Tagged: Food Porn

Review – The Hundred-Foot Journey (2014)

Director: Lasse Hallström

Starring: Manish Dayal, Helen Mirren, Om Puri, Charlotte Le Bon

Hundred-Foot JourneyLasse Hallström’s The Hundred-Foot Journey is based on Richard C. Morais’ bestselling novel about rival restaurants in rural France. But for a seemingly quaint little movie, The Hundred-Foot Journey has some heavy hitters behind it, with Steven Spielberg and Oprah Winfrey acting as producers (Morais’ novel had previously featured in Oprah’s magazine as a “favourite summer read”).

The Kadam family, having fled political violence in India, ruffle some feathers upon their arrival in a provincial French town by opening an Indian restaurant directly across the road from Madame Mallory’s Le Saul Pleurer. While Le Saul Pleurer may have a Michelin star, Papa Kadam has no fear, because Madame Mallory’s restaurant does not have his son, Hassan, whom he believes is the best Indian cook in Europe. What starts out as a bitter rivalry becomes a close friendship as Mallory takes Hassan under her wing, turning him from a great cook into a great chef.

Exploring the soul of food, and the connection of food and family, there is not a lot of new ground being covered here. Hallström himself has previously explored the prejudices of a small French town being broken down with food in Chocolat, and the last couple of years have seen British films like The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel and Slumdog Millionaire taking an interest in Indian culture. But while The Hundred-Foot Journey may not overly original, it is charmingly executed.

The story is very reliant on racial stereotypes, albeit endearingly portrayed racial stereotypes. The French are uptight and culturally elitist. The Indians are loud and colourful. The Hundred-Foot Journey is about a clash of cultures. The journey of the title refers to the hundred feet from the Kadam’s restaurant to Mallory’s, and just as Hassan’s cooking crosses the divide between these seemingly incompatible cultures, so too do the friendships that are forged.

While this is technically a film about Hassan, it is the rivalry and then friendship between Papa and Madame Mallory that is most endearing, with Helen Mirren and Om Puri sharing wonderful on-screen chemistry. Unfortunately, the film loses its trajectory at the 90 minute mark, as the third act puts the other characters to one side in favour of pursuing Hassan’s journey as a celebrity chef in Paris. This section of the film lacks the sweet tone of the first two acts and starts to drag a bit before it is pulled back into line.

With not quite as many gratuitous, mouth-watering images of Indian and French cuisine as the food-porn addicts might have been hoping for, The Hundred-Foot Journey is The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel meets Chocolat, but losing its steam a bit towards the end means it doesn’t end up being quite as good as either.

Rating: ★★★☆

Review by Duncan McLean

Have you seen The Hundred-Foot Journey? Leave a comment and let us know what you thought.

Review – Chef (2014)

Director: Jon Favreau

Starring: Jon Favreau, Emjay Anthony, John Leguizamo, Sofia Vergara, Bobby Cannavale, Scarlett Johansson, Oliver Platt, Dustin Hoffman, Robert Downey Jr.

ChefJon Favreau started his career as an indie sensation with Swingers and Made, but the overwhelming success of Iron Man in 2008 drew him into the world of the blockbuster. With Chef the talented writer/director/actor returns to his independent roots.

Favreau plays Carl Casper, a highly regarded but burned out Los Angeles chef. His career took off ten years earlier as a result of a glowing review from influential food critic Ramsey Michel, but since then he has fallen into a bit of a rut. The news that Ramsey is going to return to his restaurant for the first time since that original review inspires Casper to plan an exciting new menu especially for the critic. But the restaurant’s owner steps in, insisting that the chef cook the existing menu, that he play the hits. The result is a scathing review which starts a Twitter war between chef and critic, ending in Casper losing his job. On a trip to Miami to clear his head with his ex-wife, Inez, and son, Percy, Casper buys and refurbishes an old taco truck. With his son and sous chef, Martin, by his side he drives and cooks his way back to Los Angeles, via New Orleans and Austin.

It is hard not to read this film as at some level allegorical. Is this really the story of a successful movie director who longs to make films that inspire him and that he is proud of, but is convinced by the studios that pay the bills to stick to the tried and tested and give the people what they want, only to then be slammed by the critics for being tired and unoriginal? Whether Favreau intends for Chef to be read as somewhat autobiographical or not, one thing is for sure, his heart and soul are completely in this film.

Chef has the feel of a passion project. This is a film that was made because Favreau wanted to make it, needed to make it, not because any studio was demanding it. Clearly there have been some favours called in, with previous collaborators like Robert Downey Jr and Scarlett Johansson appearing in smaller roles and giving the film some weight by association. But that passion pays off. Chef is so vibrant and alive. The food, the flavours, and the Cuban inspired soundtrack all combine with Favreau’s passion to create a film with a real sense of joy.

A word of warning: Chef is not a film to see on an empty stomach. Favreau has clearly not only learned to cook food (he was tutored by Chef Roy Choi), he has also learned how to shoot food. The food in Chef looks amazing. There is even a scene where Casper makes a grilled cheese sandwich for Percy which is somehow made to look like the most delicious thing in the world.

Yet while Chef works as pure food porn, the film has enough heart to ensure that it is more than just that. As well as being a celebration of food and cooking, Chef is about the reconnection of a father and a son. There is a great chemistry between Favreau and Emjay Anthony, the young actor who plays his son. As writer, director and performer, Favreau clearly has a great affection for this character and delivers the best performance of his career, and the ten-year-old Anthony gives an impressively natural performance, particularly in the scenes with Favreau and Leguizamo which would appear to be quite improvised.

Once the truck has been collected Chef becomes a meandering road trip, a film about taking the time to engage with your family, your friends, and your passions. A deceptively simple story, the film finishes quite abruptly, but that is not surprising because there is very little that needs resolving. Chef is an endearing celebration of food, cooking, creativity, passion and family which you can’t help but embrace.

Rating: ★★★★

Review by Duncan McLean

Have you seen Chef? Leave a comment and let us know what you thought.