2014 has been the year for wonderfully done, high-end production action films, Maleficent, Captain America, The Amazing Spiderman 2, and Guardians of the Galaxy, are just a few that come to mind. We have been challenged by magnum opi of future dystopian
calamities: #SnowPiercer, ThePurge, and #Divurgent headed the list.
With THE HUNDRED-FOOT JOURNEY, we have a film that deals with high end cooking, that has not an echo of Julia Child, but more of a call for humanity coming together & dropping the increasingly archaic notion that tribal association is more important than being humane. Helen Mirran, who has ruled in films as Queen Elizabeth II, operates an an Absolute Monarch, unyielding to a point of being a food terrorist. Then, something happens as she reflects upon the harm that her actions have had upon others, and she rediscovers the most important concept of any government by entitlement: noblesse oblige. Her recovery of that nearly lost concept brings about her Redemption & the rest all falls into place. Their could be no Queen without a court, and that court was superbly played by Om Puri, Manish Dayal, and Charlette Le Bon. Two striking different cultures find that they may, indeed, break bread together–and it’s not #WonderBread, but bread of wonder that makes them all see their place in the world a bit differently.
This is the simple story of how we eat makes us who we are–not just on a nutritional level, but it also embraces the cultural & ritualistic traditions that have been bestowed on us by centuries of our own agricultural & animal-hunting/food gathering history. Lasse Hallström has, to extend the metaphor, put the right ingredients into the recipe for this film, making it one of the more delightful departures from a plethora of well-done action films for 2014. See this, and eat well!
YOU TUBE TRAILER OF THE HUNDRED-FOOT JOURNEY–SO CLOSE, BUT SO FAR AWAY FROM EACH OTHER
Of course, Her Imperial Highness was inspired to become an instant expert in all manner of cuisine upon watching this fine film.
Being a perfectionist in all things, Princess Melita Bonaparte immediately went through a total immersion process (sort of like the Baptists, but more so) in learning about which wine to serve to which whiner. This is a skill that is a religious experience, it is more a way of life, like being BORN AGAIN. She took her cooking classes & will be the first Queen of Serbia to be a sou chef.
You must realise that it takes more than just cooking school to make a sou chef! If you don’t understand this, then you must go back & watch the film many, many more times. Buying just the right produce is just as important as how you cook what Mother Earth brings forth.
Growing up in the splendour of palaces was ”just another challenge for me, ” according to #PrincessMelitaBonaparte. As the #MostBeautifulWomanintheWorld, she considered it her duty to learn how to buy just the right food to serve to her people. “You are what you eat, ” The Princess intoned.
“I refused any special treatment because of my rank,” explained the Princess. “I was not entitled to wear the cap of Sou Chef until I had proven worthy of it. Now, it has the same value for me as my as my inherited tiaras from so many of my Loyal Peoples. I will now be able to serve them well on many levels.”
Thomas Outt 