Author: Mara L.

Thanks to everyone who wrote to me about Watership Down?clearly, the movie has devoted fans! And someone pointed out that it doesn’t only reference Genesis and Homer, but also Darwin. Witness how the animals are already around before they grow their survival tools?teeth and claws and so on. Point taken.

Anyway, someone else asked me what I think, by comparison, of Ratatouille, the Pixar movie about a little rat who aspires to be a chef. Doesn’t like to eat rotten left-overs from the trash. Loves beautifully prepared and sophisticated food. Just not what a rat should be like. So the rat must leave friends and family. Off to an haute-cuisine restaurant in Paris. She gets her shot at fame by assuming the role of ‘little chef’ for a complete ignoramus. As ‘little chef’ the rat sits under his hat, and directs the cooking by pulling his hair. Overcoming of numerous obstacles. Then finally: the ultimate underdog made it. The rat is famous, the new restaurant aptly called Ratatouille.

Given my role as amateur chef and food critic, and now, newly revealed, my weakness for little animals and kids movies, I’m of course most happy to recommend Ratatouille. I watched it twice on flights between the US and Europe. A most moving experience, because on these flights I’m caught in a vulnerable state of mind: in transit between my two homes, I’m pondering whether I will ever make it in New York City.

But as an artist, I must say I prefer Watership Down. I don’t particularly like the drawings in Ratatouille. And not because rats are somehow less lovely than rabbits. The drawings in Ratatouille don’t aim for beauty, and I love beauty. And then, I also feel that there is something cheap about the way the underdog motif hits me. The moral of the story is a little too obvious. Work hard, and even if you are the most despised being on earth, you will make it. Doesn’t strike me as all that true. But anyway, as a cook at heart I can’t say I didn’t like Ratatouille.

The other night, I saw Watership Down with friends who rented the movie.

I never yet had the impulse to write about a movie, but this is a very special one. The drawings are fantastic. It is truly artistic, without being a movie for artists: it’s a picture for everyone and every child. It is courageous in visualizing what goes on in the rabbits’ imaginations, without drifting too far into 1970ies psychedelic stereotypes. It references Homer and Genesis, without coming across as blasphemous, pompous, or conceited. It’s a film about rabbits.

And then, the moral of the story. The movie takes the perspective of those who are born without natural weapons – that is, rabbits – and all they can do to defend themselves is run fast and think fast. That is, it is a perfect allegory on human life. Aren’t we the animals without horns, sharp teeth, and claws? The story is about courage, friendship, and all the other big things in life. In short, it is heartbreaking. So much so that I wonder whether it might need more of a parental warning than more superficially violent movies…

Anyway, I took this as an occasion to dig out a rabbit that looks like the rabbits in the movie and photograph it on Jens’ chaise, with his camera. He promised to do the processing. In the end he re-took the entire image for me and I think this one captures the special rabbit personality… I’m taking it as an occasion to give my highest ranking, for a change, to a movie: five stars for Watership Down *****.

Jens is taking photos of a new architecture project around Ninth Avenue and 53rd street, and he took me along to have a look. Of course, you cannot invite me on such a tour without taking time for some eating! So, this was an opportunity to have lunch at one of my favorite restaurants, Roberto Passon at Ninth Avenue, corner of 50th street.

When you walk down that part of Ninth Avenue, you don’t expect to find a peaceful place to rest, with beautifully prepared, tasty, and healthy food. But this is just what Roberto Passon is. According to their website, the cuisine is Venetian. Coming from Northern Italy, I am not sure what to say. Certainly, I wouldn’t have picked up on this. I ordered some octopus that was, according to the menu, Portuguese. But however that may be, it was simply delicious. Octopus on steamed potatoes, with various sauces based on balsamico, tomato, and pesto (so, all in all certainly Italian enough…).

If you ever get to that part of town, you shouldn’t miss Roberto Passon. It has my highest ranking of five stars*****.