen Elizabeth might think Mirren’s manner too imperious. And Hassan finds love and competition with Mme. Mallory’s sous-chef Marguerite (Charlotte Le Bon).

The journey in the novel was essentially Hassan’s. A budding genius in creating dishes both Indian and French, he hopes to rise through the gastronomic ranks and become the most innovative chef at the hottest restaurant in Paris. He is a human version of Remy the rodent in Pixar’s Ratatouille , conquering French-foodie snobbishness with his culinary inspirations. Screenwriter Steven Knight, who has scripted modern crime movies ( Eastern Promises ) and stately period pieces ( Amazing Grace ), as well as directing the Tom-Hardy-in-a-car movie Locke , makes room for the Hassan story, but promotes age — the slow-boiling friendship of Papa and Madame — over youth and beauty.

(READ: Corliss on Tom Hardy, trapped in a car, in Steven Knight’s Locke )

Mme. Mallory’s interest in Hassan, once he convinces her of his expertise, is a matter of pride. For 30 years, her restaurant, Le Saule Pleureur (The Weeping Willow), has carried an honored but equivocal one star, out of a possible three, from the Michelin guide to French cuisine. She wants that second star and thinks the gifted Hassan can help her get it. (It happens that, a couple hundred miles to the east, in Monteux, there is an actual establishment by that name. An online reviewer wrote, “This restaurant has one Michelin star and easily deserves another.”)

As Madame, Dame Helen anglicizes aspects of two revered French actresses who might have been more suitable for the role: imagine a frosty Isabelle Huppert who thaws into Catherine Deneuve. Because this is a movie aimed at Americans, Mirren must speak English in a stern, borderline-ludicrous French accent — both to Papa and Hassan, who confer with each other in Marathi and speak perfect English but perhaps not French, and to her French kitchen staff. “In English,” she says to her balky chef Jean-Pierre (Clément Sibony), “so we can all understand.” This time, the royal “we” that Mirren used in The Queen means the non-francophone audience.

(READ: How Helen Mirren reigned and triumphed in The Queen )

If the poetry of this Franco-Indian alliance gets lost in translation, the visuals sing ecstasy in any language. Cinematographer Linus Sandgren, fresh from making the actors in American Hustle look fabulously tatty, brings radiance not just to each morsel of food but also to the dewy closeups of Dayal (born in Orangeburg, S.C.) and Le Bon (from the recent bio-pic Yves Saint Laurent ) as the lovers-in-waiting. The movie revels in scenes of dappled soft-focus — you never saw so many dapples! — and punctuates the Spielberg-starry night sky with fireworks for every occasion. Though it must acknowledge Mama’s charred death, and a spate of anti-immigrant enmity (the scrawling of “French for the French” on a Maison Mumbai wall), the film is eager to seem good enough to eat.

The one moment of earned poignancy comes when Hassan goes across the street to work at Le Seule Pleureur, and Papa offers him his treasured box of Indian spices. “They have their own spices,” the young man says in the softest tones of renunciation. In a new land, the young must learn from their old-country past, use some parts and reject others, to become a success. That’s how you season the melting pot. At this moment, viewers may shrug off the glutinous manipulations of The Hundred-Foot Journey and give it a second star in the Michelin guide to comfort-food movies.

More Must-Reads From TIME

• Putin’s Enemies Are Struggling to Unite
• Women Say They Were Pressured Into Long-Term Birth Control
• What Student Photojournalists Saw at the Campus Protests
• Scientists Are Finding Out Just How Toxic Your Stuff Is
• Boredom Makes Us Human
• John Mulaney Has What Late Night Needs
• The 100 Most Influential People of 2024
• Want Weekly Recs on What to Watch, Read, and More? Sign Up for Worth Your Time

Contact us at [email protected]

Notice: All forms on this website are temporarily down for maintenance. You will not be able to complete a form to request information or a resource. We apologize for any inconvenience and will reactivate the forms as soon as possible.

• DVD & Streaming

The Hundred-Foot Journey

• Comedy , Drama , Romance

Content Caution

In Theaters

• August 8, 2014
• 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

Home Release Date

• December 2, 2014
• Lasse Hallström

Distributor

• Walt Disney

Movie Review

Madame Mallory has wished upon a star. A second Michelin star, to be exact.

For 30 years, Madame Mallory’s swanky restaurant has worn its single Michelin star rating as a badge of honor, as well it should. Michelin does not readily dole out its stars. As Madame’s sous chef Marguerite says, one star means the food is good. Two stands for great. “Three is only for the gods.”

The acquisition of those stars requires talent, hard work and single-minded dedication. They do not fall unbidden. And they do not stumble into town along with a pack of loud, uncouth vagabonds. Madame is quite certain of that .

The vagabonds, a certain displaced Indian family—Papa and his grown sons Hassan and Mansur, along with Mansur’s wife and kids—has indeed seen better days. Their restaurant in Mumbai was burned to the ground. Their stay in London was unfruitfully damp. They came to the Continent looking for a fresh start—a chance to open another restaurant and introduce new friends to the spicy, sublime pleasures of Indian cuisine.

France wasn’t initially a contender. They all know that the French have their own food, and it’s said to be pretty good. But when the brakes go out on their dump of a vehicle (just outside Madame Mallory’s village) and Papa stumbles upon a property just perfect for a restaurant (just across the street from Madame Mallory’s fine dining establishment), he sees it as fate. And so, quicker than Madame can crack eggs for a nice hollandaise, she has boisterous new neighbors—and competitors to boot.

Well. For Madame and her perpetual quest for a second star, this new Indian restaurant is the stuff of nightmare. Its garish decor clashes with her refined sensibility. Indian music now blares over her violin-drenched ambiance. The odor of curry and cardamom overwhelm the subtle scents of her kitchen. She launches a cold war before Papa even opens his restaurant—waged through fish and pigeons and formal complaints to the village leaders.

As Papa and Madame battle and bully each other, Hassan humbly cooks his extraordinary Indian food for guests. Then he retreats to his room and combs through French cookbooks, absorbing the secrets of continental cuisine page by page.

Madame has her eyes fixed on a second Michelin star, but searching for it has blinded her to the quiet culinary light across the street.

Positive Elements

As Hassan’s father and his entrenched French rival escalate their gastronomical disagreement, Hassan tries to turn down the flame. He gives Madame a menu as a friendly gesture (which she uses as a guide to stripping the local market of all the ingredients they need). When Papa strikes back by snapping up the pigeons Madame needs for a special dish for a special guest, Hassan cooks one himself and brings it over as a peace offering. (Madame tastes it and throws it in the trash.) And when he and his family are subjected to racist attacks, Hassan doesn’t get angry or vengeful. He’s single-minded, it would seem, on his quest to bring new tastes to light—and his idea that food can bring people together. (Note that the film is flecked with hints of racism for the purpose of showing the trials Papa and his family must suffer through—and to show us how wrongheaded it all is.)

Food does bring Hassan together with Marguerite. Even though she jokes that Hassan’s now “the enemy,” she helps him hone his talents—loaning him books, giving him tips and tasting his creations. Indeed, it’s her kindness that’s partly to blame for Papa staying in town, having helped tow their car and serving them some pretty amazing local food.

Madame herself proves to be a kinder person than we initially see. When Papa’s restaurant is attacked by vandals who set fire to the building and scrawl racist slogans across the front wall, Madame takes steps to literally mend fences. She fires a culprit who works for her (“You are a chef—I do not pay you to burn things”) and trudges out in the rain to scrub the vile slogans off Papa’s wall.

Madame’s actions lead to a thaw in relations, and we eventually come to see that Hassan was only partly right: Yes, food helped bring these two disparate parties together. But it also took good will, trust and respect—a good recipe for us all to follow.

Spiritual Elements

Papa and his family are not presented as being overtly religious, certainly not in a traditional Indian sense. Hassan’s mother hints at the spiritual while teaching him to cook, saying the things he must kill to create the cuisine become ghosts in the stew, as it were. After this matriarch dies, Papa admits that he still talks with her. He believes his late wife wants (in the present tense) to settle down in the French village and buy the for-sale restaurant. “She says brakes break for a reason,” he tells one of his sons, and later gives Hassan his mother’s spices, saying, “She wants you to have it.” He and others briefly talk about praying and/or heaven.

As mentioned, the Michelin stars are several times casually linked to “gods.” When Hassan seeks Marguerite’s “blessing” for a new culinary adventure, Marguerite snaps that she’s not a saint. “Neither am I,” Hassan says.

Sexual Content

Hassan and Marguerite are rivals, friends and sometimes more. Hassan steals a smooch when they hunt for mushrooms. Later, the two share a passionate kiss in the kitchen. Then the two retreat to another room and emerge a bit later looking a little ruffled.

Madame Mallory holds up a limp asparagus spear to illustrate what her restaurant will not put up with: “Food is not an old, tired marriage,” she says. “It is a passionate affair of the heart.”

Violent Content

We see rioters invading Papa’s restaurant in Mumbai, overturning tables and setting the place on fire. Papa’s wife is caught in the blaze, and we see her surrounded by flames. She dies in the inferno.

In France, racist attackers again try to set Papa’s place ablaze, throwing Molotov cocktails into the building. Papa and the rest extinguish the flames, but not before Hassan’s hands are badly burned and his pant leg catches on fire. An out-of-control car nearly crashes. A bicyclist smashes into a truck. Recited lyrics from the French national anthem reference slit throats and blood flowing in the fields.

Crude or Profane Language

One s-word. One “h—.” Several uses of “bloody.” God’s name is misused a handful of times.

Drug and Alcohol Content

Wine and champagne are integral parts of classic French cuisine, and we see most of these characters drink. When Hassan goes to Paris, he seems to drink more than usual—swallowing wine as he cooks and downing what appears to be a beer after hours. (These particular indulgences are intended to make a statement about Hassan growing more distant from his roots and the things he loves.)

Other Negative Elements

Papa is sometimes not treated with the greatest respect. “I am still head of this family!” he reminds his brood. A kitchen porter is bribed.

Food has always been a unifying agent. We bond over bacon, swap stories over sarsaparilla. When I want to talk with someone about business, we do lunch. If my wife and I want to get together with friends we’ve not seen for a while, we invite ’em for dinner. Almost every social experience I can think of, be it the Super Bowl or Thanksgiving, is at least partly about the food.

Food brings us together.

The Hundred-Foot Journey is about a clash of cultures in which the food becomes a metaphor. Madame Mallory is a picture of elegant cuisine, boasting polished presentation and restrained, subtle vitality. Papa is an embodiment of his beloved Indian tastes—full of forceful flavors and boisterous life. Hassan, in melding these two different gastronomical delights, brings disparate cultures closer together. Both are still distinct and unique. But we realize that each has merit and, when blended, can create a taste heretofore unimagined.

The Hundred-Foot Journey , based on the novel of the same name by Richard C. Morais, is a sweet and savory treat of a film with only hints of content-derived sourness—a love story ragoût of romance, family and food. It stresses the importance of all those things, while suggesting that fame and fortune and even Michelin stars aren’t that filling after all.

Paul Asay has been part of the Plugged In staff since 2007, watching and reviewing roughly 15 quintillion movies and television shows. He’s written for a number of other publications, too, including Time, The Washington Post and Christianity Today. The author of several books, Paul loves to find spirituality in unexpected places, including popular entertainment, and he loves all things superhero. His vices include James Bond films, Mountain Dew and terrible B-grade movies. He’s married, has two children and a neurotic dog, runs marathons on occasion and hopes to someday own his own tuxedo. Feel free to follow him on Twitter @AsayPaul.

Latest Reviews

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes

Not Another Church Movie

Mother of the Bride

The Fall Guy

Weekly reviews straight to your inbox.

THE HUNDRED-FOOT JOURNEY

"festive food fun for families".

What You Need To Know:

(BB, CapCap, O, L, V, S, A, M) Strong moral pro-family worldview with strong capitalist elements, including characters say “bless you”, but an occult element where one character is said to speak to a dead person; three light profanities, two obscenities; large fire burns down building and family’s home, women is burned in fire; characters walk out of closet, with hair frazzled and clothing not buttoned up; no nudity; light drinking; no smoking or drug use; and, children talk back to father.

More Detail:

Emigrating to France, the Kadam family must build up their Indian Restaurant in the midst of competition, in THE HUNDRED-FOOT JOURNEY. THE HUNDRED-FOOT JOURNEY is a pro-family movie with a positive moral message.

Young Hassan Haji Kadam loves to learn cooking from his mother. During an attack, his family’s restaurant is burned to the ground. Sadly, his mother was trapped in the fire and dies. Saddened, the family moves to London to start over. Years later they decide to move to France to start a restaurant.

After their car breaks down in a small French city, Hassan’s father, Papa Kadam, stumbles on a dilapidated restaurant building up for sale. Papa gets in his mind to buy the restaurant, even though his children show him there’s another, award winning restaurant literally steps away from the building. Kadam doesn’t let this fact stand in his way. He buys the building and the family starts to prepare it for their Indian cuisine.

As the Kadam family is preparing the new restaurant, the neighboring restaurant’s owner, Madame Mallory, tries to compete. The family is against great odds because Madame Mallory’s restaurant has a Michelin star, but Papa thinks his son Hassan has what it takes to be a great cook.

Hassan starts to talk with a female chef, Marguerite, from Madame Mallory’s restaurant. Hassan has only ever cooked Indian food, but Marguerite gives advice to Hassan about cooking certain French cuisine. He becomes excited about the possibilities of becoming a real chef.

When the Kadam family first opens their doors, the French start trickling into the restaurant. Eventually, with some persuasion, the restaurant is full. Though this is the case, Hassan Kadam still has the desire to learn more than just Indian cuisine. Can he become a great chef?

THE HUNDRED-FOOT JOURNEY is a pro family movie with some pro capitalist elements. The Kadam family works together to build a successful restaurant. Ultimately, their love for each other is what ties everything together. There are some times, though, that the characters talk back to their father. Though this is the cause, the children recognize their father builds the family and is the decision maker. There is one instance of implied fornication outside of marriage, but the scene is handled discretely. Also, the father talks to the dead mother, but this is more like a social convention showing how much they cared for one another.

THE HUNDRED-FOOT JOURNEY is an entertaining movie. The movie is based on a book, so the writers may have veered from their premise at times to add extra story lines. The movie could have ended at several points. Though this is the case, the movie is entertaining throughout and has a great heart to it. The use of real film gives the movie a wonderful visual quality, with vibrant colors. Helen Miren does a wonderful acting job playing Madame Mallory, as does Om Puri as the Indian father. Some of the other actors, however, are clearly less experienced.

4000+ Faith Based Articles and Movie Reviews – Will you Support Us?

Our small team works tirelessly to provide resources to protect families from harmful media, reviewing 415 movies/shows and writing 3,626 uplifting articles this year. We believe that the gospel can transform entertainment. That’s why we emphasize positive and faith-filled articles and entertainment news, and release hundreds of Christian movie reviews to the public, for free. No paywalls, just trusted, biblically sound content to bless you and your family. Online, Movieguide is the closest thing to a biblical entertainment expert at your fingertips. As a reader-funded operation, we welcome any and all contributions – so if you can, please give something. It won’t take more than 52 seconds (we timed it for you). Thank you.

Movieguide® is a 501c3 and all donations are tax deductible.

The Hundred-Foot Journey

Reviewed by: Samuel Chetty CONTRIBUTOR

food in the Bible

importance of family heritage

rivalry / dealing kindly with competitors, instead of taking revenge

world of French haute cuisine

downfalls of fame / the true costs of rising to the top in one’s profession

accepting others who are different than you

RACISM —What are the consequences of racial prejudice and false beliefs about the origin of races? Answer

Review updated 8.18.2014.

T he trailer for “The Hundred-Foot Journey” gave me some uncertainty as to what the movie’s most prominent features would be. Would it be mostly about business competition? Or a love story? Or difficulty assimilating into a new culture? I also couldn’t tell if it was a comedy or a serious drama. But what I perceived after watching it is that none of those descriptions described the movie, overall, though it has all of those elements.

The movie gets a wide range of subject matter incorporated by telling a story of an Indian family who flees from India after they are targeted by political protests and their restaurant is burned down. At this time, Hassan Haji (Manish Dayal) was a young boy, and his mother died in the fire. His father Papa Kadam (Om Puri) escapes to Europe with the rest of his family, and after living in various European locations as Hassan grows up, the family moves to the town of Saint-Antonin-Noble-Val in France, with Hassan now a young adult.

They find property to open their own restaurant, but it is very close to a famous restaurant run by Madame Mallory, who at first ridicules Papa Kadam’s restaurant, but later sees it become popular and worries that it threatens her own restaurant. A tense rivalry begins between the restaurants. The owners come from very different cultures, each feeling they know the style and tactics to defeat the other, but as the movie goes on, they find out whether that attitude is really in the best interest of either one of them.

The characters start the movie with some stereotypical traits, but the two hour screen time allows the personalities to round out in a way that does not feel hurried. We also see some differentiated personalities in both restaurants. Pappa Kadam’s attempts to match Madame Mallory’s aggressive business tactics are often not applauded by his sons, and Madam Mallory discovers contrasting approaches between her and her employees, as well. The movie could attract a very wide audience with its diverse subject matter and high quality visual effects for the scenery and food preparation.

The weakness I found with the movie was that the pacing of the story felt too slow. While the two hour screen time allowed characterization depth, I felt that the story did not have enough major developments to support that running time. Some 1½-hour movies have more plot complexity. With regard to this issue, I can see viewers falling in two different groups. Some may think the simplicity of the plot is a strength that gives the movie a more natural feel and lets the characters mature naturally and express themselves without forcing events upon them. Others, however, may describe the movie as two hours of arguing and cooking.

This movie has a strongly positive message about respecting and learning from people of different cultures rather than trying to succeed by using your own culture to defeat others. The message is not about giving up things important to us in order to fit in, but, rather, seeing what we can gain from the techniques of others to enhance what we already have.

Overall, though I found both strengths and weaknesses in the movie, I recommend seeing it because it has aspects which you may find fascinating.

Potentially Objectionable Content

After my review was uploaded, a viewer comment described a suggestive scene as follows: “A passionate lingering kiss in the kitchen of the restaurant is followed by rushing into the dining room where guests await all while the couple quickly button and tuck in their clothes” (emphasis mine to indicate what I didn’t personally detect). Madame Mallory once described cooking as a “passionate affair” rather than an “old, tired marriage.”

There are two scenes in which a restaurant is intentionally set on fire. The one at the beginning may be particularly disturbing for younger kids as the family’s mother dies. You see her trapped in the flames, although it wasn’t gory or prolonged. Another concern for parents may be the sons’ occasional disrespectful attitude toward their father which involves insulting dialog, interrupting him while he’s talking to other people, and once trying to grab his phone to stop him from taking a call.

Some Christians may be concerned about how Papa Kadam mentions receiving advice from his deceased wife several times, and there are multiple references to spirits in food. Such discussion is not prevalent in the movie though. The only other faith-oriented concern may be when someone refers to a cook book as the Bible.

Characters drink wine in moderation until a point near the end when Hassan becomes depressed and starts drinking in a heavier manner. The rivalry between the restaurants occasionally employs bribery, stealing, or lying, but the message of the movie stands against these tactics.

Language: God’s name as an interjection (4), “Bloody” as a swear word (4), “To h*ll with them” (1), s-word (1).

Violence: Moderate / Profanity: Moderate—“Oh G*d” (2), “My G*d” (1), “For G*d’s sakes” (1) / Sex/Nudity: Moderate

See list of Relevant Issues—questions-and-answers .

PLEASE share your observations and insights to be posted here.

• study guides
• lesson plans
• homework help

The Hundred-Foot Journey Summary & Study Guide

The Hundred-Foot Journey Summary & Study Guide Description

The Hundred-Foot Journey by Richard C. Morais is the story of Hassan Haji who rises from the slums of West Bombay to become one of the elite chefs of Paris. Hassan was the second-born in his family. He was close to both of his parents. The family lived in a poverty-stricken area above Hassan's grandfather’s restaurant. Eventually, his grandfather moved the restaurant into a nicer middle-class neighborhood.

Abbas, his father, was actively involved in Hassan's grandfather's restaurant. Hassan's mother kept the restaurant's books because she was good with numbers. After Hassan’s grandfather died, Abbas took over the operation. Unlike his father, Abbas stopped hiring boys from the slum which hurt and enraged the people of the old neighborhood. One day, the restaurant was attacked by protestors who set fire to the building. Unfortunately, Hassan’s mother couldn’t escape and died from her injuries. The family mourned deeply.

Abbas decided that the family needed a new start and moved them to London. They felt comfortable in Southall because there were a lot of Indian, Pakistani, and Bangladeshi transplants in the area. Abbas had made a small fortune when he sold his restaurant in West Bombay. He decided to go into a business in London. But, when that fell through, he decided to take the family on an extended European vacation. Abbas tried to keep busy to overcome the thoughts of his wife's death.

While they were on vacation, their car broke down in Lumiere, a small village in France. The break down happened in front of an old mansion that was for sale. After learning that there was no Indian restaurant in the village, Abbas bought the house with plans to redesign part of it mansion as a restaurant. Abbas was unaware that directly across the road from the old mansion was a famous restaurant and inn named Le Saule Pleureur. It was run by celebrated master chef Madame Gertrude Mallory.

Mallory was a sharp-tongued recluse who was obsessed with only one thing in life – her restaurant and earning a three-star rating from the prestigious Michelin board of directors. She was outraged when Abbas, who was loud and boisterous, began building his restaurant. Though Abbas had every right to open his restaurant, Madame Mallory tried to have it shut down. The two restaurateurs became bitter enemies which culminated in a physical altercation in which Hassan was badly burned.

The incident made Mallory take stock of her own self. When she discovered that Hassan had exceptional culinary skills, she decided to take him under her wing and teach him French cooking. At first Abbas was totally against it. He didn’t want his son to be around her. But, Mallory was so insistent that she waged a hunger strike on his driveway. Finally, Abbas gave in because Hassan wanted to study under a master chef.

After several years of studying with Mallory, Hassan was offered a position in Paris. His mentor told him that it was time to move on because she had taught him everything she knew. Eventually, Hassan opened his own restaurant and became part of the circle of elite chefs in France.

Read more from the Study Guide

FOLLOW BOOKRAGS:

The Hundred Foot Journey (2014) Movie Viewing Guide:Summary/Vocabulary/Questions

• Word Document File

Also included in

Description

"The Hundred-Foot Journey" is a heartwarming film released in 2014, directed by Lasse Hallström and produced by Steven Spielberg and Oprah Winfrey. The story revolves around the Kadam family, Indian immigrants led by Papa Kadam (played by Om Puri), who opens an Indian restaurant, Maison Mumbai, in the picturesque village of Saint-Antonin-Noble-Val in the south of France. Their restaurant is located just a hundred feet across the street from a Michelin-starred French restaurant, Le Saule Pleureur, run by the strict and traditional Madame Mallory (played by Helen Mirren). This proximity sparks a culinary rivalry between the two establishments, leading to a clash of cultures and cuisines. However, Hassan Kadam (played by Manish Dayal), the young and talented chef of the Kadam family, becomes a bridge between the two worlds. He develops his skills in both Indian and French cuisine, finding a balance between the flavors of his homeland and the refined techniques of French cooking. Along the way, he forms a romantic connection with Marguerite (played by Charlotte Le Bon), a sous chef at Madame Mallory's restaurant.

The Hundred Foot Journey (2014)

Movie Guide: Summary/Vocabulary/10 Questions

Questions & Answers

Drhale's social science survival store.

• We're hiring
• Help & FAQ
• Privacy policy
• Student privacy
• Terms of service
• Tell us what you think