《米其林情缘》

宋云峰

1. 《米其林指南》与米其林星级餐厅

1900年，汽车工业正处于襁褓期，汽车是只有富人才买得起、用得起的奢侈品，法国全国的汽车拥有量尚不到3，000辆。然而，法国米其林公司的创办人米其林兄弟却看好汽车旅行的发展前景。他们认为汽车旅行越兴旺，他们的轮胎就会卖得越好，因此他们将餐厅、地图、加油站、旅馆、汽车维修厂等等有助于汽车旅行的资讯汇编在一起，出版了随身手册大小的《米其林指南》（Michelin Guides）一書，并免费发放。当时的第一版就印制了35，000本，因为不受重视被一些人随地乱扔，后来才实行收费式正式出版。由于指南中的餐馆部分特别受到欢迎，米其林兄弟专门招募了品鉴团队每年微服私访并匿名评价法国各地的餐馆。

1926年，《米其林指南》一书开始用星号来标记餐厅的优良等级，“米其林星级餐厅”就是从那时起开始闻名于世的。自1931年起，指南启用了1到3星的评价体系，并于1936年公布了评价标准：

*：同类餐厅中的优良品：“A very good restaurant in its category” （Une très bonne table dans sa catégorie）

**：一流的厨艺，值得停车享用：“Excellent cooking， worth a detour” （Table excellente， mérite un détour）

***：登峰造极的美食，值得专程前往：“Exceptional cuisine， worth a special journey”（Une des meilleures tables， vaut le voyage）.

随后，《米其林指南》先后出了英国/爱尔兰、德国、意大利、比利时/卢森堡、荷兰、西班牙/葡萄牙、瑞士等国家的版本，以及包括伦敦、巴黎、纽约、东京、香港和上海在内的十几个城市的版本。下表为四个主要欧洲国家米其林星级餐厅的分布：

尽管《米其林指南》的星级餐厅评价体系也受到一些人的质疑和批评，例如匿名评价的主观性、偏向法国饮食、偏爱氛围和形式、对日本饮食评价虚高（2010年版的《米其林指南》使日本成为米其林星级餐厅最多的国家，受到人们质疑）以及遭到不想被评级餐厅的反对抗议等，米其林星级餐厅体系仍然是当今世界最具权威性的餐饮指南。2014年上映的影片《米其林情缘》（The Hundred-Foot Journey），直译“一百英尺的旅程”就是以米其林星级餐厅为缘由探讨不同饮食文化的冲突与融合，也间接反映了欧洲在全球化时代的移民问题和族群融合问题。

2. 《米其林情缘》中的饮食文化冲突与族群融合

《米其林情缘》根据理查德·莫来斯（Richard Morais）2010年出版的同名小说改编，由擅长拍摄清新文艺片的莱塞·霍尔斯道姆（Lasse Hallstrm）导演，著名影星海伦·米伦（Helen Mirren）、欧姆·普瑞（Om Puri）、曼尼什·达亚尔（Manish Dayal）以及夏洛特·勒邦（Charlotte le Bon）主演。影片讲述了一个法国小镇上两个邻近餐馆之间为争夺食客而明争暗斗的故事。两家餐馆位于主街道的两侧，相距只有一百英尺，一家是高大上的米其林星级餐厅，另一家则是刚刚移民到此的印度家庭开设的地道印度餐馆。

影片因其美食、文化、移民等欧洲话题受到电影界的关注。例如，斯皮尔伯格和欧普拉·温弗瑞（Oprah Winfrey）的公司联合为这部电影投资并担任监制，擅长拍摄文艺片的瑞典著名导演霍尔斯道姆（曾因拍摄瑞典著名流行乐团ABBA的MTV而成名，并执导过1999年上映的《总有骄阳》和2000年上映的《浓情巧克力》等著名文艺片）受邀担任导演，著名英国明星海伦·米伦（出演过2006年上映的《女王》和2009年上映的《最后一站》等名人传记片）、著名印度演员欧姆·普瑞（出演过反映英国南亚移民生活的《西方就是西方》和《东方就是东方》）分别出演两家餐厅的主人。

影片涉及饮食文化差异、欧洲移民和种族歧视等主题，但影片的主线在于发掘和展示前者，而对后者则做了族群融合、文化互鉴的理想化处理。影片的叙事采取了两代人双层线索发展的结构，展示了不同种族的两代人在对待饮食文化、种族关系和跨族裔恋爱等全球化时代问题上的差异，具有较强的戏剧性和喜剧性。影片对法国与印度饮食的制作也进行了极为细致和精美的展示，既吊足了观众的胃口又使他们了解了两国特色鲜明的饮食文化。《米其林情缘》以清新文艺片的主题和风格展示了不同饮食文化的特点，在满足观众视觉盛宴的基础上揭示了不同族群相处时文化互鉴、包容和谐、共同发展的正确态度和方向，在票房与评论方面均取得了较大的成功。影片投资为2，200万美元，票房收入则接近9，000万美元，四倍于投资额。

《米其林情缘》上映后受到正面的评价，尽管影片有些老套的温馨。烂番茄电影网站基于124篇评论给予该片百分制的68分，综合评语为：“Director Lasse Hallstr？m does lovely work and Helen Mirren is always worth watching， but The Hundred-Foot Journey travels predictable ground already covered by countless feel-good dramedies（剧情类喜剧）.”另一家电影网站Metacritic则基于36篇影评给影片打了百分制的55分，评语为“mixed or average reviews”。下面是两篇具体影评的摘要：

“Winfrey chose the book（指同名原著）as a“favorite summer read” in 2010. “Its about human beings coming to understand other human beings and more importantly， after you get to experience or step into somebody elses shoes（设身处地）or see them for a real human being， how you understand that youre really more alike than you are different，” she said at the time. It also doesnt hurt that all the food scenes will leave you famished（胃口大开）.（Jessica Goodman， Entertainment Editor， The Huffington Post）

The culture war examined in The Hundred-Foot Journey is a bit less one-sided： It contrasts the heat and intensity of Indian cooking with the elegance and refinement of French haute cuisine（高級烹饪）， then balances the two with a feel-good lesson in ethnic harmony. Knight（该片制片人）and Hallstr？m gently milk（利用）all the expected stereotypes for humor and conflict： The French are snobs（自命不凡的人）with their hoity-toity（傲慢的）manners and expensive food， and theyre deeply affronted（被冒犯）by the thrifty（节俭的）， tacky（俗气的）Indians with their colorful clothes and loud music. Frances ugly history of racial aggression and unrest， particularly relevant at the present moment， briefly punctures（刺穿）the films placid（平静的）surface when local thugs（暴徒）attack and nearly burn down Maison Mumbai（影片中印度餐馆的名字）. But rather than lighting a fuse（导火索）， this trauma（创伤）is what begins to unite the Kadams and Madame Mallory（两家餐馆的主人）， who soon realizes that Hassan（片中男主人公/印度餐馆的主厨，是Kadam的儿子） is not only an exceptional（杰出的）cook， especially when armed with his familys prized spice box， but possibly the missing ingredient that could earn Le Saule Pleureur（影片中法国餐馆的名字）its second Michelin star. The Hundred-Foot Journey becomes a story in which cultural opposites not only learn to coexist， but are in fact triumphantly and even romantically reconciled（和解）. It may be set in France， but really， it could be taking place in any moviemanufactured fantasyland（幻想世界）where enemies become the best of friends， and an embittered（怨恨的）old shrew（悍妇）turns out to have a heart of gold （Justin Chang， Variety.com）.

3. 《米其林情缘》故事情节

The Kadam family ran a restaurant in Mumbai（孟买）. The second-oldest son， Hassan （Manish Dayal）， was being groomed（受训）to replace his mother as the restaurants main cook. However， a mob attacks and firebombs（用燃烧弹攻击）the restaurant over an election dispute. Papa Kadam （Om Puri） and his family evacuate（疏散）the guests， but Mama is killed. Seeking asylum（避难）in Europe， the family first settles in London， where their residence proves ill-suited（不合适的）for a restaurant. So they depart for mainland Europe.

Shortly after entering France， the brakes on Papas van（大篷车）fail near Saint-Antonin-Noble-Val in the Midi-Pyrénées（南部比利牛斯地区）. Marguerite（Charlotte Le Bon）， a sous chef（副厨师长）at an upscale（质优价高的）French restaurant named “Le Saule Pleureur” （“The Weeping Willow”，意为：垂柳）， passes by and offers to help the Kadams find an auto repair shop and a guest house. She brings the Kadams to her apartment and treats them to cold food. Papa is amazed at the quality of the food in the village and its availability and discovers that Marguerite made the food herself.

Papa learns of（获悉）an abandoned restaurant building available for purchase. It is located directly across the street—only 100 feet—from Le Saule Pleureur. Madame Mallory （Helen Mirren）， caretaker（看管者）for the owners， asks the Kadams to leave because it is “private property”. Papa buys the property， even though the rest of his family is against it，and names the restaurant “Maison Mumbai”（意为：孟买私房菜）.

Mallory comes over to Maison Mumbai to ask for a menu and then buys all the locally available ingredients needed to cook their dishes on opening night. A cold war erupts between Papa and Mallory. The war peaks on Bastille Day（巴士底日，即7月14日的法国国庆日）when one of Mallorys chefs， Jean-Pierre， and two others vandalize（肆意毀坏）the Kadams restaurant by spraypainting（喷涂）words which translate to “France for the French”（法国是法国人的法国）on the outer wall and firebombing the interior. Hassan catches the arsonists（纵火犯）in the act and scares them off， but his hands and legs are burned. The following morning Mallory， who knew nothing of the arson（纵火）and vandalism， dismisses Jean-Pierre and personally cleans the graffiti（涂鸦）from Maison Mumbai.

Hassan， having heard from Marguerite that Mallory hires potential chefs by taste-testing an omelette（煎蛋卷）and deciding whether the person is indeed a great chef， asks if he may cook an omelette for her to his recipe. Due to his injured hands， Mallory helps under Hassans supervision. After tasting the omelette， Mallory recognizes Hassans potential and invites him to work for her. Papa is initially against the move（举动）， but ultimately strikes a deal with her as to Hassans pay.

Hassans cooking， which gradually evolves into a fusion（融合）of Indian cuisine and French cuisine， results in Mallorys restaurant receiving its second Michelin star. The award draws national attention to Hassans cooking， and he is offered and accepts a job in Paris. Papa and Mallory make amends（道歉）and begin seeing each other.

Hassans cooking in Paris quickly receives critical acclaim（称赞）， fueling speculation（加剧了推测）of a third Michelin Star for the Paris restaurant， but his work is increasingly bogged down（陷入困境）by thoughts of his family and Marguerite （with whom he had an ongoing romance）. Eventually， Hassan returns home and reunites with Marguerite. He invites Marguerite to join him in a business venture—buying a stake（股份）in Mallorys restaurant， along with operational control. Hassan believes this will help the restaurant earn its third star. That evening， Hassan and Marguerite prepare dinner at Mallorys restaurant and bring the dishes across the road to the courtyard of Maison Mumbai for all to enjoy.

4. 精彩对白

Coming to Europe to Open a Restaurant

Officer （at the French border）： Your name？

Hassan： Hassan Iqbal Kadam.

Officer： Date of birth？

Hassan： July 5th， 1990.

Officer： Place of birth？

Hassan： I was born in Mumbai（孟买）， India.

Officer： Your occupation？

Hassan： Im a cook.

Officer： You mean kitchen porter（服务员，勤杂工）？

Hassan： No， cook. My family has run restaurants in India for many years. My great-grandfather fed soldiers during the time of the British Raj（英國殖民统治时期）. But now we have come to try our luck in Europe， me and my family.

Officer： And youre planning to stay in Europe， as a cook？

Hassan： Oh， yes.

Officer： You have qualifications（资质）？

Hassan： Yes. My mother taught me.

Officer： But no proof on paper？

Hassan： Only grease-proof paper（防油纸，牛油纸），（presenting the food）Samosa（咖喱角）？

Officer： No， thank you.

Hassan： My school was our family restaurant in Mumbai， and my mother was my instructor. It was an education for all of the senses. But mostly， I was taught how to taste. One night my schooling ended. There was an election of some kind， and there was a winner， and there was a loser. We lost everything. Everything. After my mother was killed， Papa decided to bring the family to London. I attempted to continue my education on my own. We found a home quite near to Heathrow（希思罗机场）.

Papa： Yes， we are the Kadam family. When we fled from Mumbai， we were given asylum（避难权）in London. Uh， we were there for one year. And， uh， its too cold， so we decided to open a restaurant in Europe.

Officer： Where in Europe？

Papa： Somewhere in Europe.

Officer： And why exactly are you leaving London？

Hassan： I found in England that vegetables， they had no…had no soul. No life. You see？

Officer： Alright. （Stamps Hassans passport）

Hassan： Maybe well find it here.

Officer： Maybe.