Hassan (Chand) is just 7 when his family is driven out of their home in India, taking refuge in Europe. Years later, Hassan (now Dayal) has continued to develop his prodigious gift for cooking, and his Papa (Puri) chooses a small French village to re-open the family restaurant with his five kids. But the new Indian eatery is just across the road from the Michelin-starred restaurant owned by the imperious Madame Mallory (Mirren), who declares war on Papa. Meanwhile, Hassan develops an interest in French cuisine as he falls for sous-chef Marguerite (Le Bon).

So far, so predictable. Thankfully, things take an unusual turn when Mallory becomes reluctantly intrigued by Hassan's genius in the kitchen. And while the rest of the story plays out with the same painfully obvious style of filmmaking, it's at least written with some intriguing insight. The main problem is that Hallstrom makes everything so wistful that there's never a sense that it was actually shot in France. It's even more glowingly chocolate-boxy than his 2000 food-fest Chocolat.

And then there's the casting. There are so many great French actresses that Mirren's presence feels rather cynical. She's superb, but the role is hardly a stretch. And the same can be said for Puri, who is the right age but looks more like this family's grandfather than their father. Meanwhile, Dayal is directed to an oddly insipid performance. This is clearly Hallstrom's doing, not Dayal's, as Hassan's intensely personal odyssey is reduced to mere smile-happy/frown-sad moments.

Thankfully, scenes are punctuated by mouth-watering food and another lively score by AR Rahman (who else?). So even if the French countryside looks like it was drawn digitally, at least the textures of the vegetables and sauces are tantalising. And while Hassan and Marguerite's romance plays out with the usual inevitability, it still raises a lump in the throat. As does the story about the value of immigrants in closed-off communities that think the old ways are always better.

themes, some violence

21.Aug.14