Famous Players, 34 foot screen, "jagged" aperature plate (???), print a little dirty early first reel. We sat 24 feet back, as close as I'd want to be, overall presentation and sound pretty good....I wonder why this movie was FLAT, there was some stunning French countryside and village panoramas that would've had a cool look in Scope......
 

I saw this film last night in a smallish older style suburban theatre - the Balwyn Cinema in Melbourne (I sat at the back). I love older style theatres which have real atmosphere unlike modern day dogboxes.

Disturbingly the audience was almost exclusively of an older age group (older than me - I'm 36). Pity that a younger audience didn't give this film a look.

I loved the film and thought that the film really illustrated what a film should fundamentally be about - namely telling a story. The script was strong, the setting good (although at points the film didn't convey a genuine French 'feel') and the actors good. It is very hard to make a film feel genuinely French. I think some things are better left up to the French themselves!

Nonetheless I enjoyed this film immensely. Dame Judy Dench's performance was excellent and deserved an award.

Some of the aerial shots of the town appear to have been done using a model which is why they may not have used scope.

And the subject matter is very tasty although it is interesting to note that I watched 'Delicatessan' on video during the week and this paints quite a different picture of the french palate!

Still, this film makes me want to visit the Chocolate Box (a chocolate shop) in Camberwell!

I highly recommend this film to all ages. Or to anyone who likes chocolate. Yum!

4 1/2 stars

cheers Peter

cheers Peter