With its picture-postcard setting and mouthwatering Indian and French delicacies*, “The Hundred-Foot Journey” is a movie designed to comfort.

    Starring Helen Mirren and Om Puri as rival* restaurateurs* in the Midi-Pyrenees region of France, the film teaches a tension-free lesson in cultural exchange that ends in romance.

    The comic drama follows a Mumbai* family’s move to France, where a run-down* mansion/restaurant gives them the chance to restart the business they lost back home. Papa (Puri), a father of five who still communes* with his dead wife, soon butts heads with* Mirren’s Madame Mallory, who runs the elegant eatery across the road.

    Her restaurant, making classical French dishes, bears a Michelin star. Mallory wants to open a second one.

    Their relationship improves halfway through the movie, with an act of xenophobic* violence against the Indian family that proves only a small problem for the characters, even for Papa’s injured son Hassan (Manish Dayal). A gifted cook who’s fascinated with French culinary* tradition, he falls for Marguerite (Charlotte Le Bon), Mallory’s sous-chef*, as they explore* the local farmers’ market and other areas.

    For anyone who didn’t see “Ratatouille,” there are helpful reminders that “food is memories.”

    But the main course is the dance between Mallory and Papa, however obvious the clash* between her carefully composed plates and his bold* flavors. Whether they’re filing funny complaints* about each other with the calm mayor (Michel Blanc), arguing over the proper presentation of ingredients* or sharing a cafe table, Mirren and Puri bring an effortless command to their roles.

    Linus Sandgren’s widescreen camerawork gives farm-to-table its due and presents a storybook French countryside through the seasons, made even better by digital effects. (SD-Agencies)