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Jan 11, 2023 · January 11, 2023 5:23pm. Juno Films. Like most art lovers, the prolific filmmaker Lasse Hallström had never heard of the prolific painter Hilma af Klint (1862-1944) until recently. Af Klint was ...
Mar 30, 2023 · Lasse Hallström's spirited 'Hilma' features his daughter Tora in an impressive turn as Swedish abstract artist Hilma af Klint. ... Hallström mostly strikes a nice balance between approachability ...
- A five-course meal.
- Verdict
By Matt Patches
Posted: Aug 8, 2014 1:58 am
Director Lasse Hallström is in the “nice” movie business. With a knack for drama (What's Eating Gilbert Grape, Cider House Rules) and romance (Salmon Fishing in the Yemen, Chocolat, and two Nicholas Sparks adaptations), the Swedish filmmaker routinely braves the dangerous waters of sentimentality to tell stories of nice people surviving not-so-nice realities.
The Hundred-Foot Journey is quintessential Hallström. A fairy tale of compassion and good taste, the adaptation of Richard C. Morais' novel is assembled from familiar ingredients into dramatic comfort food. The conflict between two feuding restaurants -- a Michelin-starred establishment known for haute cuisine and a tattered Indian food upstart struggling to make it work across the street, exactly 100 feet apart -- comes and goes, never that dire, never tainting the warm and fuzzy confection Hallström whips up from his recipe book. Produced by Steven Spielberg and Oprah Winfrey, Hallström designs The Hundred-Foot Journey to provoke smiles, tears, and stomach growls. It's not filling, but it's tasty.
“Breaks break for a reason,” Papa (Om Puri) tells his son Hassan (Manish Dayal), recounting his late wife's words of wisdom. Retreating with his family from the political strife of India to Europe, Papa embraces fate when his family's rundown van peters out in a small, French village. Despite his family's insistence of fixing up the clunker and hightailing it to a big city, Papa's smells opportunity. He wants to resurrect the restaurant he was forced to close in India and a rundown building opposite the fanciest fine dining within 50 miles might be the place. The previous owners couldn't compete with Le Saule Pleureur, managed by the ruthless perfectionist, Madame Mallory (Helen Mirren). But Papa has a secret weapon for “Maison Mumbai”: Hassan.
Writer Steven Knight (Locke, Eastern Promises) kneads a handful of plots into The Hundred-Foot Journey's rambling narrative. At first, Hassan and his father butt heads with Mallory in the simplest ways possible. They squabble at the market, buying up each other's ingredients to derail the daily menu. They hurl zoning law complaints in hopes of shutting down business, even for one day. They bicker from afar, Hallström lighting up literal flames courtesy of nearby grills to accentuate the misplaced rage. This is war. But Knight and Hallström reject the sitcomy competition's simplicity, spending only a fraction of the film's two-hour run time on the movie-sized thread, opening up cultural friction and unlikely symbiosis to all the surrounding possibilities.
The Hundred-Foot Journey's non-confrontational approach may not sit well for those in need of a hardy meal. The film is a series of delicate courses, dragging when the meat's a bit undercooked, but always springing back at the next turn. It's light and fluffy, sweet and tender, and glazed over with a sugary coating that could stand a bit more spice...
- Matt Patches
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Oct 19, 2022 · Hilma: Directed by Lasse Hallström. With Tora Hallström, Catherine Chalk, Lily Cole, Rebecca Calder. Exploring Hilma af Klint's enigmatic life, now recognized as one of the Western world's first abstract artists.
- (806)
- Biography, Drama
- Lasse Hallström
- 2022-10-19
Lars Sven " Lasse " Hallström ( Swedish: [ˈlâsːɛ ˈhâlːstrœm]; born 2 June 1946) is a Swedish film director. He first became known for directing almost all the music videos by the pop group ABBA, and subsequently became a feature film director. He was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Director for My Life as a Dog (Mitt liv som ...
- 2
- 1973–present
- Film director, screenwriter
40 Photos. Lasse Hallström inherited his enthusiasm for film from his father, who was an amateur filmmaker. In high school he made his first short film, which was released on Swedish television. Hallström then began working as a director, cameraman and editor for Swedish television. He also made music videos and worked with the cult band ...
Apr 14, 2023 · Lasse Hallström’s Hilma brings to life the story of a woman who posthumously revolutionized the art world as one of the first abstract artists. In this immersive biopic starring Tora Hallström as the young Hilma, and Lena Olin as the mature Hilma, we follow the artist from her early life through her rising artistic career and spiritual awakening after the loss of her beloved younger sister ...
