I parked on the Pacific Coast Highway and was famished. I was going to my favorite Mexican restaurant, Juanita’s Taco Shop. It is not a fancy or nice restaurant. I would almost compare it to a hole in the wall. The place has barred windows and is covered in old stickers. I walked into the grimy little restaurant to see as usual a complete mess. I would not call this restaurant cozy, it is not. Many critics call small, cramped dark restaurants cozy, but Juanita’s is no such thing. It is small, cramped, grimy, and all in all gross aesthetically. I regularly eat there, so I tend to ignore the disorder of the restaurant. I didn’t even glance at the menu. I knew what I wanted to eat before I had left the beach to get lunch. I was getting a chorizo and egg burrito. I ordered it and a large horchata and still I only spent six dollars. Horchata is a traditional Spanish drink. In the US, it is almost impossible to find traditional horchata. In the US it is made with water, sugar, rice and milk. The traditional drink is very different. It is made with tiger nuts, water, sugar, and cinnamon. Juanita’s only serves the traditional drink. This is the only restaurant I have been to in the US that serves a traditional horchata. I took a sip and per usual it was astounding. Several minutes later my burrito came out in a brown paper bag. I personally like to eat in the restaurant. The food is always better fresh out of the kitchen. I saw down at one of the three tables and chowed. Their homemade chorizo was out of this world. The ratio of this Spanish sausage to egg and cheese was perfect. I could eat it every day for the rest of my life. I did not mind the excessive amount of grease or oil. The food is just that good. As I ate, I watched people wander in and out of the restaurant. Over ninety percent of the time I am the only white person that will stay to eat in the restaurant. Plenty of Hispanic and Latin families will sit down to eat, but white people will generally wait outside for their food to be cooked. It is a true sight to see. The restaurant is truly amazing. Its food is unbelievable and its atmosphere is perfect. Inside it is never packed, but there is always a stream of people coming and going. It is a must eat in San Diego.
Thursday, February 24, 2011
A Rough Looking Diamond Called Juanita's
Chocolate's Real Meaning
Director Lasse Hallstrom’s film Chocolat is filled with metaphor. The largest metaphor that Hallstrom gives is chocolate. It is a metaphor for freedom and happiness. The people in the town that give in to their primeval desire to indulge in chocolate are happy and these people are not held down by the strict codes of society. There is a drawback though. The town is controlled by a man that lives a strict pious life. He publically shuns the people that eat chocolate and denounces the chocolatier during Sunday Chapel. The characters in the movie constantly have changing opinions of chocolate, but while characters like chocolate they are consistently happier and live life in an opener way.
At the start of the film, Vianne and Anouk walk into a seemingly abandoned, small French town. The town is small, but it is in no way deserted. All of the townsfolk are attending mass at the local church. The patisserie that they rent is owned by one of the few people in the town that does not attend church. Armande and Vianne meeting is the key element involved in the metamorphosis of the town. The entire town, sparing Armande and Vianne, live pious lifestyles with strict moral and ethical standards. They separate paths while Vianne secretly renovates the patisserie into a chocolatier. Her store immediately causes a ruckus in the town. People do not know how to respond to a chocolatier opening during the Lenten season. Most people shun the shop, but overtime the pious attitude of the village erodes. People begin to forget their Lenten vows and eat chocolate. This group of people forgets the strict rules of society and grows happier. Chocolate is not happiness to these villagers, but it is an escape from the limits that the church places on them.
As the film progresses, a woman named Josephine runs away from her abusive husband Paul. She does not know where to go, but knows that Vianne is welcome and open to everyone. Vianne gives Josephine a new job and life that revolves around chocolate. This resurrection is not freedom from the church, but it is freedom from her abusive husband. Vianne and Josephine continue to live in and manage the shop together. After some amount of time progresses, Josephine’s old husband comes to her and tells her that he is a changed man. She refuses to leave with him. Chocolate has brought a new happiness to Josephine. It gave her a rebirth. It fixed her stuttering behavior. It destroyed her kleptomaniac personality.
Vianne helps another character regain happiness through chocolate also. Armande is initially an angry old woman that is upset with her life. She is not allowed to see her grandson and does not speak to her daughter. Armande visits the shop to collect rent from Vianne and has a cup of hot chocolate. She immediately starts to change. She is still unhappy with her life, but Vianne’s chocolate starts to bring her happiness. When Vianne learns of Armande’s problem with her grandson and daughter, Vianne immediately attempts to fix it. She brings Luc, Armande’s grandson, to the chocolatier to supposedly draw her portrait, but she actually set Armande and Luc up to connect. They quickly develop a relationship and spend time together at the chocolatier in secret. Caroline, Luc’s mother, eventually learns about these meetings and brings them to a halt. During Caroline’s experience at the chocolatier, Vianne learns of Armande’s diabetes along with other problems. Armande continues to go to the chocolatier because it is one of the few things that make her happy. She dies the night of her final birthday from diabetes. Chocolate may have been the reason that she died, but it also brought her a joy that she had never experienced.
Vianne helps a river rat named Roux also. He is accustomed to being shunned in towns and villages because he is a river rat, but Vianne accepts him as well all the people that came with him. She actually falls in love with him. At Armande’s birthday, Vianne merged the part of the town that indulged in chocolate and Roux’s people. She brings them together to celebrate and to indulge in chocolate. The two groups of people see that there are not that many differences between one and another. Chocolate brought peace to these people.
Through the film, chocolate is looked at as a terrible thing by many people of stature, but the people that fed their indulgence saw that it is not a terrible thing, but a great thing. Chocolate did not hurt the town, but it brought happiness and new ways of life to people.
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Chocolat
Chocolat, an Oscar nominated movie directed by Lasse Hallstrom, is about a mysterious woman named Vianne Rocher and her chocolates. She moves with her daughter Anouk to a small French town to open a chocolate shop. Though many of the conservative townspeople are skeptical of Vianne’s character and chocolates, they soon begin to change because of her food. Vianne’s chocolates rekindle their relationships with one another, and bring them to harmony.
Amande Voizin was a gloomy and sullen old lady who was conflicted by her own daughter. She did not like the way her daughter Caroline Clairmont treated her son Luc. Her grouchy temper can be seen when Vianne meets Amande for the first time in her chocolate shop. As Vianne spins a dish and asks Amande what she sees in the dish, Amande answers, “I see a cranky old woman too tired to play games.” Caroline was overly protective of her son, and expected him to behave the way she wanted. This frustrated Amande because she believed this cause Luc to become a timid child while Caroline considered her mother as a bad influence to Luc. However, this conflict begins to relieve as they encounter Vianne’s chocolate. Amande opens up to people and starts to interact with them after she becomes friends with Vianne. She is also able to improve her relationship with her grandson, whom she was not able to talk to for a long time before meeting Vianne. Moreover, Luc is able to gain more confidence in himself and his special skills in drawing after Vianne encourages and compliments his skills. Luc becomes closer to Amande and they learn to understand each other much more, despite their differences. Vianne even arranges Luc to draw a portrait of Amande, which marks the starting point of concord. Amande and Caroline also accept their differences and somewhat resolve their conflict.
Vianne and her chocolates also change the life of Comte de Reynaud, the main antagonist of the movie. The Comte is a man who firmly believes in order and principles. He is also a proud man who refuses to accept the fact that his wife had left him. To this disciplined Comte, Vianne and her free ways of thinking seemed to be bad influence to the townspeople. The Comte tried to resist to this change, and the change that brought the townspeople to harmony. At the end of the movie, however, the Comte is also enticed by the pleasures of Vianne’s chocolates and accepts the change. He finally reconciles his differences with Vianne. Not only that, he begins to have feelings for Caroline Clairmont, therefore accepting the fact that his wife did leave him. “Even the Comte de Reynaud felt strangely… released. Although it would take another six months to work up the courage to ask Caroline out to dinner.” Vianne’s chocolates changed even its firmest opponent, the Comte.
The chocolates also have an effect on Vianne Rocher herself. Even the happy and light-hearted Vianne had problems with her daughter Anouk. Anouk was frustrated from the constant moving that separated her from the friends she made. Vianne was also aware of her daughter’s dilemma but believed that it was her duty to travel and share her food with other people like her ancestors did. Then Vianne meets a gypsy named Roux because of her chocolates and eventually falls in love with him. At the climax of the movie, Vianne attempts to leave the town with Anouk, but again, her chocolates and the friends she made in the town enchants her. Vianne and Anouk decide to stay in the town they love, and Vianne also develops her relationship with Roux.
The chocolates of Vianne Rocher changed the characters of the movie, and allowed them to reconcile with each other. I believe that the chocolate is a metaphor for the harmony that Vianne brings to the townspeople.
Source: Chocolat (2000) Memorble Quotes
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0241303/quotes
The movie Chocolat(2000) directed by Lasse Hallstrom is about a chocolatier named Vianne Rocher and her daughter Anouk. Vianne moves into a small town in France where everyone seems to be influenced by Comte de Reynaud, a heart-broken mayor, who manipulates the villagers through the speeches given during the church services. When the churchman finishes writing the speech, Comte revises it so that people listen to his idea of good, but as God’s will. Just as Comte is encouraging people to serve the time of Lent, which is a period of forty days for people to give up all their greed and temptations, Vianne arrives and opens a small chocolate shop. Comte considers Vianne and her daughter as intruders and makes effort to make them leave the town. Despite Comte and the villager’s hostility, Vianne endures in her business of a chocolaterie and slowly breaks down the prejudices that the town people hold with her chocolate.
When Vianne and Anouk arrive at the town, they become the only two who do not attend the church. The villagers are very harsh against these non-churchgoers as they believe that listening to the churchman’s speech and acting according to the God’s will are their duties throughout life. The first question that Comte asks Vianne is whether she attends the church or not. When the response was not what he had expected, he spreads the word about them and as a result, the mother and daughter are shunned by the town people. In other words, this means that the villagers do not accept inconformity to the society because they do not want their tradition and quiet life to be broken. Later in the movie, Anouk reproaches her mother for being different from other mothers. However, knowing that the people are being controlled by the mayor, she never chooses to go to the church or follow their tradition, but instead tries to fix people’s mind by with her chocolate. Chocolate tempts people in many ways and makes people rethink about their lives.
Vianne also notices a prejudice in the gender role. Every woman is required to get married to a man and serve them forever. Even if the husband is not treating his wife properly, women need to cook food for man and listen to him. People are very shocked when they find out that Vianne has a child without being married. Josephine Muscat was the wife of Serge Muscat. Josephine is physically beaten by her husband every day, but she does not have the courage to let other know about it because instead of helping her with the situation, people would just think she is crazy. As Josephine meets Vianne and learns to make chocolate, her life completely changes. She even finds the courage to smash Serge’s head with a pan.
People in the town are also very against the outsiders. When the pirates, the nomads who travel on boats, arrive at the bank of the rivers, Comte and the others immediately hold a meeting to discuss what to do with them. During the meeting, people only have negative opinions of them because they believe that those outsiders are a bad influence to their society. Soon, people come to a conclusion that they should make them leave on their own by boycotting. They decide not to sell anything to the drinks. When Roux brings two little girls to buy her something to drink, the owner refuses to sell the drink. Only, Vianne lets them in and serve them chocolate.
Vianne’s chocolate helps people throw people’s strong prejudice. Chocolate sparks the dried relationship between a married couple and motivates an old man to show his love towards an old woman both of which are forbidden during the time of Lent. Vianne’s chocolate slowly changes the way people live in the town. People who were invited to Vianne’s chocolate party for Armande thinks differently of the pirates and even joins the party on their ship. When one eats a chocolate, he suddenly feels an emotion that they have never felt before. Even Comte, who strictly follows the tradition and is against Vianne’s chocolaterie in the beginning, changes his mind after eating chocolate. He just could not resist them. Throughout the movie, Comte struggles because he loves Caroline Clairmont, Luc’s mother, but he could not reveal his emotion toward her. At the end of the movie, Comte asks her to a dinner during a chocolate festival, which would never have occurred without Vianne and her chocolate.
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Chocolat
“Chocolat” is set in a small French village in the late 1950’s where a journeying woman, Vianne, and her young daughter, Anouk, open a chocolatier. Ironically, the shop is opened at the start of Lent, when the village people are not allowed to eat chocolate. There are a few regulars that do go to Vianne’s shop; however most of the town is opposed to even daring to enter the sinful world of chocolaty goodness. Comte de Reynaud is strongly against the opening of the chocolatier, preaching to his family and townspeople aversely of the shop. Throughout the film, certain characters, such as Armande and her grandson, and essentially the entire village, change dramatically due to Vianne’s magical chocolaty delights. The chocolate is representative of not only content and joy, but it is illustrative of new beginnings.
Armande is one of the few people in the village who does not comply with the ways of the church. Unlike her daughter, who is married to the Comte, Armande lives under her own rules and circumstances. Hence, she is a regular at the chocolatier, not caring if it’s Lent or not. Soon after the chocolatier opens and as she befriends Vianne, Armande’s life fundamentally changes. Before, she was kind of a grouch. She did not ever want help from anybody, and she did not seem to care about anybody. After her time at the chocolatier, she transforms into a caring and generally happy person. She gets to see her grandson, who sneaks around so that he can go to the chocolatier to see his grandmother (as well as to eat those delicious snacks). Armande begins to smile, laugh, and have a good time with her new friends. This joy is brought into the last months of her life all because of the chocolatier and the people she met there. The chocolate, therefore, represents her new outlook on life and the way she spent her last days.
Not only does Armande find herself through the chocolatier, but it is also a new beginning for the Comte and his family. Armande’s grandson finally rebels against his strict family by spending time at the chocolatier with his grandmother, breaking rules by eating the chocolate, and by being the free person he wants to be. He starts to draw pictures of Armande rather than dead people, and he too seems much happier. His mother also has a revelation due to the chocolatier. She sees how happy the people inside of it are, and finally conforms to being apart of it. She helps Josephine, a friend of Vianne’s, make and prepare the chocolate and to convince Vianne to stay in the village. Although she doesn’t eat the chocolate until the very end, she accepts Vianne and is a more open-minded person because of the chocolatier.
Josephine is another character whom chocolate has an effect on. Before Vianne came to town, Josephine was an abused, harmed wife. Her husband, Serge, was awful to her. She would do dishes and basically act as his slave in the back of the pub he owned. Vianne freed her of this abusive relationship with the chocolate shop. It gave Josephine liberation and the freedom to start a new life. This separation made Serge realize his behavior, and he finally went to the church to repent.
One of the last people to be changed by the chocolatier was Comte de Reynaud himself. He constantly fights off the urge to eat a sweet by doing something like putting a picture in front of a croissant at his desk. Finally he is drawn in by the chocolate and eats just about everything in the window of the shop. This scene, where his face is smeared with chocolates and he is asleep from the food coma he put himself in, represents how he is giving himself, as well as the village, to change. There was so much rigidity among the townspeople. However, with the chocolatier being accepted, the people are more joyous and free.
Overall, the chocolate liberates the village. The sweet is symbolic of a fresh start for people, giving them the chance to be independent. Even the strictest of them all give into their guilty pleasure. The leisure of doing something so simple as to eating chocolate truly allows the townspeople, especially the Comte and his family, Josephine, and Armande enjoy life. They get a second chance to change the way they approach things, especially the stiffness of the community. Even a somber old couple rejuvenates and spices up their marriage due to a special chocolate. Without it, their marriage could have been ruined. Vianne and her chocolate profoundly give opportunity to the people of the village.
Monday, February 21, 2011
For example, Josephine’s drunken husband Serge is blinded by religion. In order to “change” Serge, Comte de Reynaud feels that he must spiritually educate the man. After Comte de Reynaud vents to Serge about how distracting and bad the “river rat” travelers are Serge takes action on God’s behalf. The idea of burning these people’s possessions in the name of God and preserving the righteous town is a prime example of the role of religion.
Again, the idea of religion and ignorance going together is seen through the characters foolish actions which are a result of religious ideals. Two scenes in particular displayed the overall ignorance of the characters brainwashed by religion during the movie. First, when a group of children are talking about Vianne and say they hear she is an atheist. Immediately after this statement is made, one of the children asks what an atheist is and none of the children even know what one is, they just know it is bad. As a result, the second scene which is a result from the religious ignorance displayed in the first scene. Vianne’s daughter Anouk is harassed at school because she does not go to church, so she naturally asks her mother if they can just go to church to fit in. Anouk also asks her mother if she is Satin’s helper because she makes chocolate. Obviously, chocolate and horrendous crimes do not go together; just like happiness and religion in Chocolat.
Also, after Vianne first arrives and befriends Josephine she is told, “You don't misbehave here. It's just not done, did you know that? If you don't go to confession, if you don't... dig your flowerbeds, or if you don't pretend, if you don't pretend... that you want nothing more in your life than to serve your husband three meals a day, and give him children, and vacuum under his ass, then... then you're... then you're crazy”. The idea of having this overly structured life undoubtedly stems from religion. The manipulative aspect of religion in Chocolat is presented through characters inability and fear to exercise free will. Almost every character in the movie fears to act in a displeasing manner from the smallest to the largest actions. For example, Père Henri is startled and embarrassed when he is caught singing the famous Elvis song, “Hound Dog” by Comte de Reynaud. Similarly, Guillaume Blerot is initially scared to act on his feelings toward Madame Audel because religion denounces remarriage- which ironically he along with Comte de Reynaud do. On a larger scale, Josephine is scared to break the common trend of society, like she said, “You don’t misbehave here”. Until Josephine breaks away from religion and her husband, however, she is not truly free, nor happy. The director makes a direct pun towards religion when Serge tells Josephine, “We are still married, in the eyes of God” and she replies, “Then he must be blind”. The significance of Josephine’s statement is monumental because it begins change in the town which is contradictory towards religion.
Religion can be seen to be rigid and one dimensional in Chocolat, which explains the ultimate outcome of the townspeople. After enlightened and finally realizing that every aspect of life isn’t predetermined and planned around religion, everyone is much happier. Pere Henri is finally able to finally preach his own sermon where he says, “I'm not sure what the theme of my homily today ought to be. Do I want to speak of the miracle of Our Lord's divine transformation? Not really, no. I don't want to talk about His divinity. I'd rather talk about His humanity. I mean, you know, how He lived His life, here on Earth. His “kindness”, His “tolerance”... Listen, here's what I think. I think that we can't go around... measuring our goodness by what we don't do. By what we deny ourselves, what we resist, and who we exclude. I think... we've got to measure goodness by what we “embrace”, what we create... and who we include.” The obvious transformation of every character can be seen through this quote of embracing humanity and living the way the Jesus did; which entitled including and helping everyone, especially outcasts.
Chocolat serves to criticize the role of religion in the lives of the townspeople, which is evident through their initial rigid lifestyle. After realizing that religion doesn’t have to dictate every facet of their lives, people come around to doing what they truly desire, not what they are told by religion to do. As the maturity and happiness of each character progresses, the digression of religion is more apparent.
In the movie Chocolat, directed by Lasse Hallstrom, a quaint, tranquil village nestled in rural France is depicted. Everybody is peacefully sitting in church on a breezy Sunday morning: respectful and civil. Everything is quiet and normal. On this particular Sunday everything is about to change. It is the first day of Lent, a forty day period prior to Easter when one gives up anything tempting, such as sweets. As expected by the Mayor, Comte de Reynaud, everybody is ready to observe Lent. But, a woman named Vienne and her nine-year-old daughter Anouk move into the town on this very Sunday and open up a chocolaterie, which tests the townspeople’s devotion to Lent. Comte de Reynaud does not approve of Vienne opening the chocolaterie during Lent and politely asks her to close her shop. The mayor is upset and threatened because he does not want people to be tempted by Vienne’s un-traditional ways. Comte de Reynaud feels the chocolaterie will cause the members of this town to disobey Lent by sparking people’s curiosity to explore temptations. This action, in turn, is disobeying the mayor and his morals because he is the one enforcing Lent; more so then even the priest! The chocolate Vienne sells represents indulgence in this tranquil, religious town.
Many know to avoid the chocolate shop because of lent, like the old man with the dog and the widow. But others can’t resist. One of the first visitors is a woman who enters only with the intention to look. While chatting with Vienne, she complains about dried up relationship with her husband. Vienne has just the trick and gives (without pay) her a special type of chocolate that immediately fixed the couple’s problem. During lent, obviously, eating chocolate and having sex are two temptations that should be avoided.
Next, a woman named Armande visits. She, like Vienne, is not religious and does not care what people think of her. She does not participate in Lent and indulges in Vienne’s chocolate. From indulging too much, she has diabetes. Armande’s daughter, Caroline Clairmont, works for Comte de Reynaud. Caroline won’t let Armande see her son, Luc, because she feels Armande will be a bad influence on him and introduce him to the temptations of life (though he should be following lent). When Vienne opens her chocolate shop, Luc finds his way in and begins to spend time with his grandmother. He is giving into the temptations of chocolate and disappointing his mother.
Towards the end of the movie, Comte de Reynaud breaks down. He is nervous, threatened, and feels like he is loosing control of everybody in the town. Vienne’s untraditional ways are more appealing to people than his traditional ways are. His desire to regulate the town during lent and deprive himself of everything enjoyable causes him to have psychotic melt town. On the last night of Lent, it seems he can’t take it any more. He secretly enters into Vienne’s chocolate shop. As he is kicking and knocking over all of Vienne’s window display (composed of chocolate) out of frustration, a small piece of chocolate lands in his mouth. From here, he breaks down. He eats the chocolate. He gave into a temptation.
The chocolate represents temptation, but the ability to balance temptation and deprivation. It is clear that if one indulges into a temptation too much, like Armande, the results can be scary. Armande passes away because of her diabetes. She lived her life doing what she wanted, and she was happy. But it seemed throughout the movie she was missing something, her grandson Luc. She was used to having what she wanted whenever she wanted so she became very upset during the parts when she could not win Luc (Caroline’s rules), she becomes upset and tries to fill the gap with other indulgences, like chocolate and alcohol. Chocolate and alcohol are incredibly detrimental to someone with diabetes. Armande’s need to always have what she wants caused her death. Contrastingly, Comte de Reynaud completely deprives himself of the things he wants. He purges any desire from his life; including missing his wife who let him. He becomes obsessive in trying to make the rest of the town feel the same way about Lent. When he can’t, he pretty much goes melts down and binges. So, Vienne’s chocolate shop teaches this cozy French village that it is okay to indulge every once and a while. Too much or too little indulgence is what ends up hurting people in the end. Because there has never been anyone like Vienne or anything like the chocolaterie in this town before, the townspeople learn by example about balance and moderation.
Alex Perkins' chocolat response
When the river gypsies arrive, the Comte de Reynaud attempts to salvage the town and rid it of the gypsies. Just like they did against Vianne and her chocolate they label the visitors as evil and refrain from acknowledging them in any positive way. The social prejudices against the Gypsies are a further example of the quick judgment that the towns people have. Vianne however reaches out to the people and actually employs their leader Roux. Because of this she receives even more criticism from the people of the town. Many begin to think of her as traitor. The theme of chocolate is one thing that is able to bring the people together. The common love for the delicious creations in Vianne’s chocolate shop is something too strong for the Comte to control through his scare tactics. Vianne throws a birthday party for Madam Audel, an elderly woman who like Vianne is looked down upon by most of the town. Certain members of the town cannot resist the allure of the delicious food and begin to filter back into her shop. Raux the head of the Gypsies assisted Vianne and dined with the other towns people. After the party the group went down to the river bank for desert. They spent many hours there and dozed off. In the middle of the night they all awoke to the ships being burned. All of the guests at the party attempted to help put out the flames. The people of the town including the Comte were upset by the actions of Serge, a local drunk. Caunte begins to lose his mind due to his secretary letting him know that the town knew his wife wasn’t coming back and that he didn’t have to pretend anymore. This compromised his views and made his religious ideals hold less weight. He began to lose his mind and act very oddly. One night he breaks into Vianne’s shop and eats all the chocolate in the window, passing out in the display. The next morning the pastor and Vianne find him there and get him dressed for Easter Sunday. He had not yet written his sermon, and the priest writes his own sermon. The priest in his sermon says that it is ok to use some indiscretion in order to be happy. Immediately after the service the people of the town begin to be more open to the gypsies , and the prejudices of the town begin to lessen. Caunte even begins to eat chocolate.
The acceptance of the chocolate by all of the different factions in the town helps to draw them together and bring down their moral barriers. They begin to see each other more as the people who they are, and focus less on the differences between them.
The academy award winning movie “Chocolat” directed by Lasse Hallstrom in 2000, based in a small French village which has a very strict ethical code, where there is a hierarchy and everyone knows their place. The viewers are embraced on a journey of transformation of the town where a single “Chocolaterie” and the baker Vianne, changed a prejudice town for the better and united all the people to one happy family. Chocolate is a metaphor for unity, happiness and essentially acceptance in this movie as it brings out the good in people and allows them to be who they really are instead of simply following a code of conduct.
In the opening scene, Vianne (the baker) along with her daughter, who can be said to be “drifters” arrive in a small French village. In a town where religion plays the predominant role in how people live their lives, opening a “chocolaterie” at the beginning of lent would seem like a bad business investment. This is exactly what Vianne does, and she is faced with many obstacles and skepticism from the people before her greatness is finally seen. It would seem absurd that something as sweet and harmless as chocolate, would cause such a problem for the people of this small town. One person in particular, the mayor Comte de Reynaud, really does not want to see Vianne succeed and tries to use everything in his power to try crush Viannes business. He sees that his role is to preserve the values his ancestors established centuries ago and that these values have to respected and followed by everyone in this town, and if not, you were not welcome. Through her craft in chocolate and along with her persistence and endurance in the town, Vianne teaches the people “something about acceptance” and rids of the towns prejudices to make it a better place.
Before Viannes arrival, the atmosphere in the town does not seem right. The people are essentially the followers of the mayor instead of living their own lives. That is why Vianne has a hard time getting her chocolates out there. The place is very boring and people’s lives look like a routine opposed to something that should and adventure where everyone is happy. The chocolaterie really changes everything in the town. In the character of Yvette Marceau we see her struggle for love from her husband and how her dull and boring marriage is transformed by chocolate. She is the first one brave enough to go against the rules and get some chocolate. Vianne prescribes some “Unrefined cacao nips from Guatemala, to awaken the passions” in Yevettes husband. Upon consuming the cacao nips Alphonse Marceau suddenly “awakens” and the pair spend the night in love, just like they did in their younger days. We can see here how chocolate does not only represent a sweet for Yevette but it brings happiness to her and her marriage, sparking cure which possibly saved her marriage.
Much like in the character of Yevette where chocolate brought her marriage happiness, Josephine Muscat another character, is saved by the chocolaterie and chocolate. Before Vianne arrived Josephine did not have anyone to look to for comfort or anyone to hear her out. She was seen as the town “freak” and had a very bad marriage. She had not yet sprouted into her full potential. In her confession Vianne about her struggles Josephine said “You don't misbehave here. It's just not done, did you know that? If you don't go to confession, if you don't... dig your flowerbeds, or if you don't pretend, if you don't pretend... that you want nothing more in your life than to serve your husband three meals a day, and give him children, and vacuum under his ass, then... then you're... then you're crazy” we really see how the pressures of the town rules and expectations created fear in Josephine. One night after she was brutally beaten by her husband she turned to Vianne and the chocolaterie which ended up becoming her new home. This helped her find her sense of belonging. She began working in for Vianne, making chocolates, helping out, and all the other jobs in the chocolaterie. She really started to live and her real personality started to blossom and she was not different anymore. We can see here how the chocolate is used as a symbol of happiness and belonging , through it Josephine’s life was saved. Josephine turned out to be the pivotal character which made Vianne stay in the village because she saw the importance of what Vianne was doing for the village; she was transforming everyone in it.
One of the most significant characters that the chocolate brought happiness and taught acceptance to was, the mayor, Comte de Reynaud. The mayor’s life consisted of enforcing the rules, being the role model for the people and most of all being a “hard ass”. He demanded respect and put people back in line if they violated the rules. But deep under this shell power was an unsecure person. His wife left him and he too didn’t know who he really was this is why he had to follow the rules because that is all he had. The chocolateri painted a big problem for the mayor. It was located across the church and open during the season of Lent. His mission was to exterminate Vianne “Let me try to put this into perspective for you. The first Comte de Reynaud expelled all the radical Huguenots in this village. You and your truffles present a far lesser challenge.” Constantly thought the movie the director hints that the mayor is suffering. When he sees food his mouth starts to water, he drinks lemon tea and all these things show towards his unhappiness. If you have devoted yourself to God and you are fasting, then Lent should not be a pressure or a challenge, you do this willingly. It seems like the mayor believes he has to fill the shoes of his ancestors and keep the traditions going instead of doing things that he likes. Eventually his temptation gives in and he cannot resist the chocolates, so he breaks into Viannes shop and indulges himself to all the chocolates. Viannes forgiveness really changes the mayor. He learns himself that not everyone can be perfect and that it is not really his duty to be a part of everyone’s lives. He learns to be more accepting of other people and this is thanks to Vianne and her chocolates.
Even thought most of the transformation can be seen through the character profiles, the director also uses some filming techniques to portray happiness and unity amongst the villagers. On instance is the statue of a previous mayor. The statue at the start of the movie has a very serious face, its looking down on the people and is very large, almost like a big brother thing. This goes back to the towns attitude that everything has to be in line. The final scene we get an image of the statue again but this time it has a happy face and a warm feeling. The atmosphere in the town is also different at the end of the movie that the start. At the end there is a big festival and everyone is happy and joyful opposed to the start were everyone was going to church and it was all serious. The director implements these contrasting scenes in order to show us that the chocolate has really changed the people as a whole.
We can see how chocolate represents happiness and unity in the movie in many way. Through the characters of Yevette, Josephine and the mayor we see a transformation in their personality for the better. Their inner self has really come forth and they are now people that they want to be not following a template created by someone else. The director uses imagery as well to portray that this small predjudice village has changed for the better. In the end the chocolate put a happy face on everyone.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0241303/plotsummary
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0241303/quotes
The role of religion is very important in the town. At the start of the film we see that the old priest who died has been replaced with a younger priest who has just been ordained. As such the new priest, Pere Henri is easily controlled by the mayor of the town Comte de Reynaud whose family have been in charge of the town for years. The Comte is a devoutly Catholic man (as most of France would have been in 1959 when this film is set), however the Comte feels that his Christian duties are not complete unless he compels everyone else in the village to believe as vigorously as he does. Attendance at Mass in the town is effectively compulsory and one of the reasons why the Comte rejects Vianne when she first arrives is because she refuses to attend Mass on a Sunday. The Comte views it has his job is keep the town and everyone in it in accordance with his own values system. As such he even take sit upon himself to rewrite the sermons of the priest to fit in with the message he would like the town people to live by. The Comte lives by the strict rules of Catholicism and Vianne arrives just as the 40 days of lent are beginning and even worse she decides to open a chocolate shop. Lent is typically seen as a time of restraint and to give the simple pleasures in life up. As such the Comte forces everyone in the village to boycott Vianne’s new chocolate shop because he sees it has offensive to their Lenten objectives. The Compte uses religion to control people and make them relinquish even more of what they enjoy in life. He is self-righteous enough that he sees nothing wrong with forcing his morals on everyone else, regardless of their own opinions. However, while the chocolate is deeply offensive to the Comte he chooses to ignore one of the parishioners in his town who is obviously a violent drunk and he also continues to lie to the people of his town about the whereabouts of his wife, who has clearly left him. In the film Vianne uses the chocolate to free people from their constraints and rid them of the feeling of guilt for enjoying life and its simple pleasures. The chocolate represents temptation-however it is not the typical type of temptation that is usually wrong but this is giving in to something that we want but we are too concerned about the judgments of others to do. We feel that we should feel guilty for giving in, even if deep down we actually don’t feel guilty. The chocolate also represents each town person gaining some of their own personal freedom back from the Comte who has controlled the business of those in town for so long.
The only type of prejudice is not just against Vianne for her polite refusal to attend Mass, many in the town also judge her for being a single mother and showing no shame about it. One fot eh most common traits of the town is an expectation that others apologize for the way they live their lives simply because you don’t agree with it. For example Caroline Clairmont refuses to let her own mother see her grandson Luc because she disagrees with Armande ‘s decision to live her life ignoring the fact that she has diabetes. Most importantly however the town collectively discriminates against the group against the group of travelers who arrive at the riverside and because they see them as unwanted vagrants, most of the town business’ except Vianne refuse to serve them in an attempt to drive them out of town. Eventually the Comte’s protégé- the former drunk- in an attempt to impress the Comte burns the boats of the travelers damaging their livelihoods and endangering lives.
Chocolat Prejudices
Starring Juliette Binoche as Vianne Rocher, Johnny Depp as Roux, Judi Dench as Armande Voizin, and directed by Lazze Hallstrom, the movie Chocolat talks about all kinds of social prejudice mostly set by Alfred Molina (the mayor of the village) in a traditional, Catholic French village. The prejudices are that villagers have to go to church and obey what the priest says. Also, wives have to serve their husbands. And, river gypsies are dangerous and should not be trusted. In addition, one will be teased and excluded for not following the norm.
This first prejudice is that people who live in this French village have to go to the church, and follow whatever the priest/the church preaches. Those who don’t follow or don’t go to the Church are considered as evil and a radical, and also should be boycotted from the society. This is portrayed when Alfred visits Vianne’s chocolate shop, and asks Vianne whether she goes to church or not. Then, Vianne says that she and her daughter do not go to Church. Alfred sarcastically says that it is the best time for Vianne to open a chocolate shop during Lent, in which people are not supposed to eat. Since Alfred thinks that those who do not go to the church and do not believe in God are evil and radicals, he persuades the villagers not to buy anything from Vianne’s chocolate shop through manipulating the priest’s sermon. However, this prejudice is unjust because Vianne is not an evil person. She is just a woman who does not believe in God, but that should not make her an evil person.
The second prejudice is that wives have to serve their husbands, and not speak up even the husband is abusive to the wife. In the beginning of the movie, the wife who buys a chocolate which drawn her and her husband closer is seen wiping the floor proves that wives’ role is to serve their husbands. Furthermore, Josephine Muscat who is married to Serge Muscat, an owner of a café is considered crazy not only because she talks to herself and steal things, but also because she does not serve her husband well (not making him dinner). However, the villagers do not know that Serge is an alcoholic and is abusive to Josephine, which is the real reason behind Josephine purposely talking to herself acting crazily and stealing things. It is her way of coping with the stress from her violent husband. Moreover, Josephine refuses to speak up about her situation when Vienna tries to approach her and help her.
The third prejudice is that river gypsies are treacherous and should not be trusted. A band of river gypsies arrives to the river side of the French village. When the mayor realizes it, he immediately has a meeting with the villagers to discuss how to make the band of gypsies to leave because gypsies have a reputation of being uneducated and dangerous. So the villagers decide to put up posters to ban shops from doing the gypsies’ businesses. Nevertheless, as the villagers who attend Armande Voizin’s dinner party see Roux joining their table shows a great deal of discomfort and unwelcoming looks portrays the prejudice of the gypsies. In addition, when Alfred sees the band of river gypsies, Vienna, Armande, Josephine, and some of the villagers having a party on their boats say that “something has to be done”. The band of river gypsies should not be seen as a threat to the village because they are also human beings, just because they wear cheap clothing, live on boats, and travel around do not make them dangerous people. It is really because of the village’s old fashioned, repressed thinking that make them have this prejudice thinking towards the gypsies.
The fourth prejudice is that one would be teased for not following the norm. This is shown when Vienna’s daughter, Anouk Rocher, runs into the chocolate shop after getting teased by her peers. Anouk later says to her mom, “Why can’t you be like other mothers?” In addition, all the women wear similar clothing, which proves that the villagers follow the norm. In this villages’ repressed and rigid society, there is no tolerance in being different from others; one would be made fun of for one’s differences.
To sum up, all these prejudices make up the rigid and suppressive French village, which make the villagers afraid of being themselves. Fortunately, Vienna is able to use her magical chocolate and her fighting spirit to help the villagers, and turns the village in a happy, lively place, where people don’t judge each other for their differences.
http://www.traditioninaction.org/movies/001mr.htm
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Chocolat.
In the movie Chocolat directed by Lasse Hallström is about a young mother named Vianne Rocher and her daughter Anouk, played by Juliette Binoche and Victoire Thivisol , who arrive in a little religious village in France and open up a chocolaterie during the time of Lent. At that time the people of the village where all raised to follow the teaching of the church and to never go the wrong path. As a result of that the entire village refuses to talk Vianne and to purchase chocolate. Nevertheless as time went by more and more people became acquainted with her and stared buying chocolate. On the other hand though there was the major of the village Comte de Reynaud ,played by Alfred Molina, was is heavily against the chocolaterie for it was the time of Lent and he wanted everyone of the villagers to be good christens and follow the rules of Lent. However as time went by the entire village ignored the rules of Lent and stated to enjoy their lives more. The main concern of the story is the impact of religion on the village people and the sudden changes arriving with Vianne Rocher’s chocolaterie.
At the beginning of the story the entire village is inside the chapel to announce the start of Lent. During that time the audience finds out that the entire village is extremely religious and that they keep an eye on every one to keep in line. At the same time Vianne Rocher and her daughter Anouk arrive in the village to open up their chocolaterie; however when they started selling their chocolates no one would go into the store for they didn’t want to break the rule of Lent. Nevertheless at one point a villager comes in and gets a free sample of chocolate that is supposed to bring back passion in her boring live. When her husband ate those chocolates he suddenly had interest in his wife again and they spend a passionate night. After a while the land lady Comte de Reynaud, played by Judi Dench, comes over and tries the chocolate and start a friend ship with Vianne. However the major of the village isn’t pleased about her selling chocolates and the fact that more and more people start to eat her chocolates decided to change the prayer for the next church eating to something talking about not indulging in pleasure trying to influence the people by reminding them of the sins they are committing by eating Vianne’s chocolates. The next day the town’s people suddenly stopped coming over to her store and she finds out that the major is telling them not to buy her chocolates.
As times goes by Vianne meets Francoise 'Fuffi' Drou, played by Hélène Cardona, who is the timid wife of the abusive bar owner in the village. She tries to start a friend ship with her, but fails until Francoise knocked out her husband who tried to hit her. From that point on she started to live with Vianne and got thought in how to make chocolates. When the major found out about that he tried to make Jean-Marc Drou the bar owner, played by Antonio Gil, into a upstanding citizen to get him and his wife back together. The reason why he did that was because he wanted to preserve the union between those two and he saw it as a holy crusade that he had to do to win against the chocolateri. However after he did his best to re educate Jean into a upstanding man jean decided to ask Francoise for forgiveness and failed in his attempt and ends up breaking into the chocolatery at night and getting knocked out by her. Later on in the story a bunch of ships arrived to the river bank of the village carrying travelers. As a result of those travelers arriving at the village the major orders that the entire village where to refuse service to those people and to get them to leave for they where no good people. Nonetheless Vianne ignores those demands and treats the travelers with kindness. While every one else treats them coldly. As time went by Vianne started to get more and more acquainted with the traveler Roux, played by Johnny Depp, and invites him the birthday party of Comte de Reynaud. After the birthday party dough the major find out about what Vianne has done and sais that they have to do something about it and as a result of him saying that Jean decided to try and burn down the travelers boats. At the same time Comte de Reynaud did and was buried the next day. During her burial the major changed the pastors speech so that it sounded like that she died because of the sin she committed by eating the chocolates and not following the village social rules. After all that happened Vianne decided it was time to travel to another village and backed her bags. How ewer when she was about to leave every one she helped with her chocolate was in her kitchen and prepared chocolate dishes; when she saw that she decided to stay and to start a chocolate festival. As a result of her stubbornness the major desperately tries to find an answer in church as to what he is to do next and find a dagger ling on the floor and decides to break into the store to destroy everything. Nevertheless when he was in the middle of destroying chocolate figurines he accidentally got some on his lips and then franticly stated eating the chocolate until he fell into a sugar coma. The next morning he is discovered by the priest and Vianne and apologizes for all the things he has done to her. At that days sermon then the entire village was gathered and one could see that the people where much happier and the major saw that his old ways where wrong doings. At the end of the movie the little religious town became a little less religious and started to enjoy live more by indulging in their pleasure; resulting in that the religion last power over their lives and that they could enjoying their lives now without having to fell like their are doing something wrong.
Info Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chocolat_(2000_film)
Chocolat: The Pain of Prejudice
In Chocolat (2000), directed by Lasse Hallström, the members of the town seem to hold a strong prejudice against outsiders. When Vianne and her daughter Anouk move into town, they are unwelcomed because of their differences. Although she is unaccepted by the people of the town, Vianne looks past these problems and spreads hope to others in the town who are suffering from the same indifferences. The people of the town hold a prejudice against those who are different because they are strong believers of tradition, so they do not want to stray from their ancestor’s ways.
In the small, French village, a set of guidelines have been put into place, which has held true for generations. These guidelines are words of advice as to how to live in the town in order to fit in. The people of the town know what is expected of them by others, but some still struggle to fit in, regardless of how well they follow the rules.
“If you lived in this village, you understood what was expected of you. You knew your place in the scheme of things. And if you happen to forget, someone would remind you. … If you saw something you weren’t suppose to see, you learned to look the other way. If by chance your hopes had been disappointed, you learned never to ask for more.”
The townspeople never stray from these beliefs because they can never be forgotten, but when Vianne and Anouk arrive, everything changes. When Vianne and Anouk arrive, the people of the town realize they are different. They build a prejudice against them because they have never been confronted with a different type of person before. Everyone in the town has always followed the same guidelines, but when Vianne shows up, she seems like a threat to their traditions. The mayor of the town, Comte de Reynaud, encourages the people to ignore Vianne and her daughter, and “look the other way”. Vianne is considered different because she does not go to church, she is not married yet she has a daughter, and she has opened a chocolate shop during Lent. Many people in the town do not like the chocolate shop because the chocolate is a temptation, which is what they must avoid during the time of Lent. As time continues, Vianne seems to make friends with those in the town who are considered outsiders. She is able to win them over because she is relatable and stands for what they believe in. These outsiders would finally have someone in their lives that they can look to for inspiration and someone who can encourage them to be themselves; be different. Vianne gives these people a sense of belonging and acceptance in the town, rather than being the unwanted outsiders. The prejudice against Vianne, Anouk, and the outsiders is cause by a fear of change and difference. The town has old traditions which are strongly followed, but Vianne seems to challenge these traditions, making her the outcast.
When the town experiences some ups and downs, they realize that Vianne is not trying to change the town, but rather introduce it to new ideas and traditions. After months of resisting the shop, the mayor gives into Vianne’s chocolate and ends up regretting the grudge he held against her and the shop. The following day, the church service was about welcoming new ideas and keeping an open mind to change, rather than trying to keep it away. After hearing the service, the townspeople are happier than ever and very accepting of each other. Vianne holds a chocolate festival the next day, hoping the town will officially welcome her, Anouk, and the chocolate shop, which is exactly what happened. The whole town showed up to enjoy the chocolate and celebrate change and a new sense of being. This small town needed a person like Vianne to come and change the prejudice ways. Although the town did not accepting of Vianne and Anouk when they arrived, they ended up changing the town for the better. The main reason the townspeople held a prejudice against outsiders was because the mayor wanted to hold onto the town’s traditions, so the people of the town followed by his example. Once the mayor changed his opinion, the rest of the town accepted Vianne and her chocolate shop. The mayor always made sure the townspeople were following the standard, but once he gave into Vianne and let is guard down, the people realized that Vianne is actually a good person who is trying to help a town. Vianne proved to this town that you can hold onto your old traditions while creating new ones.
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Grapefruit
This morning for breakfast I had some grapefruit. I never really liked grapefruits because I always thought they were too sour. Food Network said that if you can peel the entire grapefruit and eat the wedges like an orange it would not be as bitter. I had never done this before; I had only eaten grapefruits the way they are served in the dining hall. So I set my self this morning to peel the entire membrane off the grapefruit and eat it. This was a daunting task for me, being a nail biter, so I had a lot of difficulty digging into the white skin (this is after the outer peel came off). After a decent amount of work, I had pried off enough of the outside and was able to split the grapefruit into two halfs. This was the pink-est grapefruit I had ever seen! It was a bright, guava-like pink. It was so pretty and fresh and it smelled so delicious! Staring at the two halves, I then attempted to rip apart the individual wedges; like an orange. This was hard. For the record, grapefruit wedges do not hold together as easily as orange wedges. This is because they begin to tear between the little pods of grapefruit juice within the wedge.
I had in front of me a heap of destroyed grapefruit. There was juice and grapefruit bits and pieces of everything surrounding the area I was working in. Well, if all tastes the same, right? So I picked up and ate a mangled grapefruit wedge and it was so good! There was no bitterness, it was sweet and citrusy and delicious in every aspect possible. Maybe it was not the most attractive thing in the world but it tasted good.
Now, I do have a little bit of a problem. Every other grapefruit I eat will have to be compared to this one and let me tell you no other grapefruit in the world was as good.