by Andrew Chalk
The plot of The Hundred-Foot Journey is fairly straightforward. Displaced from his home in India and finding England too cold, ‘Papa’ Kadam (Om Puri) takes his family on an odyssey across Europe. An auto accident lands them in southwest France in the unbelievably picturesque village of Saint-Antonin-Noble-Val where he is enamored with the architecture of a derelict château and resolves it to be the site of his new restaurant, Maison Mumbai.
The problem is that it is right across the road (just 100 feet) from the distinguished restaurant Le Saule Pleureur, owned by the formidable Madame Mallory (Helen Mirren). A widow who, we learn, runs her restaurant solely for a coveted second Michelin star. Her protests against the interloper lead to an escalating (but comical) war between the establishments. Continue reading
