[.ca] Chocolat

Chronique Amazon.fr:
Il y a bien longtemps, dans un petit village du coeur de la France; la vie s'écoule paisiblement, et ce depuis des siècles, jusqu'à l'arrivée d'une mystérieuse jeune femme, Vianne Rocher, qui ouvre une chocolaterie. Elle semble posséder le don de deviner les désirs cachés de ses clients et de les assouvir avec ses mystérieuses recettes. Tous sauf un, l'aristocratique comte de Reynaud, qui voit dans ces chocolats une menace pour l'ordre et la moralité... Toujours à l'aise dans les épopées sentimentales hors du temps, Lasse Halström nous emmène cette fois-ci dans l'univers des sens, et plus particulièrement dans celui du goût : les chocolats de Vianne ont des propriétés quasiment surnaturelles, et cette parabole sur l'amour et la tolérance de prendre un aspect plutôt inhabituel et agréablement surprenant, interprété par Juliette Binoche et Johnny Depp, très convaincants. À réserver toutefois aux amateurs de chocolat, dont l'omniprésence sur l'écran en fait littéralement l'acteur principal ! --David Rault

Stop and smell the chocolate:
Chocolat is a wonderful little film that has much to say people, as individuals and as groups. With its exotic yet familiar feel, beguiling music, and focus on truly human characters, the movie stands as an oasis in the middle of the desert we call life. Don't get the idea that this film is boring just because it doesn't feature a lot of "action," as there is a great deal going on in the lives of these characters. They are all at a collective crossroads, only it's not really a crossroads because the only real options are to go forward or backward. The setting is a quaint French village which stands starkly on tradition; new people with new ideas just aren't welcome there at all. The best way that I can think to describe the social setting is to say that these are French people being French. There's one self-righteous, powerful know-it-all at the top who tells everyone what to do and how to do it, and all of the villagers are too cowardly to rock the boat or think for themselves. Living in the past is a miserable way to live. You've got an elderly woman still mourning her husband's death 42 years after the fact, a younger widow who won't let her son doing anything because she's afraid something will happen to him, a wife who won't leave her abusive husband, etc. Everyone is so worried about what others might think of them that they don't really live. The mayor is so puritanically dominant that he even writes the sermons for the young village priest. Things start to change when a stranger and her daughter show up (wearing red cloaks, no less) and open a chocolate shop. There's a bewitching quality to Vianne (Juliette Binoche), as she seems to know the right kind of chocolate for each person who enters her shop, and there really is some kind of unquantifiable power in her delicious concoctions. With it, she melts the hardened heart of a grumbling old woman (played magnificently by Judi Dench), puts the romance back into a passionless marriage, and even helps give an abused wife the strength to leave her worthless husband. The mayor and most of the townspeople are not at all happy - and then things get even worse, as a band of "river rats" settles on the local riverbanks. The whole town just says no to "immorality" and refuses to serve or have anything to do with the "dangerous" riff-raff - but Vianne does. She hits it off particularly well with a guitar-playing nomad named Roux (Johnny Depp). Naturally, all of this internal conflict going on inside everyone eventually comes to a climax - and it is here, in particular, that we see both the good and bad side of humanity. There are some really poignant moments as the film draws near to a conclusion, and in the end you're left with something tangible, a renewed spirit. Maybe it's just for a few moments, but you stop and think about the truly important things in life. That's what makes this beguiling little film so special.

Seduction one delicious morsel at a time ...:
Look what the North wind blew into a small town in France ... a young mother named Vianne and her daughter, Anouk. Vianne rents a shop which opens to the town square where she opens an unique Chocolate shop. The only problem is ... it is Lent. The town is mostly Catholic, they are celebrating Lent by abstaining from certain pleasures, one of which is likely chocolate. Depriving oneself or abstaining from something one loves is a custom or tradition during Lent. Vianne is an outsider, she and her daughter are trying to fit in and be accepted. In a small French town which has a long history with many old traditions and customs, this is a difficult endeavor. This delightful film shows how prejudice and stubborn beliefs can be overcome ... with humor and chocolate. Serious moments arise when vindictiveness and cruelty challenge the main characters spirit and nature, yet in the end understanding and kindness prevail. The eccentric characters in the film are delightful and funny ... The mayor acts "holier-than-thou" except his secretary Caroline knows the truth ... There may be marriage problems between the mayor and his wife. The wife had gone on an extended vacation to Italy, with no definite date to return. Caroline seems an up-tight and very controlling personality related to her son and her mother who is elderly.Then the viewer discovers, the mother is diabetic and does not monitor her food intake properly which makes her health deteriorate. The mayor learns Vianne is a single mother of which he disapproves. He provides gossip about her to the towns people, influencing them to avoid her shop. However, the mouth-watering treats are a temptation several citizens can not resist. One such person is an elderly gentleman and his dog as they walk by the shop daily. It is the dog that is drawn to the treats . The elderly man wants to court a widow ... Vianne gives him pointers on how to win over his lady love ... Some gypsies enter the scene as they arrive in house boats and dock on the Thames. From this point forward, the story gets more complicated ... Vianne gets involved romantically with the leader of the gypsies. Vianne provides a home and shelter to an abused wife of a bar owner. The husband of this wife goes to classes to learn how to improve his behavior, he appears contrite and "reformed" but in the end, as they say "a leopard does not lose his spots" and he nearly ruins the lives of many people, nearly killing many by an act of cruelty. The conclusion of the film ties together the serious and humorous aspects of the story in a most creative manner. This film is amusing, charming, and delightful. It has a very satisfying ending. The whole film is a great viewing experience. Erika Borsos (pepper flower)

Are you kidding?!!!:
A Hollywood production trying to pass itself off as a foreign film. The most annoying thing about the film was that it took place in a french speaking Swiss town, but everyone spoke english with french accents of course. As deep as my cat's milk bowl.

A PLEASANT CONFECTION...:
This is a pleasant, though obvious, adult fable, broadly hinting at the often sensual, restorative, and mystical properties of chocolate. A beautiful and mysterious woman, Vianne, delightfully played by the winsome Juliette Binoche, along with her daughter, Anouk, arrive in a remote and very provincial French town, where she rents a patisserie from an elderly, crotchety woman, magnificently played by Judi Dench, and turns it into a chocolatier. From here, she concocts visually dazzling, mouthwatering amounts of chocolates, along with copious cups of hot cocoa made from a very special recipe, that are always sold or given by Vianne with a Julia Roberts style, mega watt smile. Vianne is always kind, compassionate, and tolerant. She is, therefore, a person to be feared by those who lack those traits. That is why she is greeted with bare civility by the town's mayor, wonderfully played by the always underrated, very talented Alfred Molina. He is a sanctimonious, intolerant, unhappy, religious prig, who insists on writing the sermons for the town's young, beleagured priest. Offended by Vianne's easy charm and her resistance to his invitation to attend church services, the mayor, whose hardened exterior hides a profound sorrow, declares war on Vianne, as he perceives her to be a threat to his established order of things. Meanwhile, Vianne finally warms up and disarms her crotchety landlady, jumpstarts a tired marriage for two villagers, and befriends a battered woman, played with appropriate pathos, delicacy, and spirit by Lena Olin. She also manages a flirtation with an Irish drifter named Roux, well played by Johnny Depp, though they seem to lack chemistry together. She gains the confidence of those willing to become friendly with her through the mystical properties of her chocolates and hot cocoa, changing their lives forever. Though the mayor has vowed to drive Vianne's business into the ground and run her out of town, Vianne hangs on, determined to stay until the North winds blow her and her daughter to yet another unhappy town. What happens in this town, however, ultimately changes the lives of its mayor, the villagers, and even Vianne, forever. This is a lovely, well acted, and moderately entertaining film, that thematically deals with the mystical, sensual, and palliative properties of chocolate. It is a frothy, pleasant confection. If you want a film, dealing with a similar theme, that will fully satisfy an appetite, however, one need look no further than the superb film, "Like Water for Chocolate".

"Babette's Feast" with 'Like Water for Chocolate" feel:
This is a unique movie with features and messages portrayed in "Babette's Feast (1988)" and "Like Water for Chocolate (1993)". The story has been told many ways. Yet this movie is still unique in its presentation. We get to visit with our favorite actors and they do such a good job that they do not overwhelm the characters. I especially liked Alfred Molina who played a similar role in "Enchanted April (1992)" as someone that really was not a bad person; he was just misunderstood or has a misunderstanding and comes around later to be really a good guy. Like "Babette's Feast", everyone is supposed to shun Vianne Rocher who goes out of her way to help people. And like "Like Water for Chocolate" the movie has a mystical feel. Basic story is a town where everyone knows their place and duty is visited by a north wind caring a mysterious woman and her daughter. Their present's wakes up the people from their organized existence. The DVD has all the DVD goodies that you are looking for, such as voice over, deleted scenes etc. And they do not force the coming attractions on you.