Fantasy Film Festival: Food of the Gods edition
I have decided, after spending part of my afternoon in the city, that there isn’t much that beats a walk through San Francisco on a spring day (…when you’re supposed to be at work). I started at AT&T Park and walked along the water, with the wind in my hair and the sun on my face, and the cherry blossoms blooming, and the big, stocky palm trees stretching out ahead of me. At the end of my walk, I popped into the Ferry Building market hall—a place so food-obsessed that there’s a special store just for mushrooms—and bought a one-ounce bar of Scharffen Berger milk chocolate. And there you have it: spring and a bit of a stroll and the scalded-milk aftertaste of 41% milk chocolate. Not a bad Wednesday, if I do say so myself.
While I ate my Scharffen Berger bar, broken into pieces for longer enjoyment, I got to thinking about movies and chocolate. There are definitely people out there who don’t like chocolate, but aren’t those people kind of…odd in the eyes of the rest of us? Which is why chocolate makes such a great subject for the movies: it’s magical, it’s innocent, it’s sexy, it’s something we can mostly agree on. It also makes a great theme movie night. Invite a few friends, plan to break your diet for an evening, and enjoy other people enjoying chocolate. Like so:
Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971): The original, with a screenplay by Roald Dahl, a whole cast of Oompa Loompas (as opposed to one Oompa Loompa multiplied for the remake), and an awful lot of nostalgia.
Chocolat (2000): Juliette Binoche has the cure for what ails an entire French town, as well as a bunch of river pirates. Miracle food, indeed.
Like Water for Chocolate (1992): Chocolate is passion! Love saves the day! Watch out for the naked chick on the horse, though.
The Chocolate War (1988): Something about the social hierarchy at a Catholic school, kicked off by bake-sale-induced civil disobedience. Whatever. Bud Cort and Adam Baldwin, together? I’m so there.
chocolate, chocolate movies, movies about chocolate, willy wonka and the chocolate factory, chocolat, like water for chocolate, the chocolate war, adam baldwin, juliette binoche, bud cort, film festivals
March 19th, 2008 at 9:43 pm
I find the best way to watch Willy Wonka is to start at the first scene with Gene Wilder and fast-forward through all the musical bits. Makes for a nice 40-minute short.
March 20th, 2008 at 6:02 pm
mmm Chocolate. Also, interesting tidbit from the Land of Sarah: I love the original Willy Wonka, and was never scared by it as a kid. And then I grew up and learned that it terrified everyone I know. What’s up with that?