Director: John Madden, Main Cast: Judi Dench, Bill Nighy, Maggie Smith, Tom Wilkinson, Penelope Wilton, Dev Patel
Charming and bittersweet “dramedy” in which seven âgée Brits decide, for different reasons, to move to Jaipur, India, and start a new life at the titular hotel. The manager and partial owner is Sonny (Dev Patel), a young Indian with ambitious dreams: outsourcing old age. He wants to cater to the elderly of rich countries and restore his rundown hotel to its former glory. We follow the story of the different characters as they try to adapt (or not) to their new situation and how they change and learn. The cast is simply amazing and makes a rather linear plot very engaging. I particularly enjoy Maggie Smith’s witticism and banter with Penelope Wilton (just like in Downton Abbey). Life can be an adventure and a discovery at any age. —8.5/10