There are few things in the world that can provide both an intimacy and a passion to a person the way food can. With a subdued power, food can catapult us to a blissful state as our taste buds herald the trip. The quickness in the way food affects us is astounding. I can personally attest to the fact that food has a calming affect on me. Not one to eat at high end fancy places; I am attracted to restaurants that provide easy comfort. Sitting down with someone to share a meal is so personal for me. The experience can provide a fond memory, joyfulness, a sense of kinship; any and all of these can be shared between the diners. I think that is one of the reasons why I thoroughly enjoy having people over to my place for dinner. The energy that forms in the house when people are present is usually one of peacefulness. The dining room table is a wonderful place to ignite and foster ideas when individuals are seated around it.    FOOD can be the common denominator between people from all over the world; however, it was not the case in this caloric drama. Helen Mirren (The Queen, Hitchcock) played Madame Mallory, the owner to one of the finest restaurants in the south of France. When a family from India decided to open up a restaurant directly across the street from her establishment, Madame Mallory took it upon herself to be the savior of French cuisine by eliminating, in her opinion, the poor competition. Even if I was not a fan of Helen Mirren, I would still say she was just perfect in this role. She oozed with the haughty, better than thou attitude one would expect in such a fine restaurant; she was worth the price of admission to see this beautiful film. While the exterior scenes were gorgeous to watch, the interior scenes filled with food made me hungry. I read somewhere the director Lasse Hallstrom (Dear John, Chocolat) used real food for all the scenes and it certainly looked good to me. Along with Helen the important characters in the cast were Manish Dayal (The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, White Frog) as Hassan, Om Puri (Gandhi, Colour it Yellow) as Papa Kadam and Charlotte Le Bon (Mood Indigo, La Marche) as Marguerite. Though I enjoyed watching this movie, the story did not offer anything new for me; it was very predictable. There were a few amusing parts, but a couple I found bordered on being offensive due to their stereotyping. If it was not for the cast I do not think this film would have been as enjoyable to watch, even though it was certainly fun seeing all the food preparations.

2 1/2 stars