Also 12/18/08...

Ratatouille. Yes, I mean the movie. I picked it up back in July, thought it looked good. I brought it home to watch with my family in August... but never got around to it. So here it is December, I'm home again, and my sister gets the credit for me watching it last night- and I just watched it again with my mom tonight. Why is it worth writing about? Because it has some powerful "allegory moments" that I must share. By far my favorite is towards the end. Remy (the star, adorable, rat) is asked what to cook for the critic who can make or break the restaurant's reputation. He hands them a recipe for ratatouille, and the response is "but that's a peasant dish. Are you sure you want to make that?" Yes, Remy IS sure. As it turns out, this almost impossible-to-please critic tastes the dish and is instantly brought back to his early years, enjoying his mom's cooking as a little boy. He is indeed impressed. How did Remy know? Although it's never stated, it's a beautiful picture of divine guidance and inspiration. It's the idea of allowing the Holy Spirit to guie you in small decisions, things that could seem insignificant to us but can have tremendous impact on others because God has the "inside scoop" on what is meaningful to them, what they need most, etc. The idea of God's guidance can be seen in other settings as well. Throughout the movie, Remy is the one guiding Linguine (a human), thought to be a great chef but in fact helpless without Remy guiding him, telling him how much of what to add when. Remy sits under Linguine's hat, guiding his every move by holding clumps of his hair like a horse's reins... Isn't that how we should function, with the Holy Spirit guiding our every move? At one point Linguine begins to take the credit for the popularity his dishes have found... but left alone only briefly he is quickly reminded that He can do nothing without Remy's help. Indeed, there are many times in my life when I am tempted to take the credit for my achievements and successes- but I dread the thought of being left alone for even a moment as I know I can do nothing without Him enabling me... and we all need (frequent!) reminders of this truth. It is ONLY by God's grace... There's also the lesson of integrity, and listening to the Holy Spirit's conviction. In this case, it is again Remy we identify with, and "God" is represented by the Remy's hero-chef (don't ask me to spell the name!) Throughout the movie Remy imagines this chef talking to him, often encouraging him to be brave and pursue his passion for cooking. But Remy is also grappling with the issue of stealing food. That's how rats are supposed to live! But his hero-chef and his friend Linguine teach him that if he uses his talents (cooking) to help and bless others, his food "will be provided" (by God!) and he doesn't need to steal. But his brothers and friends are pushing him to steal food for them, and he keeps trying to justify it... until he realizes he needs to be true to himself and the friends who have believed in him. No more stealing- it does not have to be what rats do! Finally, the pursuit of your dreams- God-given ones at that. Remy is a rat- he's supposed to see humans as the enemy and steal food because that's what rats do. But Remy wants to make food, to create... he feels inexplicably drawn to humans and to all things cooking-related. His family wants him to be a typical rat, and he feels torn between 2 parts of himself until he realizes they are, both, parts of him. He learns, rather than dreaming of being a chef, to see himself as a chef. This is so similar to my own journey, as I had to learn to no longer "dream of going to medical school" but to see myself as a doctor. Remy is guided by the chef and the unmentioned but clearly present God, Linguine is guided by Remy... in many ways and on many levels, Ratatouille is not just a fun, clean movie, but a wonderful reminder of how much we need- and can appreciate- the Holy Spirit's guidance in our everyday lives. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 Unported License.