To view this page ensure that Adobe Flash Player version 11.1.0 or greater is installed.
December 3, 2014 THE VILLADOM TIMES I • Page 21 Film explores what happens when traditions clash Hassan (Manish Dayal) and Madame Mallory (Helen Mirren) share an affection for fine cuisine in ‘The Hundred-Foot Journey.’ by Dennis Seuling “The Hundred-Foot Journey” is about the clash of traditions. Directed by Lasse Hallstrom, it is a gentle film about the problems and conflicts of real people. Forced to leave their home in India when their restaurant is destroyed, the Kadam family settles in a small village in France. Papa (Om Puri), discovers a property for sale where he believes he can make a suc- cessful new restaurant with his son Hassan (Manish Dayal) as chef and his four other children pitching in. Across the road, how- ever, is the Michelin-starred restaurant run by Madame Mallory (Helen Mirren), an aloof woman who prides herself on serving exquisitely prepared classic French dishes. She regards her new neighbors, their cui- sine, their informal style, and their restau- rant — Maison Mumbai — with disdain. Mirren shows two sides of Madame Mallory. Her coolness and intractability are not the entire portrait. A softer facet reveals itself gradually as the film unfolds. Steven Knight’s script provides some crisp dialogue and situations that dramatically alter Madame’s perception of the Kadams. Puri plays a shrewd businessman with a vision of the future and resolute determina- tion. In Papa, Madame Mallory has met her match. This elderly gentleman is perhaps the first person ever to take her on, and she is thrown off balance by the challenge. Yet there is never any doubt that, at heart, Papa Kadam is sweet and gentle. Charlotte Le Bon plays Marguerite, a bright young aspiring chef in Madame’s kitchen who shares Hassan’s love of fine food preparation. She provides some point- ers on French cuisine to Hassan, and even- tually they fall in love. Since their families, so to speak, are rivals, their relationship has a Capulet-Montague feel. Bonuses on the Blu-ray release include an interview with producers Oprah Win- frey and Steven Spielberg, a making-of featurette, a digital copy, and a video illus- trating how the Indian-inspired dish coco- nut chicken is made. “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes” (20th Century-Fox) takes place 10 years after humans have been nearly wiped out. The apes have built a thriving community in the deep forest. The chimpanzee Caesar (Andy Serkis) has a family: wife Cornelia (Judy Greer), teen son Blue Eyes (Nick Thur- ston), and a baby on the way. Former adver- sary Koba (Toby Kebbell) has become an ally, while aging orangutan Maurice (Karin Konnoval) mentors the young and serves as adviser to the adults. In this post-pandemic world, there are pockets of surviving humans. A small group, consisting of architect Malcolm (Jason Clarke), former Centers for Dis- ease Control nurse Ellie (Keri Russell), and Malcolm’s teenage son, Alexander (Kodi Smit-McPhee), hope to reactivate a deserted power plant on the apes’ turf to provide electricity. Caesar gives permis- sion, provided all guns are surrendered. The actors portraying the apes far out- shine those portraying humans. Computer- generated images are seamlessly blended with superior makeup that enables the actors to convey emotion. The apes com- municate via simple sign language, trans- lated in subtitles. Serkis (Gollum in “The Lord of the Rings” films) has probably the most expressive eyes in movies today. His pres- ence is so commanding that viewers’ eyes are glued to him whenever he is on screen. His close-ups convey exactly what Casesar is thinking, particularly when confronted with unanticipated problems. Caesar is believable as a leader because of Serkis’ compelling work. Also amazing is Kebbell’s Koba, a crea- ture who was tortured by humans in lab experiments, bears the scars, and is dis- trustful of humans. Kebbell gives Koba an intimidating personality. “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes” is available in 3D Blu-ray/Blu-ray, standard Blu-ray, and a double-feature DVD that combines “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes” with “Planet of the Apes.” The Blu-ray edi- tions contain a digital copy. “Cantinflas” (Lionsgate) is the true story of Mexico’s most famous comedy film star, known in this country mostly for “Around the Word in 80 Days” (1956), in which he starred as Passepartout, Phileas Fogg’s right-hand man and the movie’s comic relief. “Cantinflas” focuses on the period in his life when Broadway producer Mike Todd (Michael Imperioli) decides to make his Hollywood debut with a big-budget, all- star production of the Jules Verne novel. Though he rose to fame in the 1940s and never starred in silent pictures, Cantinflas is often compared to Charlie Chaplin. Like Chaplin, he adopted ragged clothes, baggy pants, an undersized hat, a bandana, and two tiny bits of mustache, and played the wise-cracking peasant who gets the best of the bureaucracy and upper-class soci- ety types with his sharp, witty patter. He appeared in 55 films. Oscar Jaenada does an impressive job channeling the real Cantinflas and director Sebastian Del Amo nicely establishes the era in which Cantinflas lived. The film is (continued on page 26)