"The Hundred-Foot Journey" to Foody Paradise

From a young age, Hassan Kadam (Manish Dayal) was schooled in the art of savoring traditional Indian cooking by his mother. She taught him that food has a soul that holds cherished memories. When his family loses their restaurant and his beloved teacher in a political riot, the Kadams flee India for France. Papa Kadam (Om Puri) sees it as a sign when their brakes give out outside of Saint-Antonin-Noble-Val. A kind stranger, Marguerite, (Charlotte Le Bon) tows them to the village and shares the bounties of her garden with the hungry migrants. They can taste the soul in the local produce. Ignoring the protests of his frustrated children, Papa Kadam immediately sets up an Indian restaurant featuring his talented son as head cook.

“The Hundred-Foot Journey” across the street leads to Madame Mallory’s (Helen Mirren) acclaimed French restaurant (where Marguerite also works as a sous-chef). Their rivalry escalates to all-out war. Despite being on opposite sides of the warring factions, Hassan and Marguerite can’t deny their common passion for food. They put great care into their cooking. Food is more than nourishment, it is love: comforting, healing, and sensual. Sharing it bonds families and communities. It can even bridge cultures. But they get so caught up in the competition for fame and success, that they lose track of love.

This film is a foody’s feel good paradise. But it has more to say. It touches on our fear of outsiders and celebrates what immigrants bring to their host country. It shows how people from different cultures can find common ground.

curry omelette

In an interview about the film, executive producer Oprah Winfrey expanded, "Food blends cultures and allows us to have just a little peek into someone else's life... It is about a hundred foot divide between cultures." Winfrey chose the book on which the film is based as a "favorite summer read" in 2010. She said, "It’s about human beings coming to understand other human beings and more importantly, after you get to experience or step into somebody else’s shoes or see them for a real human being, how you understand that you’re really more alike than you are different.”

Partaking of this sweet confection, we get a chance to savor the pleasures we all enjoy: lush vibrant landscapes, delectable cuisine, funny family quirks, and the thrill of a first kiss. The very act of sharing cultural traditions removes the barriers that separate us.

Movie blessings!
Jana Segal
reelinspiration.blogspot.com

Celebrate Martin Luther King Day with, "Selma"

I went away from the screening feeling empowered to write an inspiring review of Best Picture Nominee, “Selma.” I was deeply moved by the image of marchers from diverse religions, black and white, standing together against injustice and inhumanity. These people risked their lives for the rights we enjoy today. And the themes are still so relevant in this time of racial discord and disillusionment with those in power. 

After a two hour bus ride home, I was struggling to remember what I was going to write. I knew I wanted to include an excerpt from Martin Luther King’s closing speech at Montgomery, so I googled it. I was shocked to find that it wasn't King's actual words. I was appalled that the African-American filmmakers (including Oprah!) couldn't get the rights to use the speeches because of copyright laws. Doesn't Martin Luther King's legacy belong to all of us? The rights had been sold to a rich white man. Steven Spielberg will probably do justice to Martin Luther King’s life as he did with, “Schindler’s List.” But the symbolism is still disheartening – a rich white man buying up intellectual property for his vision of Martin Luther King. I was so thrown that I couldn't face writing this for days. 

Then there was the unwarranted controversy around the accuracy of the film's depiction of President Lyndon Johnson as a deterrent to the march at Selma. Personally, I feel that filmmakers have a responsibility to be truthful in capturing important historical events. I listened to director Ava DuVernay‘s explanation that, "Selma," was her artistic vision. She suggested that people research it for themselves. I took up the challenge and found that President Johnson's involvement was not black and white. He was first and foremost a Southern politician. While he may have intended to pass the civil rights law, he was cautious not to lose too many voters. I believe that the movie is DuVernay's honest take on the events. Her vision is to invite the audience into the spirit of the movement from the point of view of its black protagonists. Yes, protagonists - plural. It was greater than just one man. It was a community coming together to figure out the best way to accomplish their civil rights objectives.

The movie shows how African-Americans were humiliated, threatened with losing their jobs, beaten or even killed for attempting to vote in the South. A group of civil rights activists, including Martin Luther King (David Oyelowo), decide that the best course of action is to fight for the unobstructed right to vote. King meets with President Johnson (Tom Wilkinson) to request that he pass the Voting Rights Act. But the president’s goal is to keep a handle on the civil rights movement and he is interested in uncovering King’s next course of action. He claims that there is too much on his plate, including fighting poverty, to pass a Voting Rights Act.

The activists decide to bring attention to the issue by holding a non-violent demonstration in Selma, Alabama. As the protesters kneel down before Sheriff Jim Clark, a police officer strikes an elderly man who has difficulty kneeling. When two protesters intervene to protect the man, the police respond with a vicious attack. The protesters flee, but the policemen are unrelenting in their pursuit. One young man helps his family escape into a restaurant, where they pretend to be eating. The policemen track them down and shoot the young man in cold blood. Spurred on by this tragedy, the community rallies together. They organize a non-violent march from Selma.

Governor Wallace commissions Sheriff Jim Clark to teach them a lesson. When the peaceful marchers reach the end of a Edmund Pettus Bridge, Sheriff Jim Clark is waiting. He sics his armed state troopers on them. The nation watches, horrified, as the marchers are savagely beaten as white citizens cheer from the sidelines. Martian Luther King sends out a call to his fellow clergy to stand with him when they march again. Moved by the inhumanity, they come to show their support. It is inspiring to see black and white people from all religions joining arms and standing together.

 

The reason I wanted to include the excerpt from 

his Montgomery speech is that it still rings true today. Martin Luther King educates the nation on how after the emancipation, the Southern aristocracy was afraid of the freed slaves organizing with the poor whites for better working conditions, so they passed the Jim Crow segregation laws to separate them. The inherent message was no matter how low the white man was, the blacks were lower. (This is similar to the way our current politicians use undocumented immigrants as scapegoats, blaming them for causing the recession by taking the poor man’s jobs. Eighteen billion dollars was spent last year on immigrant enforcement. In Arizona, they passed a law that takes away our rights. Policemen can stop us on the street to ask for our papers. Of course, it is only brown-skinned people that they stop. Arizona has also disregarded the Voting Rights Act by requiring identification in order to vote.)

Witnessing the inhumane treatment of the marchers in Selma created more understanding of the plight of African Americans - which allowed President Lyndon Johnson to finally pass the Voting Rights Act in 1965. I hope that witnessing these events in, "Selma," will remind us of the difficult battle that was waged to achieve these rights, so we won’t allow them to be taken away.

Movie blessings!
Jana Segal
www.reelinspiration.blogspot.com

Fueled by Ava DuVernay's treatment, I wrote, "Incredible Invisible Women Filmmakers." Read more about it in Scott Mendelson's excellent article, "Why Ava DuVernay's "Selma" Oscar Snub Matters."


OSCAR UPDATE:

"Selma," was honored with the Best Song Oscar for, "Glory," by songwriters Common and John Legend. They made the most of the opportunity with this powerful rendition at the Oscar ceremony.

"PRECIOUS" and "THE MESSENGER"

From Despair to Hope

Two powerful, acclaimed films, "Precious," and, "The Messenger," have heart-achingly honest performances that express the strength of the human spirit to move through despair to hope.

The synopsis of, "Precious," couldn't be more depressing. Precious, (Gabourey "Gabby" Sidibe) an obese thirteen year old, is pregnant for the second time with her father's child. Her mother (Mo'Nique) treats her as less than a servant, beating her and constantly reminding her that she is nothing. We get a glimpse of the girl's spirit as Precious escapes into her dreams of being a glamorous star. At school Precious is pretty much invisible aside from being teased for her weight. But there is one teacher who recognizes her potential in math. When Precious is kicked out of school, he recommends that she be placed in a alternative school. Her new teacher (Paula Patton) asks Precious how she felt about introducing herself to the class and Precious says she feels, "Here." The teacher assigns her a journal where she expresses herself for the first time. Precious finds the strength to get an education and keep her baby even as the abuse intensifies at home.

It is a minor miracle and a credit to director Lee Daniels, screenwriter Geoffrey Fletcher, and actress Gabby Sidibe that you leave the theater actually feeling hopeful. The film demonstrates the transforming power of having one person - in this case a teacher - who believes in you. Precious illustrates the strength of the human spirit to survive extreme abuse and find hope.

In, "In the Messenger," war "hero" Will Montgomery (Ben Foster) returns from Iraq and is assigned to the Army's casualty notification service. He has not gotten any grief counseling since receiving his own battle wounds - just a quick lesson in protocol from his jaded partner Tony Stone (Woody Harrelson) who instructs the soldier to avoid physical contact or hugging the N.O.K. (next of kin.) Ben assures him, "I'm not going to be offering any hugs."

Will has come home to a lonely apartment and an empty life. (When he went off to war he broke up with his girlfriend.) He diligently carries out his duty, but the grief of the families of the deceased hits close to home. He finds himself drawn to a widow with a brave facade. Her husband's story brings out his own neglected issues. Will his "war scars" heal so he can be a decent husband and father? Or should he reenlist because war is the only thing he is still good for? Somehow he finds the strength to choose life. "The Messenger," shows the resiliency of the human spirit to move through grief to hope.

Movie blessings!
Jana Segal
www.reelinspiration.blogspot.com

OSCAR ALERT:

Mo'Nique won Best Supporting Actress, Geoffrey Fletcher won Best Adapted Screenplay

"The Great Debaters"

"The Great Debaters," is easily the most inspiring, empowering movie of the year. I nearly floated out of the theater. I actually encouraged people in the ticket line not to miss it.

"The Great Debaters," directed by Denzel Washington and produced by Oprah, is Hollywood all the way. It is an empowering underdog story inspired by the true story of how the debating team from the small African American institution of Wiley College won the 1935 National Debating Championship. Outstanding performances by Denzel Washington and Forest Whitaker make the picture.

The film, set in Texas during the Great Depression, starts out with hectic bits of activity to establish the setting, but it doesn't seem to match the tone of the rest of the picture. In fact, it moved so fast before I had a chance to catch my bearings, that I didn't catch much of it at all.

But soon enough we're in the classroom studying revolutionary ideas from the writers of the Harlem Renaissance with Professor Tolson. Denzel's passionate delivery is reminiscent of Robin William's in "Dead Poets Society. I suspect that Professor Tolson was much more interesting, controversial, and radical than the man presented here. However, it is so moving to hear these important ideas spoken by a African American teacher to African American students at a time when there was still lynching in their part of the country.

The film doesn't back down from the racism of the time. In fact, its an ongoing theme. The film asks if the power of words can really make any difference in the face of violent acts of racism.

The script adheres so tightly to formula that I knew that something bad had to follow the debating team's success. Despite being aware of this writing device, I was so involved in the story that I was actually afraid of what would happen to the characters next.

Through his example, Professor Tolson inspires his students to speak up for what is right despite how it might conflict with their personal lives or the dangerous world around them. Debate all you want about it, but don't miss this important story.

Please, send a message to Hollywood that you want more empowering films like, "The Great Debaters," by attending it on opening weekend and encouraging your friends to do the same.

Movie Blessings,
Jana Segal
www.reelinspiration.blogspot.com/