RKS Film: “Give or Take”: Death and Self Realization

It is almost inevitable that a death in the family brings about a streak of self realization. It can also tear apart a family or reunite it or even a bit of both.

The American film “Give or Take” examines bereavement and its effect on family and friends.

Kenneth dies in Cape Cod leaving a gay lover Ted (Norbert Leo Butz) behind that he had been living with for 6 years. Kenneth was married until his wife died and decided to finally emerge from the closet. His son Martin (Jamie Effros) lives in New York City with Lauren (Annapurna Sriram) his girlfriend. Martin arrives in Cape Cod for his father’s funeral and ill will is initially strong between Martin and Ted. Ted knows the out of the closet Kenneth while his son Martin knows the Kenneth of the past. Gradually Ted and Martin realize they loved Kenneth but in different ways and this edges them closer together. Both Ted and Martin come to this realization and the conflict between them subsides. Martin also starts to question the relationship he has with his girlfriend. He also re-establishes his friendship with his childhood friend Emma (Joanne Tucker) and makes a new friend with her husband a pseudo philosopher Terence (Louis Cancelmi).

Comic relief is provided by wormy realtor Patti King (Cheri Otteri) who is the type of agent that would sell her mother if she could. Butz also offers a certain quirkiness and slovenliness that is amusing. Terrence is even more quirky digging a hole in the beach to smoke weed and see the world from ground level.

Excellent writing by Jamie Effros and Paul Riccio coupled with solid acting by all particularly by Butz give the film an insight into the bereavement process and how it alters those with connections to the deceased in a meaningful and thought-provoking way. The storyline could have easily degenerated into sentimental sloppiness.

You can catch the trailer here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ip00jAtuW3w

“Give or Take” will be released on February 22, 2022 on DVD and digital platforms including iTunes/Apple TV, Amazon, Google Play, Vudu, Vimeo, DirecTV and through some cable and satellite providers. It is directed by Paul Riccio.

RKS Film Rating 83/100.

“Travels to a Different Time”: July 27,28,29 1971: Rab, Yugoslavia: Woken Up By The Air Raid Siren, Tiring of Low Quality Meals and Robert Visits the Psychiatric Hospital!

July 27, 1971: Woken up by an air raid siren. Are the capitalists launching a nuclear attack? We had dinner at the Jadran Hotel. More greasy goulash. Thoroughly disgusting!

July 28, 1971: Went out for dinner with a couple of German girls from Frankfurt to the Continental Hotel. What a lousy dinner.

July 29, 1971: The beach we paid 3 dinars to enter wasn’t very good but I found a secluded beach further down. A man soon came to us all dressed in white and asked us to move as we were on the beach of a psychiatric hospital!

“Travels to a Different Time” :July 26, 1971: Rab, Yugoslavia: The Man with The Revolting Pig Barfy Cough, A Lousy Filthy Rotten Beach and Up Close and Personal with a Former German POW

I was woken out of a good sleep by Mom rattling the key in the door and a revolting pig barfy cough from someone across the hall. We caught a 10 a.m. bus to Barbot and a new beach which was a filthy rotten and disgusting beach. We stayed 30 minutes without entering the less than clean water. We had a 3 hour wait for the return bus so we hitched back to town and was picked up by a German man. He was a former WW2 POW that was in a prison camp in Florida for two years. Wow meeting up with homosexuals, seeing prostitutes, an interpreter for the Canadians when they liberated Holland and now a German POW face to face! I don’t know how to feel about this for now. My uncle was a pilot and was shot down by a German pilot, my Dad lost many friends in the Battle of Britain and when younger I played war and Germans were my big enemy. The German said he was glad he was captured as so many of his friends were killed near the end of the war by Russians. He said he was not a Nazi but as a young man he had no choice but to join the army. He gave us a lift back into town and we went to the town beach at 3:30. We were having dinner for 18 (just over a dollar) dinars which was a three course meal of mediocre quality. We watched a ship come in and off to bed. I haven’t made up my mind about that German. I wonder if Fritz was in the German army? How would my late father feel about that?

RKS Wine: My View on Viewpointe 2012 Cabernet Franc

Viewpointe Estate Winery has a beautiful tasting room overlooking Lake Erie. They craft good wines. Lake Erie North Shore (LENS) is the appellation and is largely ignored by the Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO) in favour of the wines of Niagara. Mention Lake Erie North Shore and most Ontario wine drinkers just might look at you with a puzzled expression. Given my experience much of that in the past due to the tight-fisted LENS wineries carefully guarding samples, I would give a thumbs up to many LENS wines particularly those from Colchester Ridge, Cooper’s Hawk, Sprucewood Shores and Viewpointe.

This Cabernet Franc from Viewpointe is well aged. Has it aged well? On the nose there is an almost lush black cherry bouncing up to the nose. There is also some red plum, red currants and cola. If aromas solely defined a wine this would be a classy wine. On the palate the tannins are moderate. The carnival of rich black cherry on the nose transcends into the palate along with some cranberry and date squares. The wine is almost struggling to present some juiciness to you but something is holding that back. My point of view of this Viewpointe is that it is delightfully corrupted by black cherry. You don’t ordinarily see this sort of corruption in other LENS Cabernet Francs as they are usually lighter.

Yes a good sipping wine. Try it with some Quebec Oka cheese topped with cherry preserves. For pairing with a main course if you like your turkey with cranberry sauce this might be the perfect wine. It will sail nicely into 2025.

(Viewpointe Estate Winery Cabernet Franc 2012, VQA Lake Erie North Shore, Viewpointe Estate Winery, Harrow, Ontario, $19.95, Liquor Control Board of Ontario # 24772, 14%, 750 mL, Robert K. Stephen A Little Birdie Told Me So Rating 92/100).

RKS Poetry “A Canadian’s Detailed Description of What 70 Years of Elizabeth’s British Rule Means”

“A Canadian’s Detailed Description of What 70 Years of Elizabeth’s British Rule Means”

Robert K. Stephen

“Travels to a Different Time” : July 16/17/20 1971: Pag, Yugoslavia:  Thank You Canadians as Liberators: German Diet Pills: Food Shortages

Letter from Margaret Mary Stephen to Daughter Barbara and son Andrew: We are now on the island of Pag. We left the beautiful island of Hvar then went to the island of Murter. A tiny island packed with German tourists. The people are packed like sardines on the beaches. We met a man from Holland as we were trudging along to the beach. He drove us to the beach and back. He took us for a drink after. If I’d been his wife I would have killed him!  He had been an interpreter for the Canadians when they invaded Holland. Tall as Dad. You don’t see many tall men here. He was grateful that “the Canadians liberated us”. The people here get up very early around 5:30. I have been in the sun so much my skin is black and like leather. I am having a beer in a café while Robert checks if we have any mail. Here he comes and we have none! July 17th: Went to the post office to check for mail but there was none. I was so disappointed I felt like crying. There is no bread left in the bakeries and we were lucky I bought half a loaf in a restaurant yesterday. Food shortages make our life difficult. Restaurants and stores are often out of many foods. On the way to the beach yesterday up in the mountains the scenery was spectacular. Unlike the Greek islands there is green everywhere. We will be in Germany soon and I can’t wait to get to civilization. Fritz lives in a company town near Basel Switzerland. I am not much fatter than when I left. I am getting anxious to get to Germany. July 20, 1971: Received a long letter from Fritz yesterday. He has all kinds of plans for us. He wants to show us Munich for two days and two nights. I hope we can go to a beer garden. Then to Cologne. Then to the Black Forest where he wants to take Robert hunting. When we go to West Berlin to see Heidi he can spend 4 days with us. He will probably see us in Frankfurt before we go home. We will be driving on the autobahn where they drive over 160 miles an hour. I hope I come back alive! There is no running water here in Pag and they fill up the bathtubs with water to flush the toilets. The bathrooms all stink! I am beginning to act like a native getting up early buying bread and meat for breakfast before the stores and bakeries run out of food. We are eating so much bread and meat if we can find it. I can’t stomach it anymore. I must stay slim for Germany even if I have to starve. Sitting in our room finishing off this delicious Pag wine as I don’t want to have to lug it on our trip. Barb, don’t forget to tell me the name of the weight reducing pills I can buy in Germany. The meals here are bad news. No one who has been to Yugoslavia will ever complain about my cooking. Very grim food all very starchy and so few vegetables. No wonder they are so huge here. I am on a diet trying to get rid of the flab. Fritz is so meticulous he might take a look at me and turn around. Rob just returned with two letters from Fritz.

RKS Poetry “When I Retire I’m Going To….”

“When I Retire I’m Going To…..”

So very busy
busy busy busy
Working like a slave
Fearlessly avoiding the grave
Many allegedly loving it
God help taking a vacation
best forfeit it like a true American Megacorp employee
lest somebody leap into senior management view in your reckless absence
but you have convinced yourself you will do everything you wanted when you retire
but look around and listen to the countless stories of death and crippling disease shattering
the Russian Roulette of life and living your dream
but your phone is buzzing like a scream
gotta answer that because it’s a big deal
and your life it will steal

Robert K. Stephen

“Travels to a Different Time” : July 23, 1971: Novalja and Rab, Yugoslavia; The Mad Snorer Gets Us Pounding on Walls and Doors: Meeting California Fairies!

We were off to the island of Rab today but had a poor sleep because a stupid guy was snoring in the next room and so loud it sounded like thunder. Mom went to the door and pounded and I banged on the wall. It stopped or at least until we fell asleep. At 9 off we went to a small boat that was to take us to the island of Rab. It was a short 90-minute trip and we went to the tourist office and were sent to a pension to a filthy room and a reeking bathroom stinking of sewage. We tried again and found a room in a newly constructed pension. We went for lunch to a nearby restaurant and were charged an enormous price for a cutlet. I wanted to walk around the town and Mom went up for a sleep but upon returning I had to knock on the door to get in waking Mom up with good news as I found a shop selling English newspapers and magazines. She pleaded with me to get some reading material which I did. Then a hot shower. After a good dinner of fish and salad we met two fairies from California. They, like us, had amusing stories to tell about Yugoslavia. These are the first homosexuals I met and they were good guys. Prostitutes and homosexuals in Yugoslavia how educational! Who will we meet next?

“Travels to a Different Time” : July 21, 1971: Novalja, Yugoslavia: More letters from Fritz and Ja Ja Nein Nein

Up early for a bus trip to our new destination Novalja on the northern tip of the island of Pag. Mom is not eating breakfast today as she says she is on a diet so she doesn’t look like a horse in Germany. We just hacked around for a bit and packed up for our bus trip to Novalja which is in the north of Pag. I picked up some mail which consisted of two letters from Fritz much to Mom’s delight. We got on the 2 o’clock bus and luckily got a seat although I had to push a surly guy over that was hogging two seats. The road is barren and rocky making for a bumpy and dusty ride. Novalja is considerably bigger than the town of Pag. It has running water! We went to the tourist office and found a really nice room but I fear it will be noisy as we are in front of the market and two restaurants. We don’t even have a key to our room in the house. We had a glorious hot shower the first one in days. We discovered where the bakery was and Mom bought a bottle of red wine which she later said was the best she ever had. Greasy spaghetti yet again and some very good goulash which really is a few chunks of meat in a sea of gravy. Good for mopping up with bread. A favourite low-cost meal of hippies because you can fill up with bread. Mom had a headache so she popped up a pill and headed up to bed while I people watched for half an hour and I came back to the room and woke Mom up and we went for a walk on the waterfront where we found a band playing music. Mom left at 9 and I stayed until 10 and came home and had another glorious hot shower. What a luxury! I drifted off to sleep to the clinking of cutlery below with lots of Ja Ja’s and Nein Nein’s at the restaurant below. We noticed many Germans here.

RKS Wine: A Chardonnay from Mendoza? El Enemigo; Digressing into The Battle of Britain

Mendoza for many is the home of some of the best Argentinian Malbecs but not really on the radar for Chardonnay. Mendoza keeping us on our toes!

We try a El Enemigo 2018 Chardonnay from Mendoza. The bottle is a heavy brute enough to give the carbon neutral crowd a mental hernia.

On the nose mucho oak amigo! And it is far from discrete so I will guess this is American as opposed to French. Put aside the oak for a moment and you’ll pick up pineapple, apricot, peach and warm pineapple upside down cake just out of the oven. As I am a child of the 1960’s where these upside-down cakes were about as popular as spoon burgers. I must ask do they still make these suburban dishes? The pineapple oozes on to the palate with some slateish minerality giving the wine some gumption and traction mixed in with Australian canned peach syrup. Do they still can peaches in Australia? By gosh is this a retro wine? El Enemigo also has a couple of Bonardas so to complete a retro trilogy should I try them with spoon burgers or a Montreal Beaconsfield classic Shipwreck made so well by my late Auntie Vie. Well she wasn’t really my aunt but her husband (Uncle Cy) and my father were pilots together flying submarine patrols in Lancasters over the English Chanel in WW2 so I suppose their children could call my parents Uncle and Aunt as well as in combat a deep brotherhood apart from bloodlines can be formed. Unfortunately, my Uncle Bill died after being shot down in France at 22 years of age. A toast to you Uncle Bill.

Too much chill will bring out the oak and a more harmonious oak and fruit balance will be achieved with a cool as opposed to a cold wine here. I think it also needs a couple of years to calm down a bit so if you have a cellar a few years of ageing not exceeding 2026 will reward you.

The wine is suited for a drinker that likes a good dollop of oak in their wine but will make happy those who aren’t necessarily oak mad but realize an oaked Chardonnay might not please them as a sipping wine but has an esteemed place matching with certain foods like chicken in a tarragon cream sauce or a pasta tossed with basil and Mascarpone. Check out Alexa Weibel’s recipe for One Pot Zucchini Basil Pesto in the New York Times.

You often hear about wine and food matching or even wine and music or cannabis pairings but this wine suits a few memories I have. Wine and memory matchings are something they don’t teach you at WSET courses as I think it comes from the heart or a confused tangled mass in our heads called our brains. Have a glass and what memories does this wine irrationally spark?

(El Enemigo 2018 Chardonnay, Mendoza, Argentina, Piedemonte, Vista Flores, Mendoza Argentina, $24.95, 750 mL, 13.5%, Robert K. Stephen A Little Birdie Told Me So Rating 89/100).  

James Suckling gave this a 97 and as a critic he and I are usually a couple of points apart but not this time. Whose rating is more reflective of your taste?

Photo: Left John Earnest Stephen and my Uncle Cy Walker in England during WWII