The first two minutes of the film Chocolat (2000) are highly revealing as to the concept of what film academic S. Brent Plate describes in his book Religion and Film (2008) as two ‘contrasting spaces’ which essentially represent two ‘contrasting worlds.’ During this introductory segment the viewer is able to become accustomed to (through a number of cinematic lingual elements) a central strand in the film’s narrative; the way in which regimented religious structure and pleasure driven business can become two conflicting sectors in society.

The first thing heard in the film is piano playing musical notes on a higher register; Rachel Portman’s score suggests a tranquillity and the viewer may feel enticed; yet the fact that it is played in a minor key suggests that something is foreboding, perhaps this calmness and peace will soon disappear. This is relevant as the order of the town is destroyed when the new chocolate shop appears.

The first titles that appear are basic in their format; this simplicity matches the feel of the town we will later visit. The town is a place which on the surface of things seems devoid of modern complications that perhaps the church feels it is able to keep in order. Beyond this simplicity, the white and black colours suggest that their actions may be viewed as one of two things; right or wrong, which contrasts the complexities of the confectionery seller with her questionable morality.

Beyond the titles, the first things filmed are what look like clouds, which the camera glides through. The viewer may assume that we are now descending through the clouds from somewhere high up in the sky; are we being told that God is watching?  This could be true when seen in relation to the church and it’s aims. However, when the camera moves beyond these apparent clouds, we see that we are not descending from the sky, rather moving horizontally through what looks like mist. This illusion could well imply that the supposed divine intentions of the town’s religious leaders are in no way inflicted by a higher power, rather by human will.

The long shot of the entire town reveals a number of things; firstly the size of the town; it is a small place where presumably not many people live, which suggests that any changes to daily life will be noticed by all of the town’s inhabitants and that any sort of control; be it political, criminal, commercial or religious, won’t take much to create a stir.

Secondly this long shot establishes the position of the town; it is high up on a hill and in the middle of the countryside. This could well mean that the town is difficult to reach and maybe is a place that is untainted by the proverbial ‘big dark world’ around it. This sets the film up as the shop owner moves into the town and is a modern and fresh addition to a town which is steeped in traditional values.

Thirdly this long shot reveals the church as the tallest and most central landmark of the town. The viewers eyes are immediately drawn to it, which serves the purpose of it being the institution that’s existence is threatened. It is at the centre of the town and the centre of the lives of the town’s citizens.

Two sound effects are heard when the music stops; birds singing and church bells ringing. The birds once again allude to the town’s apparent tranquillity but also could be read to symbolically represent new life and new beginnings; something which the town is about to experience. Things are about to change and become transformed.

The church bells are a familiar sound to even the most pagan of viewers; most people know that they are rung in order to call people to church, or at least to draw attention to it. These bells however are not tuneful, but are somewhat monotonous and off-key; which could well refer to the fact that the weekly routine of going to church is not a joy to these people, these bells are not joyous or inviting, rather they are boring and dreary. The viewer when hearing this will perhaps view see that this place does not achieve the things that a good church should; contrastly it is a place of boredom and weekly duty.

We are now shown a straight on shot of Comte Reynaud (Alfred Molina), this shot suggests that he is someone who is not necessarily of any threat; but the straightness insures that he is definitely in control. As people pass him and enter the church, this notion is confirmed when he signals to a man to remove his hat, almost like a school teacher. This is not a man who lets anything go unnoticed, especially rebellion; something that Vianne (Juliette Binoche) has plenty of.

The costume choice of black, his removed hat and the facial hair on his upper lip (moustache) all suggest that Comte is a man of conservative persuasion. This prepares the viewer to see him in juxtaposition to Vianne who is presented as progressive and daring.

The church is framed from a lower view-point suggesting its domineering nature. This church is not a place that is open to sinners who can find solace in it’s forgiving nature; rather it is a place which gives it’s members no freedom or joy; something which the chocolate shop can happily offer (especially in the month of lent).

A French church, similar to the one used in Chocolat.

A good point on the fact that this is a wide-angle shot is made by Plate;

A significant early shot is taken from the opening of what will become the chocolate shop, and the wide-angle camera is forced to point high to take in the height of the church towering above it.

The fact that this shot is taken from where the chocolate shop is established implies that these two places are in head to head conflict which is definitely seen throughout the film in the fact that both places stand for such different values.

This opening sequence of filmic images all combine to portray the film’s core narrative line; two very different worlds colliding. Those who manage to watch the film all the way to the end see that the two world’s eventually settle their differences and that Vianne undergoes an earth shattering change of her very own. This film does not necessarily serve to highlight a negativity towards the Christian church as a whole; rather it’s message discourages regimented and freedom infringment in religion and in politics. In the same way, the film is not necessarily encouraging chocolate binges or revolutionary retail, rather it would be better to read it as an acknowledgement of the beauty of freedom and enjoyment (namely the enjoyment of Chocolate).

In vista del Natale sarebbe carino rivedere il film “Chocolat” e soprattutto assaggiare la torta di Vianne, naturalmente al cioccolato. è buonissima, riporto qui la ricetta e il link dove si possono scovare quelle proposte e scovate negli altri film.

Torta di Vianne

By Jen

Throughout her distinguished career, Lauren Bacall has been recognized, nominated, and rewarded for her groundbreaking roles, distinctive abilities, and personal choices.  However, one specific award always managed to elude her.

In 1997, after over 50 successful years in movies which included work in some of today’s classics with a variety of the most well-known movie stars of the time, Lauren Bacall was finally nominated for her first Academy Award for her supporting role in The Mirror Has Two Faces.

However, the competition that year was fierce and the little golden man fell into the hands of the lovely Juliette Binoche for her supporting role in The English Patient.

Finally, this year, not long after her 85th birthday, the dazzling actress was awarded an Honorary Academy Award for her life’s work, which was presented at the Inaugural Governor’s Awards which took place on November 14, months ahead of the widely televised and more well-known Academy Awards show.

Grazia Fashion: Lauren Bacall’s early Oscar!

Screen legend Lauren Bacall given Oscar for life’s work – Yahoo! News

Lauren Bacall – Wikipedia

Lauren Bacall – IMDb

BINOCHE MIX: A great face can express fragility as well as the written word or a piece of music. A glance can signal a desert of despair. A partly open mouth, longing. A lowered eyebrow, trepidation. As far as expression goes, French actress Juliette Binoche’s face is a cosmic geography. It whispers of secret valleys and lurking undercurrents. Her eyes are the crown jewels. Her cheeks a cinematic philosophy. The movements of her mouth, even in silence, more expressive than opera.

Many a director has used Binoche’s face to paint cinematic expression the way a painter would apply a palette of colors. So it’s no surprise that one of her great roles came in Krzysztof Kieslowski’s, “Bleu” — the first of a trilogy of films. Binoche’s face conveys the spirit of each of her characters. We’ve all seen enrapturing faces in cinema before, whether it’s Isabelle Adjani, Audrey Hepburn, Isabelle Huppert, Ingrid Bergman, Greta Garbo, Ava Gardner, Giulietta Masina, Monica Vitti or Maria Falconetti. But Binoche’s face (to borrow a phrase from French literary critic Roland Barthes) “exists as idea and event.” On screen, she interjects knowingly — with a short blink, a hand behind the ear, a slight move from neck to shoulder or a sigh. Binoche’s face is allure itself. She is an actress who time and again answers the actor’s paradox: To present a veneer so beautifully as to convince an audience there isn’t one. There is simply no actress like her. These songs are to celebrate her. Time for a little fun. (And yes, Binoche would dig the Goodie Mob):

Hi everyone!  It’s your rock and roll daddy, Max, here with the scoop on all the up and coming musicians that have all the kids talking!

Mom and Dad took me to Huckleberry’s Pizza to another Daytrotter show.  This time we got to see Sondre Lerche, Lissie, and JBM.

JBM played a guitar and wore a flannel shirt and sang some songs.  He has a nice voice and it made me sleepy.

Lissie is from Rock Island where my Grandma and the pizza and my Grandpa are from.  She wears silly glasses and plays a guitar and sings songs about people.  I didn’t sleep very much because the other people eating pizza were very happy to see her and clap their hands when she told them to.  Mom took me to dance in the other big room where a man with a beard talked to me.  Lissie sang a song about Rock Island and a man with pig iron who fooled him and then the song got really, really fast and Mom was very excited.  Rock and roll!

Then all of Lissie’s brothers and sisters and best friends went home after they hugged her and told her how they like rock and roll and bought a t-shirt.  And Mom and Dad moved us to a big table so we could see Sondre but everyone stood up.  Dad told me that he was in a movie that I didn’t see with the silly man from The Office who wants to kiss the pretty lady from The English Patient.  He was loud and very funny and borrowed JBM’s guitar but broke it.  I liked it when all the girls in the room were singing with Sondre because they knew the song.

We were all very tired but it was a lot of fun.  I can’t wait until I am old enough to dance on my own!

Il libro che vi cosiglio questa volta è davvero un colpo al cuore. Una scarica di proiettili sordi e meschini che vi colpirà allo stomaco inaspettatamente. Una storia torbida che trascina con se un’inspiegabile fascino. Forse è il personaggio enigmatico di Anna Barton, partorito dalla mente di Josephine Hart, a fare la differenza. Una donna insolita, silenziosa e triste, seducente e pericolosa, la definirei una macchiolina nera caduta su di un foglio tutto bianco. Il foglio bianco e immacolato in questa storia è rappresentato dalla vita pacata e perbene del protagonista; un uomo politico influente, con un’esistenza stabile e prevedibile che verrà sconvolta dall’arrivo di questa donna. La storia è molto più complessa di come possa sembrare; è la psicologia dei personaggi, le loro vicede antecedenti al loro incontro a dare un quadro più vischioso ad una faccenda che sembrerebbe banale in un’altro frangente. Una frase su tutte rappresenta il personaggio tagliente di Anna Barton: “Chi ha subito un danno è pericoloso… Sa di poter sopravvivere.”

Ben riuscita a mio parere la versione cinematografica del romanzo. I personaggi sembrano incarnarsi magicamente nelle persone di Jeremy Irons e Juliette Binoche. Il film è a tratti più sintetico del libro stesso, nonostante il romanzo fosse già essenziale e brevissimo. Sostengo che la scrittrice nel suo libro abbia volutamente limitato l’ntrospezione e abbia lasciato nuda la narrazione dei fatti, rendendoli ancora più crudi. Il lettore si aspetterà una motivazione, una morale, una giustificazione alle azioni dei personaggi ma ne rimarrà deluso. A mio parere il libro però si dilunga un tantino troppo su certe dinamiche noiose, ma la tematica lo tiene su fino alla fine.

Il film compenza la scarna narrazione con le immagini; forti, intese e a tratti sconvolgenti.

Una sensualità raffinata e psicologica, una storia ossessiva e sbagliata che tiene incollata la nostra attenzione! Fatemi sapere se leggete il libro, o se vedete il film e se già conoscete entrambi sentitevi liberi di commentare. A presto!

Le sujet de Code inconnu est universel et pourtant systématiquement passé sous silence. En cela, pas étonnant qu’il traine derrière lui une réputation peu glorieuse. Comme toujours avec Haneke, nous avons droit à une nouvelle déclination du thème de la violence. Cette fois-ci, elle s’opère dans le quotidien. Il s’agit de ces violences réputées « légères », celles qui se pratiquent continuellement autour de nous sans que nous y prêtions attention. Haneke réunit plusieurs personnages qui se croisent à la manière d’un film choral et dont les interactions lui permettent de traiter son sujet. Il y a Anna, une comédienne, et son petit ami Georges, photographe de guerre. Il y a Jean, le frère de Georges, qui refuse obstinément de reprendre la ferme familiale malgré la pression de son père. Puis il y a Amadou, jeune homme d’origine africaine partagé entre les ennuis que connaît sa famille et le bonheur qu’il trouve en présence de sa petite copine. Et enfin il y a Maria, sans-papier d’origine roumaine, qui tant bien que mal s’obstine à survivre dans la rue.

Comme souvent dans les films d’Haneke réalisés en français, il arrive que la forme prenne le pas sur le fond. Cette particularité résulte en général d’une direction d’acteur assez indigente qui décrédibilise l’action tout en révélant ses ficelles de fabrique (en l’occurrence ici, il s’agit de rendre compte de « moments volés », capturés en plans séquences puis enchainés sans transition au montage). Code inconnu regorge de beaucoup de ces imperfections. Mais lorsque Haneke passe outre, ce sont de redoutables moments de vie qui éclatent sous nos yeux. Et le moins que l’on puisse dire, c’est que le quotidien fait peur à voir : Anna (Juliette Binoche) repasse son linge devant la télévision. Soudain, elle agrippe sa télécommande et coupe le son. On entend alors un enfant pleurer, qu’on devine battu avec bestialité par l’un de ses parents. Le visage de Juliette Binoche se crispe, semble s’insurger, puis après un court moment reprend la télécommande pour remettre le son. Elle agrippe à nouveau son fer à repasser et poursuit sa besogne. C’est dans l’indifférence que nait la violence. Le personnage sera bien malgré lui soumis quelques scènes plus tard à la même situation que celle vécue par l’enfant. Anna est dans le métro et se fait accoster par un jeune arabe. Gênée par la situation, elle ne répond pas aux avances du jeune homme qui finit par la bousculer. Elle se lève et change de place. Il la suit. La situation s’avère de plus en plus oppressante et humiliante. Malgré le nombre important de passagers qui l’entoure, personne ne vient à son aide. Une situation familière qui n’aurait pas lieu d’être.

Haneke ne fait rien de moins que recréer des scènes de la vie courante. C’est dans le sentiment de réalisme que l’identification est possible et devient familière. Code inconnu nous révèle à nous même et ne fait rien de plus. La violence est bien là et nous n’y prêtons pas attention : c’est un jugement sévère et néanmoins légitime qui nous est jeté en pleine face. Il n’y a pas à dire, Michael Haneke ne fait vraiment rien pour être aimé.

Ceci dit, nous l’avons évoqué plus haut, Code inconnu n’est pas un film parfait. Si l’intention de base est plus que louable, Haneke peine néanmoins à toucher au réalisme par le biais de sa mise en scène. Or sans cela le film ne peut fonctionner. C’est bel et bien la présence de Juliette Binoche qui permet l’aboutissement de la majorité des scènes. Les histoires des autres personnages s’apparentent en comparaison à de la toile de fond. Il apparaît de toute évidence qu’Haneke n’est pas à l’aise face à la crédibilité de jeu de ses comédiens lorsqu’il officie en France. On comprend alors sa nécessité à ne tourner qu’avec des acteurs accomplis qui savent tirer profit d’une liberté de manœuvre (Huppert et Magimel dans La Pianiste ou  Auteuil et Binoche dans Caché). Heureusement, Code inconnu s’épanouit aussi entre les lignes : malgré l’inaboutissement technique dont il fait les frais, les intentions artistiques sont bien là, claires comme de l’eau de roche.

v

CODE INCONNU : RÉCIT INCOMPLET DE DIVERS VOYAGES (Fr.-Allemagne-Roumanie, 2000) R., Sc. : Michael Haneke ; Ph. : Jürgen Jürges ; M. : Gilba Gonçalves ; Int. : Juliette Binoche (Anne Laurent), Thierry Neuvic (Georges), Josef Bierbichler (Le fermier), Alexandre Hamidi (Jean), Ona Lu Yenke (Amadou), Djibril Kouyaté (Le Père), Luminita Gheorghiu (Maria). Couleurs, 118mn.

The Unbearable Lightness of Being (1988)

I’ve always felt it is a mistake to compare a film adaptation to its literary counterpart. The Unbearable Lightness of Being, as a novel, is hugely significant and wonderful. As a film, it is not necessarily true to the book and that is solely because as a film it is not capable of being true to the book. I would compare making a movie out of Milan Kundera’s novel to making a video game out of the Godfather or Pulp Fiction. If that was done we run into issues like forgetting to include the priorities of game play, or simply cashing in on the success of the film. With the Unbearable Lightness of Being, there are inevitably going to be lovers of the book waiting to attack the film, and that has happened. Of course it prioritizes itself efficiently as a cinematic experience, while at the same time it makes for about as good an adaptation of the novel as you can possibly get. It wasn’t a filmable story to begin with and even Kundera came forward and said that, but he also consulted the writers of the screenplay. So comparisons between the film and novel are in my opinion pointless but also inescapable. I’ve already made them myself.

Tomas (Daniel Day Lewis) and Sabina (Lena Olin)

I’m not going to summarize the whole film for you as that would probably be too long-winded and could potentially spoil the story. I’ll introduce the characters, place them in a setting and then say go. The film takes place in Prague in 1968 just after Alexander Dubcek lead the Prague Spring advancement. Soon after that the characters suffer through further reform following the eventual invasion of the Soviets and the Warsaw Pact. The film opens with two characters who are lighthearted and carefree lovers. Tomas is a surgeon and womanizer who lives life as though sex and love are two very different things. Sabina is an artist who, in the eyes of Tomas, embodies sex. Tomas soon meets the more heavyhearted Thereza, a waitress and aspiring photographer, who embodies innocence. They are opposites but soon Tereza will also embody love in the eyes of Tomas.

Juliette Binoche as Tereza

The characters in The Unbearable Lightness of Being evolve wonderfully in a significant and chaotic backdrop, but they never steer from their passions. It is layered as not only a romance, but also as a story about rebellion, and as an erotic dance; but ultimately it is an existential story. A few of these points are strengths only realized if the book is read first. Not that I’d definitely recommend doing that if you haven’t already, as the book does stand higher in it’s own medium than the film does and you may be setting yourself up for disappointment. Some of the deeper messages are unquestionably somewhat muted in the film.

Hey, for those bored with a three hour period romance with subtitles, there's plenty of great nudity.

Again though, judged solely as a cinematic narrative, Director Phillip Kauffman makes The Unbearable Lightness of Being a beautiful movie and delves deeply enough into these characters and their world that he manages to capture some of Kundera’s vision, while adding his own motion picture flare. I’m conflicted as to whether this movie should be celebrated as a triumph in terms of Kundera’s novel, but I’m not conflicted in the least as to whether or not this is a great movie all by itself.

My rating is 4 out of 5 stars.

Juliette Binoche é actriz, é mulher, é mãe, mas também pinta e resolveu tentar a dança aos 44 anos. Tudo isto descobri ontem, na apresentação do documentário “Juliette Binoche dans les yeux”, de Marion Stalens, no Estoril Film Festival. O evento presta homenagem à artista e contou com a presença das duas, actriz e realizadora, também irmã de Binoche.

O filme é um magnífico trabalho de partilha, que mostra de forma envolvente e criativa a mulher forte, independente, vencedora de um Óscar que não tem medo que a vejam sem maquilhagem em grande plano num ecrã de vários metros de altura, mulher de uma beleza comovente e artista em estado puro que é Binoche. A homenagem que o Estoril Film Festival lhe presta estende-se a vários filmes que fazem a retrospectiva da sua carreira e ainda a uma exposição de pinturas, retratos e poemas da artista intitulada Portraits In Eyes.

De resto registo também aqui outra pérola do certame deste ano. Chama-se “O Fantástico Sr. Raposo”, de Wes Anderson.

Exibido anteontem em ante-estreia (com uma vergonhosa hora de atraso…) a aventura do realizador de “The Darjeeling Limited” e “Um Peixe Fora de Água” pela animação é um deleite para os olhos e para a disposição de qualquer um. A começar está o toque brilhante das vozes de George Clooney, Bill Murray, Owen Wilson e Meryl Streep por trás das personagens.

Depois, os bonecos. São tão giros que dá vontade de agarrar. E claro, a história deliciosa e completamente non sense da raposa com problemas existenciais, dividida entre o seu lado selvagem e a responsabilidade familiar, que decide recomeçar a assaltar aos galinheiros vizinhos e acaba por meter a sua família e comunidade “supostamente selvagem” em sarilhos. Trata-se da adaptação do livro homónimo de Roald Dahl, autor de “Charlie e a Fábrica de Chocolate” e “James e o Pêssego Gigante”.

Enfim, irónico, bem humorado, e com aquele toque de animação à antiga (parece que Anderson é mesmo avesso às “Pixars”), “O Fantástico Mr. Fox” é sem dúvida um filme para  ver e chorar (a rir) por mais.

瑞典官方電視台的節目質數委實不俗，每天黃昏六至七兒童節目不特止，上周首播的紀錄片系列Världens konflikter (The World’s Conflicts 世界的紛擾)，旨在將現時各地尤其中東一帶的宗教糾紛，向大部份只知部份的普羅大眾展示一個清簡全貌。

另一齣最新出爐的紀錄片 Juliette Binoche Dans Les Yeux (Sketches for a Portrait)，前個周五黃昏八時，我和方芳眼瞪瞪了一個小時，精彩得很。說她是當今地球上最優秀的女演員實不為過，你有沒有看過波蘭巨匠奇斯洛夫斯基的電影「紅白藍三部曲」？ Bleu 裡飾演交通意外喪失失女的寡婦，Binoche 雙眼望空、雙唇無動，無底深潭的痛和絕望，我希望一世也不用感受。

記錄片由其妹Marion Stalens 執導，引著的紅線子令人驚喜，觀眾能看到廚房裡洗菜並笑容嫣然的她、捲趟在火車軟座位上素臉的她、舞室中向舞伴求說你要讓我進入你心時眉鎖的她、畫室中以單黑墨調水把歷來自己演活過的角色描畫時物外的她，許多面的Juliette Binoche 而每一面都如齒如輪地相接，出奇的一脈相承，並和諧。

她說起拍候考賢的戲時，導演靜心信任，她最沒章法但自放效果連自己也驚訝起來。拍【藍】的時候，和奇斯洛夫斯基的感應是近乎靈性的，導演經常沉默，那片子如大石，將一切拉沉到底。但論事後的拉不出來，卻是在Les Amants du Pont-Neuf 片中，飾演和噴火賣藝人流落在巴黎最老的橋邊，那位半盲女子Michèle 。我還是記著【生命中不能承受的輕】，米蘭昆德拉筆下的Tereza，捷克小鎮的女侍應不是被她演活了，而是此她便是彼她；記得看完電影我再把書看多遍，許多年前的事了，那本幽幽的書，現在又想看。

紀錄片以Binoche 的巴黎畫展結尾，假如你把她的五官、身材分拆細檢，比她精緻的大有人在。演繹過無數個其她，或許Juliette 每一次也把角色的一些收在自己裡面，未必是精華，卻已夠細味。

方芳在第二天放學後，把水彩筆一味醮在黑色那一格，淡淡的灰由深到淺，畫出一道彩虹來。

瑞典家庭擁有電視要繳納牌照費，每年承惠2,500 瑞典克朗，約230 歐元，我們打算讓大石電視退休，將電腦的聲畫質素提高，實行在瑞典官方台網頁繼續收看優質節目。可惜網上播放只限瑞典境內觀賞，希望你也有機會看到這齣紀錄片！

Die quirlige, ruhelose Vianne Rocher (hinreißend gespielt von Juliette Binoche) verschlägt es mit ihrer Tochter Anouk (Victoire Thivisol) in das Provinznest Lansquenet-sous-Tannes im Winter des Jahres 1959. Mehr lesen

O filme “Horas de Verão”, do diretor Olivier Assayas, fala das distintas trajetórias de dois irmãos e uma irmã de quarenta e poucos anos se chocam quando sua mãe — que preservava a obra de seu tio, o excepcional pintor do século XIX Paul Berthier —, morre repentinamente. Os filhos são levados ao confronto de suas diferenças. Adrienne, uma bem sucedida designer em Nova York; Frédéric, economista e professor universitário em Paris; e Jérémie, um dinâmico empresário que vive na China, são apresentados às texturas e lembranças do final da infância, às memórias partilhadas, criando uma visão única do futuro. O longa será exibido na 33ª Mostra Internacional de Cinema. No elenco: Juliette Binoche, Charles Berling, Jérémie Renier e Edith Scob.

serviço

o quê: Horas de Verão (L`Heure o D`Été – França -2008 – 102 min)
quando: 5 de novembro, às 19h30
onde: Masp – Vão Livre
endereço: Avenida Paulista, 1578
telefone: (11) 3938.0697
entrada: gratuita
informações: www.mostra.org

Did you see that movie several years ago with  Juliette Binoche, Johnny Depp and a whole lot of luscious-looking chocolate?  Chances are that if you went into the theatre with an indifferent attitude towards chocolate, at the end of the movie you went straight to concessions and bought one of everything that had chocolate as an ingredient.  (I’ve never been indifferent to chocolate, so I was able to wait until I reached the privacy of my home!)

One of my all-time favorite treats is hot chocolate.  I adored it as a child when my Dad mixed it up on cold mornings and now I fix it for my kids (and myself) on cold mornings, afternoons and evenings. 

This is our recipe.  I know you’ll like it. 

Hot Chocolate

For each cup of chocolate:

2 heaping tsp. of sugar

1 heaping tsp. of powdered, unsweetened chocolate

a teeny-tiny pinch of salt

1 c. of milk

a drop of vanilla

Mix the dry ingredients. Then add the milk, a little at a time, stirring until you have achieved a smooth  mixture.  Stir in the rest of the milk, place the saucepan over medium heat and, stirring constantly, heat the mixture until thoroughly hot.

Make it even better:  Oh, the possibilities! I like to make it light on the sugar, with a tad more chocolate and then swirl in some heavy cream after I ladle it into each cup.  The kids like to have a candy-cane swizzle stick to stir around and spice up their drink.  Adults like to spice their drink with something a little more grown-up.  Then there are the traditional toppings:  marshmallows, marshmallow cream, whipped cream, a dash of cinnamon…

If you have a suggestion to make a good thing even better, or you have a beloved hot chocolate recipe of your own, please share!

Happy sipping,

~K

Zdobienie pralinek może być wielką frajdą. Wszystkie chwyty dozwolone. Jest pole do popisu dla naszej inwencji twórczej.  Dla mnie to naprawdę wspaniała rozrywka.

A oto kilka szybkich porad:

• pokolorować sobie białą czekoladę barwnikami spożywczymi
• Narysować na papierze do pieczenia wzorki, serduszka, kółeczka, kwadraty, koniczynki, liście. Odwrócić go i zamalowywać swoje dzieła czekoladą (odwraca się go, gdyż wzorek może nam pobrudzić czekoladę). Czekać do zastygnięcia. Delikatnie nożem przenosić wzorki i przyklejać na praliny. Pędzlem nanosimy kropelkę czekolady i lekko dociskamy wzorek.
• przyklejać do pralin wszystko co się da, migdały, orzechy włoskie, orzechy laskowe,  zagęszczoną do bólu czerwoną galaretkę, masę krówkową.
• polewać praliny czekoladą tworząc fajne paseczki, krateczki, spirale i nie przejmować się,  że krzywo. Im bardziej krzywo tym apetyczniej, asymetria dozwolona, wskazana, zalecana!
• dół pralin zalewać innym kolorem czekolady, albo czekać aż spód troszkę przestygnie i wkropić tam krople kontrastowego koloru i zakręcić kółeczko pędzlem. Zastygnie tworząć fajny motyw. Bo przecież spody pralinek też nie mogą być nudne. 

Ciekawa podstawa praliny

Dla Ciebie...

Kto się temu oprze?

I jeszcze inne ujęcie

Idag släpps filmen Paris på DVD. Jag tänker köpa den för att se om den. Och se om den igen. Och sedan bära den i handväskan bara för att veta att jag när helst kan se när den unga kvinnan tittar på sin till åldern komna älskare och säger “jag ville bara att du skulle se mitt liv”, eller när överklasstjejerna får åka truck mellan hangarerna på partihandeln eller när bageriägarinnan skäller på sin nyanställde expedit, eller när den hjärtsjuke tar in livet genom sidofönstret i taxin…..jag kan fortsätt i all oändlighet. För den här filmen gick rakt in i mitt hjärta.

PS. K Special hade förra veckan ett program om Juliette Binoche och här hittar du filmmusiken på Spotify. DS.

Ten film ma szczególny klimat.  Wracam do niego czasami.   Zwykle  gdy jest mi jakoś tak dekadencko i melancholijnie.  Gdy chcę poczuć wolność o zapachu czekolady.

“Czekolada” to  baśniowa opowieść z receptą na szczęście;  BĄDŹ SOBĄ, RÓB CO LUBISZ, BĄDŹ  OTWARTY, NIE BÓJ SIĘ ZMIAN.

Missa inte K Specials dokumentär om Juliette Binoche. Det är hennes syster som filmat och den handlar om att utvecklas som skådespelare och konstnär på sina egna villkor. Men mest handlar den om en kvinna som går sina egna vägar trots sin framgång. En förebild.

Tack för tipset Newyn!