Pairing wine with movies! See the trailers and hear the fascinating commentary for these movies, and many more, at Trailers From Hell. This week, another theme without a theme. We throw out the Strunk and White guide book to bring you wine pairings for yet more movies you never heard of.
Pale Flower is a 1964 Japanese film noir, directed by Masahiro Shinoda. The film follows a gangster who meets a woman at a gambling room. She's that girlfriend who is a lot of fun, but is also a dead end street. "Danger, Will Robinson! Run, don't walk!"
Well, our gangster doesn't run, he doesn't even walk. He is attracted by this thrill-seeker, who drags him into her world of ever-increasing risk. Is it fun? You bet it is. Is it advisable? Hell to the no.
Be forewarned that Pale Flower has plenty of blooms that may upset a viewer. Crime, prison, sex, cold-blooded murder… everything a good film noir needs is there. All we need now is some booze to wash it down.
Grab a bottle of Pale Flowers for Pale Flower. It's a Grenache rosé from Paso Robles' Linne Calodo, pale enough to pass as Provençe.
The 1992 documentary, Baraka, takes us on a trip around the world without any narration or explanation. The visuals carry the load. We go from Big Sur to a coal mine, from the pyramids to a waterfall, from Tiananmen Square to the Vatican. It's a travelogue with just the travel, no logue. The images shown in Baraka are striking enough that words are superfluous.
Although your inner gangster may opt for whiskey, neat, you are probably adventurous enough to seek out the namesake Croatian wine for Baraka, produced across the Adriatic Sea from Italy. The Baraka Prisbus Riserva is a Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot blend that's been in the cellar for three years and sports a very conservative label, no pictures.
Our third seldom seen film is from 2002, My Beautiful Girl, Mari. This Korean animation feature tells the story of one boy's summertime and his growth over that span. For me, that pivotal summer was after 6th grade. The sweet object of my affection that year turned up in 7th grade as a street-smart, gum-cracking wiseass. "Time to grow up, Ran. They're leaving you behind." Oh, she was still the object of my affection, only now she was sexy, too.
Mari shows our struggling hero coping with his troubles in a dream world where the sweet don't chew gum and nobody leaves anybody. How nice that must be.
Mari Vineyards is the namesake choice for a wine pairing. Hard to find, it's located in northern Michigan. Harder to understand, they grow Italian grape varieties, like Nebbiolo and Sangiovese, instead of the usual cold-climate stuff. Is this, too, a dreamscape?