Smiles Abound

Perhaps this should just be a movie blog, because I really want to talk about "Chocolat."  There is something so thrilling about the idea of being a wanderer, an adventurer, who takes life by each tiny minute and is always searching for fresh feelings and rich experiences.  I love it.  I love the strong characters in this movie, like Juliette Binoche, who opens a chocolate shop, despite the conservative and traditional ways of the French town.  Or Judi Dench's character, an old woman who is dying from diabetes but refuses to give in, indulging in all of the chocolate anyway, because each bite is ecstasy.  I love the idea of living life with no grand plans, with no other responsibilities other than helping people along the way come alive and enrich their lives.  Small pleasures, like listening to the wind's wisdom, or sand between fingers, or rain hitting against that roof, are so simplistic but so satisfying.  Life should be simple.