Movie Crush Monday: CT & Chocolat
Hello everyone! I'm back from the wilds of the Rockies and slowly settling back into life in California. And by that I mean I'm adjusting to the fact that it's still a thousand degrees here, when the rest of the country is having fall by now. But back to the matter at hand, which is this week's Movie Crush Monday!
Last week Little C told you about the truly weird and wonderful Mystery Men, which is one of my favorite cult classics of all time. And it's got a lot of really awesome actors in it, so it took me a long time to pick my Movie Crush this week. Finally I knew that I needed to follow my heart and Lena Olin to provincial France in Chocolat.
Chocolat is one of those movies that I've seen more times than I can count. It's perfect, like a beautiful pastry (which has to be one of the weirdest similes I've ever used).
But that seems like the best way to describe Chocolat. Lasse Hallstrom, the director, specializes in these kind of romantic dramas that feel like fairy tales. They aren't simple, necessarily, but they have casts of characters that fit the fairy tale archetype.
Chocolat follows Vianne Rocher, played by the always perfect Juliette Binoche, and her daughter as they set up a chocolate shop in rural France just as the season of Lent begins. Vianne juggles the shop, the lives of the customers that come to visit her (and their small-town dramas), and a brewing war between her and the Comte de Reynaud who's trying his best to get her shut down.
Vianne has almost magical abilities to tell what a customer's favorite chocolate will be, and the movie uses her abilities to play into the storybook tone of the whole movie. Even when the drama between the characters is very real, it still feels like a fairy tale. That's one of my favorite parts of this movie, the way that it approaches heavy issues like bigotry, faith, and domestic abuse without becoming depressing. There's hope at the core of this movie in a very real way.
Oh yeah, and Johnny Depp as a guitar playing pirate. That's pretty good too.
Someday writing is going to take its toll on me, and I'm going to snap. I know it's coming, and it's good to be prepared. When that day comes, Little C is going to hop on a plane because she's only going to find me in a small town in provincial France working in a chocolate shop. Thanks Lasse Hallstrom.
Happy Watching!
CT
Last week Little C told you about the truly weird and wonderful Mystery Men, which is one of my favorite cult classics of all time. And it's got a lot of really awesome actors in it, so it took me a long time to pick my Movie Crush this week. Finally I knew that I needed to follow my heart and Lena Olin to provincial France in Chocolat.
Chocolat is one of those movies that I've seen more times than I can count. It's perfect, like a beautiful pastry (which has to be one of the weirdest similes I've ever used).
But that seems like the best way to describe Chocolat. Lasse Hallstrom, the director, specializes in these kind of romantic dramas that feel like fairy tales. They aren't simple, necessarily, but they have casts of characters that fit the fairy tale archetype.
Chocolat follows Vianne Rocher, played by the always perfect Juliette Binoche, and her daughter as they set up a chocolate shop in rural France just as the season of Lent begins. Vianne juggles the shop, the lives of the customers that come to visit her (and their small-town dramas), and a brewing war between her and the Comte de Reynaud who's trying his best to get her shut down.
Vianne has almost magical abilities to tell what a customer's favorite chocolate will be, and the movie uses her abilities to play into the storybook tone of the whole movie. Even when the drama between the characters is very real, it still feels like a fairy tale. That's one of my favorite parts of this movie, the way that it approaches heavy issues like bigotry, faith, and domestic abuse without becoming depressing. There's hope at the core of this movie in a very real way.
Someday writing is going to take its toll on me, and I'm going to snap. I know it's coming, and it's good to be prepared. When that day comes, Little C is going to hop on a plane because she's only going to find me in a small town in provincial France working in a chocolate shop. Thanks Lasse Hallstrom.
Happy Watching!
CT
Comments
Post a Comment