I'll turn it to the sweeter end this time. Chocolate was on the menu of our today's group film-therapy session. I didn't wanna complain. I rarely say no to chocolate. It's bitter in its core, anyway.

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I've seen the movie many times before so I got bit disappointed about our this week's choice. I found it more like a "get from the jail free card" from the group. Yes, it's a lovely fairy-tale with powerful pacifistic ideas and it's always wonderful to see good wining over bad, light over dark and etc., but how much can we benefit in terms of improving our psychological state? Can you became a better person by watching happy ends?

Chocolat, Lasse Halstrom

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Lasse Halstrom, the director of "Whats eating Gilbert Grape" and "The Cider house rules", for those who didn't see the movie, invites us in life of small Village in France where our heroine Vianne, played by Juliette Binoche, transfuses some blood to the anemic body of local community.

The village as a psychic entity

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My analysis will somewhat diverge from my usual scheme due to the lack of spectacular psychiatric diagnosis. I'll try to analyse the village. Not from the sociological perspective, rather psychoanalytical. I'll look at it, and it's dynamics, as unique, whole and autonomous psychological entity. Symbolism and dreamy atmosphere in the movie comes to great help by evoking our archetypes and setting our playful fantasies free.

So, let's do it. If we look at our village we won't need much to identify some serious problems with the local people. I mean, it's picturesque and cute in so many ways, but on the other hand so cold, gloomy and unwelcoming. Men are lowering and women are unsatisfied and sad. Even children are drawing sculls, dead bodies and whatnot, while the enemy number one seems to be a single mother selling cakes. Now when I think about it, it's not far from our reality in Croatia, but that's not my today's topic so I won't go any further. Anyway, society is kinda ill. We can say that our psychological entity shows some sings of serious depression and anxiety, if not borderline psychotic features.

Film through the eyes of a dreamer

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If we imagine this movie was a dream, we'd need to differentiate it's manifest and latent component. According to Freud manifest component of the dream is the explicit one. Meaning, exactly what happens, who's involved and what's the exact setting of the dream. Nothing is coincidental. On the other hand, latent component is the unconscious matter emerging to our conscious level. In order to "guard" our sleep, our ego camouflages this unconscious content into somewhat more acceptable and less obvious. This process is also known as "the dream-work". Our goal is to unmask this latent content by decoding the symbols.

Chocolate as a symbol

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What else is so luscious, yet so forbidden. How odd are these chains we use to seize ourselves so desperately. What are we so afraid of? Is it the potential loss? Loosing control? Of closeness? Loneliness? Well, if we summon it... could it be sex?

If our latent content incorporates some conflicts of sexual nature, we need to see what is our unconsciousness trying to tell us. We can see both libidinal and aggressive components of sex throughout the movie. Sweet, warm and nourishing chocolate as the libidinal force, and on the other hand these ongoing aggressive, penetrative and intrusive assaults to the chocolaterie. To the realm of this libidinal power. Resolution of conflict comes when these to merge together through cathartic cleansing. The act of major's (Alfred Molina) "fornication"with the pile of chocolate in the shop window seems to be this resolution of this conflict. God truly works in mysterious ways. With this act of accepting, both libidinal and aggressive in his sexual desires, suddenly there was color again, tension was gone, children were happy...Even our mayor wasn't such a psychopath any more.

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So, am I a better person for watching it? Well, this movie is a wonderful fantasy and the feeling afterwards is really nice. Was it due to resolution of my internal sexual conflicts? I seriously doubt it. Sometimes you just need to enjoy a great movie like this.

Till next time!

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img source:
cacao
village
dream ship
tree

Is there any other character you'd like me to dissect?

Psychologically of course! ;)

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