74. Make a list of movies I’ve wanted to see, and rent/watch them all

Chocolat

Let's just say it's a good thing we don't have much chocolate in our apartment, otherwise I would have likely eaten it all after watching this movie.

It's one from a few years ago that I just never got around to seeing at the time the buzz was going around about it. Chocolat has a very serious plot line with very weighty themes and character conflicts: Religious Legalism v. Pagan Indulgence; Domestic abuse; politics; and the list goes on...

But amidst these heavy ideas, there is, simply: Chocolat. And its effect on this small French town in the late 1950s. There is the young Catholic priest who loves Elvis Presley music and is conflicted over the council given to him by the town's political bully. There is the endearing older couple who spark a Winter romance through sweets from the chocolatier. There is the young boy who restores the broken relationship with his grandmother...

Honestly, I thought chocolate was a great symbol of grace in the movie. Yet, true to Hollywood norms, the conclusion of the movie taught the worldly view that tolerance = anything goes, which twists true grace in such a way that it tugs at my heart a bit.

It is a delightful and thought provoking film.

And now I want some chocolate with chili pepper.....