Movie Review Monday - Just the Wind

Just the Wind was part of the 36th Portland International Film Festival and was inspired by a true story.

My sister and I went to see the show on Sunday night.

This was a Hungarian film that won the Sydney Film Festival Jury Grand Prize at the Berlin Film Festival.

The film used local villagers rather than professional actors, which I really liked. The people were not photoshopped, digitized, make-believe beauties. These people were real everyday people.

The film tracked the three leads by using a roving camera in a Gus Van Sant sort of way, which made the show very naturalistic.

It was the story of hate for an entire group of people: the Roma Gypsies and is based on real ethnic tensions in Hungary. If you want to read more about some of the murders of these people, you can read this TIME article.

Just the Wind is the story of a Romany family's last days. They were hoping to escape the ethnic tensions into Canada but never made it. 

The mother was a hard-working mom, who worked two jobs to support her two children. The show depicted her daily struggle just to survive. She would get up early, feed her sick father, check on the kids and then be off on the bus to her first job. After working all day, she'd hurry off to her second job then home to take care of the kids and begin the process all over again.

The authorities turn a blind eye to their persecution. Six families are murdered, not because of anything they've done but only because of their ethnicity.

It was a slow-moving show, following the characters around in their daily lives (which was rather mundane). But this highlighted the poverty and depressing circumstances.

In the end, the grandfather, mother and sister end up dead - having been shot in their sleep. The only one to escape is the son, who ran out of the home and hid.

All-in-all it was a very depressing film but I think it did a good job of exposing the ethnic violence in a horrific way.

HUGS

Last night I had a little party and not everyone was a couple so I wanted to include everyone in the holiday of love and who can't use a HUG?

Everyone wants to feel loved and cared for and a hug is just that, it's a simple little gesture that says "Hey I care about you" and I just happened to give mine in the form of a sweet cake.

And this simple little cake only cost about $2.50 to make. I baked the cake and made cream cheese frosting. The word was made from edible fondant and then I decorated the cake with conversation hearts.

The piping around the bottom was the same frosting as the yellow - only of course without the food coloring.

I'd practiced making these cakes ahead of time.

Here's the first version (or test cakes)

I always like to practice first. It's easy to see where I need to add a little extra time and effort. And I think the second time it's easier and comes out better. Plus finishing details make all the difference...can you tell...?

 The only change I made in the recipe with the cakes from Valentine's Day was I added banana. I had an overripe banana waiting to be made into banana bread and I figured ("why not") so the ones on Valentine's Day were banana cakes. Plus, I love fruity flavors and bananas bake so well.

To make the frosting, this is what I did:

INGREDIENTS:

1 package of cream cheese

1 package of powdered sugar

2 to 3 tablespoons of half-n-half (you could use milk or whipped cream)

1 teaspoon food coloring (if it's Wilton - you only need a drop)


WHAT TO DO:

While the cake cools, I separate the batch of frosting into three bowls: one for pink frosting, one yellow and one to be left white.

Then I added Wilton's Food Coloring for baking - it's better (more vibrant) than other food coloring

I frosted the cakes then added the words and conversation hearts. After the cakes were finished, I placed them on their cake stands and piped the edging. The decorations and piping are great for hiding flaws - like raw edges. I pushed the fondant words in a little too hard - it made the letters indent the cake - so be careful about that.


But I think they turned out 2 CUTE ;D

And now I need to go for another run ;)

Happy Valentine's Day

I hope you all have a love-filled day!

Here are a few photos of the food I've been making leading up to Valentine's Day just to get ready for today...

How 'bout you...have you done any Valentine's Day baking?

Word for Wednesday - A Game for Readers and Writers

Guess what the word means.

Word: Fastidious

Do you know it...?

Can you guess what it means?

CLUE: People can be like this...

Have you figured it out?

If not, scroll down for the answer...


Further



FURTHER



ANSWER: FASTIDIOUS MEANS excessively particular, critical, or demanding; hard to please: a fastidious eater. If you want to read more about it, check it out here: at Dictionary.com 

Fat Tuesday

Happy Fat Tuesday!

Mardi gras is French for Fat Tuesday, which is the last night of partying before Lent begins (which is a time of fasting and religious practice) on Ash Wednesday.  

New Orleans is the most famous city for Mardi gras because they go all-out with the celebrations.

If you're interested in celebrating in Portland, Oregon you can find a list of events here. 

And if you're interested in making your own Mardi Gras mask, check this site out.

36th Annual Portland International Film Festival

Beyond the Hills - Cristian Mungiu

I went to the 36th Annual Portland International Film Festival to see this story which was based on a real-life case of supposed demonic possession. The lead actresses Cristina Flutur and Cosmina Stratan received the best actress prize at the Cannes Film Festival and their performances were very well done; however, the film was 150 minutes and I think it could have been done in 90 minutes. 150 minutes is just tooooooooo long for me to sit and watch most any film. In fact it's the reason I haven't gone to the new Lord of the Rings show - yet.

I can't stand sitting still that long. But aside from the length of the film, I was also hoping to be sitting on the edge of my seat...at least a few times during the show. I wasn't. This was a slow moving drama that was more about strict religious dogma than demonic possession.

Cristina Flutur was a strong-willed young woman who cursed at the priest because she was frustrated that her girlfriend would not leave the monastery, where she was training to become a nun, and return with her to Germany.

If everyone who got frustrated with religion and priests and then swore were demonically possessed, it would leave very few non-possessed  people in this country.

So, overall I thought the film was interesting...the acting well-done, but the film was too slow and long for me.

DIY Valentine's Day Cakes

I love to bake and I was having a "Welcome to the Neighborhood" party for some new neighbors so I figured why not combine the two (or maybe) three things: Valentine's Day, Baking, and Welcome!

Here's how I did it.

First I baked a couple of heart shaped cakes.

Then I made some whipped cream and colored it pink and yellow with food coloring. Then I frosted the cakes and put fondant words on top.

I also made a checkerboard cake and some cupcakes...

yeah, I tend to go overboard on things.