"Food is memories," Mumbai-born Hassan Kadam (Manish Dayal) says, while explaining to the beautiful French chef Marguerite (Charlotte Le Bon) that his favorite dish is one cooked by his late mother. Though the "Hundred-Foot Journey" plot of East-meets-West feels familiar, the surprising meld of scenes featuring exhilarating Indian dishes and classic French cuisine weaves together a story of two worlds colliding.

The nationalistic French are not very welcoming to immigrants and it seems this was even truer in the past. Fleeing the violence of Mumbai after a tragic loss to the family, Hassan the cook, his father (Om Puri), and four siblings head to Europe in search of a new home and potentially a place to rebuild a restaurant in the ashes of their Mumbai establishment. After driving through the hills of Europe, an accident forces them to spend a night in a quaint French village, where the townspeople are unfamiliar with people who don't look like them.

Hassan's father decides to build a restaurant in an abandoned building, which just so happens to be across the street from a restaurant with a Michelin star - one hundred feet across the street, to be exact. The restaurant is owned by Madame Mallory (Helen Mirren), a strict traditionalist, who must learn to coexist with the incoming large, loud, and bright Indian family, complete with bumping music and pungent curry.

But Madame Mallory soon recognizes the talent and potential in Hassan, and the young cook must choose between family and career.

Peppered with mouth-watering shots of diverse dishes from mutton masala to beef bourguignon, "Hundred-Foot Journey" balances the spicy colors of Indian food with the delicate subtleties that is famously French cuisine. Hassan himself finds a way to bring the two worlds together - not just in his food, but with the people he grows to love.

The true message of this vibrant film is to be open to change while staying true to your roots. Hassan's identity comes from cooking with fresh ingredients around him - hand-picked mushrooms from the forest near the village, fresh tomatoes grown in the backyard, and seafood from the town's local market. The moment he no longer feels a deep connection to where the food has come from and how it fell into his hands, he loses himself. And when he isn't with his family, he is no longer the person he wants to be. Food and family keep him grounded - food and family is his identity.

In many ways, I've experienced this too. When you cook for yourself, there is joy but there is no love. When you cook with ingredients and for people that you care about, suddenly there is an added attachment to the dish you are making.

Mirren does a fantastic job playing a complex character and is easily the highlight of the film - no surprise there - and her interactions with the vivacious Puri are easily the best scenes in "Hundred-Foot Journey." Madame Mallory is a woman that must be in control; she wants to be the best at what she knows. But she is also a kind and accepting woman, who wants nothing more than a sense of belonging. And above all, she wants good food and good chefs to be recognized.

Though the storyline dragged at times, I continued to feel connected to the film because I was drawn to Hassan and his large, thoughtful eyes and I wanted to see what funny line Puri would spout out next. Puri reminded me of an uncle that manages to embarrass everyone around him, but must be appreciated for his honesty and passion.

The cooking scenes in "Hundred-Foot Journey" are perfectly shot and would make even a moviegoer with a belly full of popcorn salivate. I could have enjoyed twice as many scenes of the delicious food on the big screen.

Hassan's journey as a chef teaches us a good lesson: good food can bring people together as soon as their hearts are just as open as their hungry mouths.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars.