This past weekend was a fattening one, not least because I
saw two very different movies that both focused on sweet-tooth delights. I
watched 1971’s Willy Wonka & the
Chocolate Factory with a very excited six-year-old who knew the Roald Dahl
original and was thrilled to see it come to life on the screen. This was not
the 2005 Charlie and the Chocolate
Factory, starring Johnny Depp in a performance that perhaps reflects Dahl’s
own perverse sense of humor but has also creeped out kids and adults alike. In Willy Wonka, the candy man is played by
Gene Wilder as a fellow full of mischief, one who’s unpredictable when faced
with bad behavior but remains ultimately benign. Those all-seeing blue eyes,
that Harpo Marx hair – I’d like my Willy Wonka to look like that.
Which is not to say it’s a film without flaws. Though I
enjoyed the ageless Jack Albertson as Grandpa Joe, finding his footing after
years spent in bed, the movie’s essential Charlie Bucket did nothing for me. As
young Charlie, Peter Ostrum comes across as a nice kid, but not one with any
particular charm or complexity. (Perhaps that’s why he never made another movie.
He’s had what’s perhaps a much saner life, as a husband, father, and
veterinarian.) Attempts to add suspense into the plot via an apparent
industrial spy are lame, at best. And the film’s musical numbers, including a
would-be poignant ditty sung by Charlie’s mother early in the film, can only be
described as saccharine.
Speaking of sugar, I’ve got to add that the wonders of Willy
Wonka’s candy factory (a chocolate waterfall, candy cane trees, and so forth)
do not look especially mouth-watering. The film contains a few clever visuals
(I like the wall-hook that snatches Grandpa Joe’s hat), but it didn’t make me
especially hungry for a trip to the candy store. By contrast, The Cakemaker quickly set my mouth to
watering. If you like scrumptious cinnamon cookies, not to mention a
chocolate-and-cherry Black Forest Cake, you will find yourself wondering where
you can go after the movie for a quick pick-me-up.
Black Forest Cake is actually the American translation of Schwarzwälder
Kirschtorte. It’s appropriate to give the German original here, because
this film is a rare Israeli-German co-production. No, it’s not Holocaust
inspired, though the mistrust that Jews might feel for Germans, even today, is
part of its backstory. The central character is Thomas, a young German baker
who’s a master of his craft. The tragic death of someone he loves brings him to
Jerusalem, where he shyly insinuates himself into the life his lover left
behind. The Cakemaker is not a movie
that overexplains itself, and viewers are left to decide on their own the
motives and emotions of all the central characters. This is a pleasure that’s
somewhat rare when it comes to Hollywood movies; I’ve discovered that the
film’s ending, in particular, can lead to serious post-screening discussion
over that yummy piece of cake. Curiously, I’ve found some evidence that men and
women see the ending quite differently, especially in terms of the behavior of
the film’s female lead. Is it love she’s after, or closure, or what exactly?
Suffice it to say, without spilling all this movie’s
secrets, that The Cakemaker explores
relationships between Berlin and Jerusalem, male and female, religious and
secular life. (The unbending observance of Jewish dietary laws forms an
important element of the plot.) How tasty to see a film that gives the viewer
so much to chew on.
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