Chocolat (2000) is a story about Vianne and her young daughter Anouk, who come to a small town in France in 1959 and shake up the moral code set by the Comte de Reynaud. It is the beginning of Lent and Vianne played by Julliette Binoche wants to open a chocolate shop. The Comte, played by Alfred Molina vows to make sure Vianne’s shop closes before the end of Lent. He sees her as a threat to the tight control he has on the everyday lives of the people of his village. But Vianne’s kind nature and knack for understanding people, foils his plans. As for Vianne, this is the first town where she has felt accepted and where she might be able to put down roots. There are, of course, complications with the boat travelers showing up to further disrupt the Comte plans. The cast is stacked with fabulous actors like, Judi Dench, Carrie Anne Moss, Johnny Depp and more.
If you’ve seen this movie, you know what happens in the end. If not, you are in for a treat. It’s a heart warming film one that will restore your faith in humanity. Comment below and let us know what you think of our analysis and of this wonderful movie.
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Stories are a huge part of the way humans communicate with each other. Celeste and I think all stories are allegories where we can learn all kinds of important things, not the least of which is how to understand ourselves and others better. The best stories can be told over and over from one generation to the next and still teach great lessons. Emotional Intelligence and critical thinking are two of those lessons. Celeste and I think there are many classic movies that show us the progression of where humanity is today and we want to share them with you.
Shakespeare was right, “All the world is a stage and all the men and women merely players.” The stories we tell and consume are us trying to figure out who we are, why we’re here, and the kind of world we want to live in.
Leif Bristow is an Emmy winning producer, director, screenwriter, and bestselling author who has spent decades bringing unforgettable stories to life for audiences around the world. But Dancing Through the Shadow is far more than just another project. It is a story that found him personally.
The inspiration came through Tia Zhang, an internationally celebrated dancer, Shen Yun artist, and survivor whose extraordinary life story recently earned her the prestigious King Charles III Coronation Medal for her contributions and impact. Tia once taught ballet to Leif and Agnes Bristow’s daughter, and through that connection, the family came to learn the unimaginable truth of her life, surviving oppression under Mao era China, enduring extraordinary hardship, and ultimately escaping to freedom.
Agnes Bristow knew this was a story the world needed to read, which led her to write the award winning bestselling novel Dancing Through the Shadow. Leif, as a filmmaker and storyteller, knew it was equally a story that needed to be brought to the screen.
Podcast audiences will gain a fascinating behind the scenes look at how a real life friendship uncovered one of the most remarkable untold survival stories of our time, the journey of transforming truth into powerful storytelling, the creative process behind adapting books to film, and why stories of courage, freedom, resilience, and the human spirit matter now more than ever.
Love on Safari (2018) Starring Lacey Chabert and Jon Cor, Brittany Bristow
Mao’s Last Dancer (2009) Starring Chi Cao, Bruce Greenwood and Kyle MacLachlan
Dr. Robert J. Wolf, Story-Power episode 138, “20 Miracles and 4 escapes from Tyranny”
Love on the Danube: Royal Getaway (2025)
A Sweet Austrian Holiday (2024)
Beyond Black Beauty (2024)
John Rhys-Davies, Actor, Lord of the Rings, and much more
PodMatch for Podcasters Affiliate link for PodMatch below.
This episode is brought to you by PodMatch, the dating service for podcasters. They introduced me to Leif Bristow, and I’m so glad they did. I hope you’ve enjoyed our conversation and remember that if you have a podcast or something to share with the world, check out PodMatch at my affiliate link at PodMatch and tell them Lucinda sent you.
Want to be a guest on Story-Power? Send Lucinda Sage-Midgorden a message on PodMatch, click here.
Story-Power on Patreon
I’m so passionate about stories that I created the Story-Power Patreon Community so I’d have an excuse to talk story with other story lovers. Patreon is $5 a month for content not found on the Story-Power podcast, or on my Sage Woman Blog. They have recently instituted a free tier so you can try it out before you buy. If you’re passionate about stories, and want to talk about what you’ve learned from your favorites, come join me at patreon.com/StoryPower. Let’s share what we’ve learned from the stories we love.
Prolific Writers Life
My husband, Barry and I are members and experts at Prolific Writers Life, which offers members a variety of free online work sessions and discounts on coaching with industry experts. They offer opportunities to hone your writing skills, develop your author brand, and connect with a supportive community in live events. You can participate in group chats or send private messages to members through Prolific Writers Chat. If you’ve got a writing project, or are an expert who can help members finish their books, come join the community.
They also offer fun events like Films for Writers, which is free for anyone who wants to attend. It’s like a film club. We watch the movies about writers often with tidbits about their writing life, and then come together on the last Friday evening of every month to discuss the movie. You can check out Prolific Writers Life with a free 14 day trial to see if this the community you have been looking for.
Classic Cinema With the Sage Sisters
Stories are a huge part of the way humans communicate with each other. Celeste and I think all stories are allegories where we can learn all kinds of important things, not the least of which is how to understand ourselves and others better. The best stories can be told over and over from one generation to the next and still teach great lessons. Emotional Intelligence and critical thinking are two of those lessons. Celeste and I think there are many classic movies that show us the progression of where humanity is today and we want to share them with you.
Shakespeare was right, “All the world is a stage and all the men and women merely players.” The stories we tell and consume are us trying to figure out who we are, why we’re here, and the kind of world we want to live in.
The Big Country uses a few of the Western Tropes, like a damsel in distress, the fish out of water, the expected showdown, but they are turned on their head.
We have a character, Jim McKay played by Gregory Peck, who is the fish out of water character, however, he is the catalyst for a change in the dynamics among the Texas ranchers he plans to join. He’s engaged to Pat Terrill played by Carroll Baker and arrives to find that her father, Major Terrill, Charles Bickford, is in a feud with Rufus Hannessey, Burl Ives over who will be able to buy the valuable Big Muddy Ranch.
Jim is a former ship captain and has traveled the world. Because of this he’s confident in who he is and doesn’t need to prove himself. This puts him in stark contrast to the rest of the men in the area who are always proving their manhood either by raiding their neighbors, or getting to fights.
Unfortunately the Major is the biggest trouble maker. He sees himself as the big man in the area. He wants to expand his land holdings by purchasing “The Big Muddy” from Julie Maragon, Jean Simmons. Her grandfather used to allow all the ranchers to bring their cattle to water at the Big Muddy during the dry season. But ever since he died tensions have been rising. When the Hannessey boys harass Jim on his first day with Pat on the way to her ranch, the Major uses it as the excuse he’s been waiting for to escalate the feud.
Willam Wyler wanted this film to be an anti-war statement. And in a way it is, but it also examines the different kinds of masculinity. Ramon, a hand on the Terrill ranch and friend of Jim’s says it best speaking about Jim, “A man like him is very rare”. And he is. He doesn’t play by the other men’s rules and that causes many of them to rethink what it mean to be a man.
Celeste and I hope you will watch the movie and our analysis and make comments. We’d love to start a discussion.
Ken Weene loves words. At times he is so captivated by them that they cannot hold the flow back and they tumble out as novels, short stories, poems, essays, and stage plays. Although Ken desperately tries to hold back those word floods and endlessly edit them, they find their ways into print and electronic form, which can be found by looking for Ken’s name anywhere on the internet. He is, after all, the only Kenneth Weene in captivity so he cannot hide from your searches, not on Amazon, YouTube, Facebook, X, Bluesky, Truth Social, or LinkedIn. When you do that search, you will learn that Ken grew up as a broody New Englander, has a PhD in Psychology, worked for years as a therapist and teacher in New York, and moved/retired to Arizona in 2003 when he decided to focus on his writing. Married for 58 years to the late artist Rosalyn Weene, much of Ken’s work is dedicated and about the love of his life and their love for life.
Dave Dahl, Story-Power guest, Episodes 1 aired on July 22, 2020, and 21 aired on July 21, 2021
Story-Power on Patreon
I’m so passionate about stories that I created the Story-Power Patreon Community so I’d have an excuse to talk story with other story lovers. Patreon is $5 a month for content not found on the Story-Power podcast, or on my Sage Woman Blog. They have recently instituted a free tier so you can try it out before you buy. If you’re passionate about stories, and want to talk about what you’ve learned from your favorites, come join me at patreon.com/StoryPower. Let’s share what we’ve learned from the stories we love.
Prolific Writers Life
My husband, Barry and I are members and experts at Prolific Writers Life, which offers members a variety of free online work sessions and discounts on coaching with industry experts. They offer opportunities to hone your writing skills, develop your author brand, and connect with a supportive community in live events. You can participate in group chats or send private messages to members through Prolific Writers Chat. If you’ve got a writing project, or are an expert who can help members finish their books, come join the community.
They also offer fun events like Films for Writers, which is free for anyone who wants to attend. It’s like a film club. We watch the movies about writers often with tidbits about their writing life, and then come together on the last Friday evening of every month to discuss the movie. You can check out Prolific Writers Life with a free 14 day trial to see if this the community you have been looking for.
PodMatch for Podcasters Affiliate Link below.
If you are a podcaster, or have a message or fantastic product you want to share with the world, I encourage you to check out PodMatch. I call them a dating service for podcasters. Use the affiliate link and tell them, Lucinda sent you. Then contact me so we can set up a Story-Power chat.
Want to be a guest on Story-Power? Send Lucinda Sage-Midgorden a message on PodMatch, click here
Classic Cinema With the Sage Sisters
Stories are a huge part of the way humans communicate with each other. Celeste and I think all stories are allegories where we can learn all kinds of important things, not the least of which is how to understand ourselves and others better. The best stories can be told over and over from one generation to the next and still teach great lessons. Emotional Intelligence and critical thinking are two of those lessons. Celeste and I think there are many classic movies that show us the progression of where humanity is today and we want to share them with you.
Shakespeare was right, “All the world is a stage and all the men and women merely players.” The stories we tell and consume are us trying to figure out who we are, why we’re here, and the kind of world we want to live in.
Legally Blonde (2001) is a seemingly fluffy movie about Elle Woods a Fashion Marketing major, who expects her longtime boyfriend, Warner, to ask her to marry him just as they are about to graduate. She’s the president of her sorority and extremely popular with her friends. They are all supporting for her.
But when they get to the restaurant, it becomes clear he has other plans. He explains that he’s been thinking about his future. He’s going to enter Harvard Law School in the fall and just as she is expecting a proposal, Warner tells her he’s breaking up with her. They’ve had fun but he needs someone serious who can help him with his law practice and then his political career. Elle begins to cry loud enough for the other patrons to hear.
Elle says, “You’re breaking up with me because I’m too … blonde?”
Warner, “Well, no. That’s not entirely true …”
Elle, “Then what? My boobs are too big?”
By now almost everyone in the restaurant has heard the argument. Elle gets up and leaves offended that he doesn’t think she’s smart enough. For awhile, she’s heart broken, but when her friends take her for a spa day to cheer her up, she sees a photo of Warner’s older brother in a fashion magazine with his decidedly unattractive fiancée and she is inspired to follow Warner to Harvard and enter Law School herself so she can win Warner back.
She studies hard for the LSATs and when she gets her results back, she’s earned a 179 out of 180 which is the top score. She sends off her video essay, transcripts, and LSAT score. Since the admission committee is made up of men, and Elle is wearing revealing clothing in her video essay, they agree to admit her. In a way they can’t refuse because of her extremely high test score.
The problem when she gets to Harvard is that she’s a fish out of water. She looks like a California model instead of a serious law student. Because of this everyone assumes she’s an airhead. On top of that, it turns out that Warner has become engaged to a fellow law student, Vivian. And Vivian displays her jealousy by being rude whenever she can. Elle is excluded from all of the study groups. But she doesn’t let that stop her. By the end she has proven herself to be quite intelligent shattering all the stereotypes everyone thought about her.
Maybe it’s human nature to try to categorize people, but this movie shows that appearances can be deceiving. By the end of the movie, Elle is graduating at the head of her class. Poor Warner is at the bottom and has lost Vivian to boot.
If you’ve never seen Legally Blonde, I recommend you check it out. It’s fun and has some great lessons to share. Elle is accepting of everyone, which eventually wins her friends. This movie could be considered to be a precursor to Barbie (2023).
Here is my discussion about the movie with my sister, Celeste. Come join us on YouTube and our Facebook Group. We’d love to hear your thoughts.
Sage Woman Chronicles 