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Obscure DVD choices

Tired of CGI figures, special effects and things that blowed up good? Yearn for the days when films involved something called 'character development' and dramatic acting?  Then, here are a couple of little films that you probably never heard of before but are eminently watchable.

We rent from Videomatica DVD rentals by mail.  They cater to film buffs and offer an outstanding library of films, particularly foreign films, too obscure for the neighborhood rental shop. If you are the kind of viewer who needs to watch everything Louis Malle directed or you are a student of Italian postwar neorealism and need to watch the best of Russian or Japanese cinema, check out Videomatica.

The Castle (1997), an Australian film stars Michael Caton with a twenty-something Eric Bana and old, old hand Charles (Bud) Tingwell.  A family member found this movie through recommendation of an Aussie friend. I began watching, expecting to bail after a few moments, but was pleasantly surprised. It's a fun story with gentle humor, one that Roger Ebert called "one of the funniest movies of recent years."

My favorite lines involve the "castle" owners explaining how lucky they are to live on the fringe of an international airport. Although the family never travels by air, they think the location would be very convenient if they ever begin flying. Of course, as this is explained, a screaming jetliner passes low overhead, about to land on the nearby runway.

With, by their estimation, such a perfect location, it is understandable that the family goes to great lengths to protect their home when the airport wants to expropriate the land on which it stands.

Director Rob Sitch's next theatrical project was "The Dish", another comic movie with affable and quirky characters. Look for either of these when you are in the mood for comedy.

A Foreign Field was a delightful surprise. It's funny, touching and meaningful. Wow, what a cast of masters. Jeanne Moreau, Alec Guinness, John Randolph, Leo McKern, Lauren Bacall along with Edward Herrmann and Geraldine Chapman.

We meet two aging British veterans of the Normandy invasion who share time with an American vet and others, including a once young French women who had caught the eyes of more than one soldier. The film begins with gentle humor but turns to reveal the suffering that shaped so many lives when those glorious French beaches ran dark with the blood of so many innocents.

I was reminded of how David Niven, usually a ready raconteur, explained why he never talked of his WWII experiences.

"I was asked by some American friends to search out the grave of their son near Bastogne. I found it where they told me I would, but it was among 27,000 others, and I told myself that here, Niven, were 27,000 reasons why you should keep your mouth shut after the war."

Alec Guinness could could play a statue and do it with unmatchable skill. Here, he barely utters a word and performs wonderfully. Leo McKern plays a Rumpole like character, radiating goodness from within a crusty skin. Character actor John Randolph fits perfectly as the American GI returning to remember Normandy. The female leads, Jeanne Moreau and Lauren Bacall, could not have been better cast.

British writer Roy Clark has done countless hours of comedy (Last of the Summer Wine), nearly always with gentleness and dignity. This is among his best work.

Cheese and charcuterie on Vancouver's east side

Do you enjoy a quiet weekend brunch, away from noisy family spots, with sophisticated yet casual table service and interesting food? Offering, of course, good value. Think Au Petit Chavignol, a small restaurant specializing in cheese, fine wines, charcuterie and cheese related specialties. Not sure what to select? Put yourself in the hands of a server.

APC is open seven days a week until late, and the weekend brunch is casually elegant and priced fairly. You can experience tastes from around the world, or at least from the parts that care about fine cheese. Beyond les fromages, you will enjoy charcuterie, house made terrines, fondue, raclette and more. The beverage list has been fashioned by people who understand the art and science of matching food and drink. Wine choices by the glass are carefully considered but APC will open most any bottle if you are buying two glasses.

Probably every food writer in Vancouver has written up APC, universally praising the food concept and its execution. It is also no secret that the restaurant attracts professionals from Vancouver's food scene. We've spotted owners, chefs and servers from other fine restaurants, sitting here on a day-off, embracing a cool glass, perhaps a German Riesling - one of more than 30 - accompanied by small plates of salumi and cheese. The special meats might include jamon ibérico or serrano from Spain, air dried beef from Alberta or dry cured Italian style meats from Moccia, an East Hastings Street neighbor. Again, servers will guide your selections, if you wish.

Alice Spurrell and Allison Spurrell, along with Joe Chaput, are owners and operators. They restored a heritage building constructed about 1922 and introduced fine dining and specialty foods to a part of our city not accustomed to these satisfactions.

The great news is that next door to APC, you find les amis du FROMAGE, where the Spurrells apply their well developed expertise to run Vancouver's finest cheese markets. They offer four to five hundred cheeses, including 150 Canadian, mostly from Quebec and British Columbia.

During brunch at the restaurant, we experiment with new tastes, then visit next door and purchase our favorites for home. That always includes cheese but often charcuterie, condiments, crackers, oils, vinegars and even prepared frozen meals. Recent tastes earned our favor.

Valdeón is a rich and creamy, intensely-flavored cow and goat's milk blue cheese made in Spain's northeast province of Leon. The Valdeón wheels are wrapped in sycamore or chestnut leaves, which contribute a distinctive appearance and complex flavor. Valdeon has an assertive nature and the taste within a small piece varies, strongest and most complex near the leaf wrapped outer edge. Combining different milk types, while not typical, is not rare. Blending no doubt started out of necessity in times when milks from single sources were not plentiful. Many admirers believe Northern Italians perfected the art but this cheese speaks loudly for the Spanish.

Captured by Valdeon, we also purchased Rocchetta, a blended milk cheese of Piemonte. From pasteurized cow, goat and sheep's milk, it is fresh, straw colored, creamy and delicate with complex tones from the blend of milks. It reminds me of soft cheesecake.

Stilton, named for the English village in Cambridgeshire, is an historic blue cheese, which, in quintessential British style, cannot be made in the village of Stilton. However, it can be made in Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Notinghamshire and is available year round in Canada. Les amis du FROMAGE stock it of course and sometimes have their own variation, which is Stilton comfortably bathed in reddish-brown Taylor Fladgate port wine. That is a port that Master of Wine James Cluer lauds for, "Lovely caramel and dried fruit aromas, with blood orange and spice and white pepper and treacle notes." Although near-perfection is hard to improve, fine port adds an interesting twist to an already wondrous blue cheese.

Probably you know people who expect that cheese comes in panels of plastic wrapped wax-like substances or as orange powder packed in little boxes of dry macaroni. Help them advance into the realm of real flavor. Lead them to one of the tasting events of les amis du FROMAGE.

You may learn about cheeses of different regions, how to match wines of various styles with food or another interesting topic. Every event is presented to increase knowledge and decrease snobbery about these sophisticated foods. The events are not gatherings of stuffed shirts. Regardless of the day, you will join friendly people eager to learn and experience new flavors selected by top Canadian experts.