Yes, I have finally seen The Hundred Foot Journey. I went to see it with my daughter before leaving Boston. I was so enthralled by seeing St. Antonin on film that it was hard for me to fully judge the merits of the storyline. My daughter however, really liked it & I was happy to speak to others that had enjoyed it as well.
For me watching the film was more about remembering the experience. I feel so fortunate to have had the opportunity to watch from the sidelines as this film was being made.
I was really excited to see the scenes that I had been right there to see in production. I could not help whispering to my daughter, "I was right over there".
I loved seeing the actors playing their roles
& remembering how I had seen them on the set
preparing for & preforming these same scenes, as well as laughing, & enter-acting with the cast & crew on the set.
It was fun to watch the credits & realize that I had seen many of these very talented film makers working on their craft.
Knowing that I had gotten to see director Lasse Hallström in action was a real thrill.
It was funny to see the familiar places in St. Antonin so transformed. I did feel that the film gave the town an overly quaint, almost cutesy look that to my mind took away from St. Antonin's true beauty.
But none-the-less it was fun to think that just days before I had been sitting in the very same café that I was now seeing on the big screen.
Of course much of the film was the figment of imaginative film making & computer generated magic. Locations that are far from St. Antonin were made to look like the local landscape for example.
I happened to see on the internet that some people were asking if these restaurants really exist. To be clear, no, they do not, both are completely fictional. Not only was one only a false front in many of the scenes but they were not located anywhere near St. Antonin. I especially thought it was funny to see the long shots of the two restaurants with St. Antonin in the distance. That was indeed the magic of cinema.
All in all it was wonderful to see the lovely town of St. Antonin so beautifully portrayed in this very sweet film.
I am linking my impressions of The Hundred Foot Journey to Paulita's weekly meme
