This 'n That Thursdays: Two Movies Worth Watching That Feature Indian Cuisine

From Cedars Restaurant

Because my sister is still incapacitated by her recent emergency surgery, we have been watching a lot of movies lately while she recuperates.  A couple of days ago we watched two movies which featured Indian cuisine and spices.  Both movies were well made and worth seeing, and I happen to love Indian food precisely because of the wondrous variety of spices used.  Without further ado, here are the two movies we viewed:

From DVDs Release Dates

1) The Hundred-Foot Journey (2014)

This movie was directed by Lasse Hallström, who also directed the 2000 movie Chocolat (another favorite of mine), so it is not surprising that food is featured.  In this movie, an Indian family who suffered a tragic loss in their native country emigrate to Europe and end up settling in France.  The patriarch of the family finds an abandoned restaurant for sale and makes the purchase, despite the fact that a well-respected French restaurant is located just across the street (the "hundred-foot journey" referred to in the title is the distance between the two restaurants).

At first the woman who owns the French restaurant (portrayed by Helen Mirren) is openly hostile to the Indian family, but soon a truce is declared, and she even offers an apprenticeship to one of the sons, a uniquely talented chef who longs to expand his options in the restaurant world.  The movie mainly follows the career of this young man, but there are also many interesting characters and situations in this movie, not to mention scenes of fabulous dishes being created.  If you are a fan of Lasse Hallström, you will like this pleasant movie, although it is a bit predictable.

From Moviefone

2) The Mistress of Spices (2005)

This movie is a sort of fantasy romance.  A young Indian girl named Tilo with special abilities tragically loses her family but is found and raised by an elderly woman who trains young girls to become "mistresses of spices", women who learn the art of diagnosing people's problems and prescribing the appropriate spices to treat them.  The young women are sent all over the world to practice their art, and Tilo is sent to the San Francisco area.  She runs the "Spice Bazaar" shop by herself, and must follow several principles in the process.  She can never leave the store, never touch or be touched by another person, and must always use the spices for the good of her customers but never for herself.

Of course complications arise when she meets a young man to whom she is attracted, and the movie follows her journey as she deals with her personal life while attempting to maintain her rather mystical practice with the spices.  The most fascinating part of the film is the amazing spice shop, which is even more beautiful, mysterious, and fascinating than the young woman herself.  This storyline is also rather predictable, but any spice lover like myself will find the shop scenes irresistible.

🍛🍛🍛🍛🍛🍛🍛🍛🍛🍛🍛🍛🍛🍛🍛🍛🍛🍛🍛🍛🍛🍛

If you find yourself stuck indoors for a while with nothing better to do, get yourself some takeout Indian food and settle in to watch these enjoyable movies!

From Pari Authentic Indian Cuisine