0:00 Chapter 1 FOCUS SEQUENCE

Opening credits; cuts between flashbacks to Hassan’s childhood

and the present – interrogation by customs officials at Rotterdam
Chapter 1 – points to analyse/ discuss
• What do we learn from the establishing shot of Mumbai and the port of Rotterdam?

• In the Mumbai market scene, make notes about camera movement (tracking, panning, swooping
up into a crane shot), composition within the frame, soundtrack

• Hassan’s theme music is a leitmotif that repeats throughout the film. Compare the instruments
used here to those used for his theme in chapter 2, when he is cooking over the fire near Heathrow.
The leitmotif first appears when the young Hassan is looking inside the sea urchin while the women
haggle around him.

• Voice-over is used as Hassan narrates the story (to the Dutch immigrations official) of how the
family came to be in Europe.

• Editing – the director cuts from past to present. Note how India and Europe are juxtaposed using
this technique.

• What is the cause of the fire? Examine the impact of the editing and soundtrack in this scene.
 Occupation? (Dutch
Chapter 1 quotes official)
I’m a cook. (Hassan)
You mean kitchen
porter. (Dutch official)
Sold! To the boy who No. Cook. (Hassan)
knows. (Mumbai sea urchin
vendor)

The sea urchins taste of life But mostly I was taught

… raw, beautiful life. (Mama how to taste … But one
Kadam) night my schooling ended.
(Hassan Kadam)
To cook, you must kill. You
make ghosts. You cook to
make ghosts – spirits that
live on in every ingredient.
(Mama Kadam)
 5:44 Chapter 2 FOCUS SEQUENCE
Hassan cooking outside over a fire in the rain in England; cuts
between present (Rotterdam, Switzerland and then France) and
past in England; intro to Marguerite and the village in the distance
Chapter 2 – points to analyse/ discuss
• What is the main instrument used for Hassan’s theme in the opening scene of chapter 2?

• Note how the fire at the beginning of this scene adds an element of continuity.

• Discuss the indexical value of the plane flying low over the house, and of Hassan’s cooking over an
open fire in the pouring rain.

• Editing – the director cuts from past to present.

• Note how camera pans across each adult member of the family as they are interrogated at the
counter. Cultural bias is evident, even though apparently well-meant.

• Note how family dynamics are revealed in dialogue. (Dialogue is also part of the soundtrack.)

• ELS of the village in the distance – make notes about the soundtrack as we see this on the image
track
Chapter 2 quotes

Trust me – nothing in this I found in England that the

family is arranged. vegetables had no soul.
(Mahira Kadam) (Hassan)

You know what? We were happier living

under the flight path at Heathrow. At
least we had a bloody home! Wherever the family is, that
(Mansud Kadam) is the home.
(Papa Kadam)
 11:09 Chapter 3 FOCUS SEQUENCE
Papa Kadam and family pushing car into Saint-Antonin-Noble-Val;
supper with Marguerite
Chapter 3 – points to analyse/ discuss
• Some sources give this chapter the name ‘Brakes break for a reason’. Why is this appropriate as a
title for Chapter 3?

• Only Papa’s face is reflected in the side mirror of the van. Examine the indexical significance of this.

• Note again how family dynamics are revealed in dialogue.

• Discuss the role played by choice of shots, angles, camera movement and sound in assisting our
understanding of the impact of this meal on the different members of the family.

• What makes this food remarkable for Hassan?

• What is suggested about Madame Mallory in our first encounter with her? Look at what the actor
(Helen Mirren) and what the director’s choices contribute to our understanding of her character.

• Listen out for the musical leitmotif as Hassan follows Papa to the for sale property. Comment on the
significance of the instrument choices.
Chapter 3 quotes

Papa, you will not barter. We will just

pay the rate like normal people.
(Mansud)

Normal people get the best

value. Only Europeans accept
the first price.
(Papa Kadam)

Papa, it’s not like in

Mumbai …
(Mansud)
 15:49 Chapter 4
Papa and Hassan have a look at the property that is for sale; Papa
sees the potential but Mansud and Mahira try to dissuade him
from buying the property
Chapter 4 – points to analyse/ discuss
• Look out for the musical leitmotif again at the beginning of this chapter. Why is its presence
significant here?

• Madame Mallory makes her second appearance in the film. How is her attitude towards the Kadam
family revealed through dialogue (look at tone and diction) as well as in her bearing and
demeanour.

• Note how family dynamics are revealed in dialogue again and also in body language (gestures,
actions, facial expressions). Why is Hassan shown in a separate frame at significant moments during
the scene in the square.

• The family is separated from the rest of the café patrons through the use of MLSs and MCUs of
various family members.

• Discuss the use of other filmic techniques that mark the family as different from the other people in
the square.

• Note how Papa’s attitude towards the Michelin system is revealed in his diction and tone.
Chapter 4 quotes Madame, asking for a discount
doesn’t mean I’m poor – it
means I’m thrifty.
(Papa Kadam)

Papa, the restaurant has a

Michelin star.
(Mansud)

I know. I saw it. Twinkle

twinkle – so what? (Papa Kadam)

Papa, the restaurant doesn’t serve those

things because the people here don’t
like to eat those things. (Mansud)
Because they don’t know. They
have never tried it. Now they
shall. (Papa Kadam)
 20:21 Chapter 5 FOCUS SEQUENCE
Begins in Le Seule Pleurer kitchen, shown as a contrast to the
Kadam family’s arrival at their new home; Hassan sees Marguerite
in the market – she initiates rivalry between the two
Chapter 5 – points to analyse/ discuss

• Notice how the chaos of the family’s arrival is juxtaposed with the swift, efficient
kitchen activities at Le Saule Pleurer.

• Make notes on how Madame Mallory’s character is developed in this chapter. What
does the asparagus incident reveal about her? Compare her management style to
Papa Kadam’s.

• Compare the lighting, colour palette and composition of the shots of Hassan in
the Maison Mumbai kitchen with the shots of the LSP kitchen.

• Analyse the indexical value of the sun streaming through the window of the MM
kitchen onto Hassan as he flips, engrossed, through the dusty Michelin books.

• Compare the market scene in this sequence with the market in Mumbai.

• How is the theme of cultural bias and food snobbery developed in this chapter?
Chapter 5 quotes In this restaurant the cuisine is
not an old, tired marriage. It is a
passionate affair – of the heart.
(Madame Mallory)

I didn’t even know you

were chefs. (Marguerite)
I’m not a chef. Just a cook. (Hassan)

And it will be fast food, yes?

(Marguerite)
Actually my father’s signature dish
takes three days. (Hassan)

In France all that matters to a

chef is the Michelin stars … The You’re the enemy now.
(Marguerite)
stars are holy here. One is
good, two is amazing, and three
is … um … three is for the gods. See you on the battlefield [looks
(Marguerite)
puzzled]. (Hassan)