Chocolate (2000)

Directed by: Lasse Hallström | 121 minutes | drama, comedy, romance | Actors: Juliette Binoche, Johnny Depp, Alfred Molina, Judi Dench, Lena Olin, Carrie-Anne Moss, Victoire Thivisol, Peter Stormare, Aurèlien Parent Koenig, Leslie Caron, Hugh O’Conor, John Wood, Guillaume Tardieu, Harrison Pratt, Gaelan Connell

After ‘The Cider House Rules’ (1999), director Lasse Hallström released another very successful film. It was right that this film was nominated for five Oscars including Best Picture, Best Actress and Best Actress in a Supporting Role. Too bad it stayed with Oscar nominations. ‘Chocolat’ is a sweet drama based on Joanne Harris’ novel of the same name. Juliette Binoche here impressively stars as Vianne Rocher, but if we’re honest, the biggest role in this film belongs to the chocolate in all its delicious shapes and flavors. For the film, Juliette Binoche visited a chocolate shop in Paris to learn how to make chocolates herself. The restless north wind takes Vianne and her daughter Anouk to the slumbered, ultra-conservative Lansquenet where it is customary to be ordinary (they call it tranquilité there). The arrival of Vianne and Anouk adds both literally and figuratively color to the boring village. At the beginning of the film, the decor is gray and drab. Then Vianne and Anouk arrive dressed in red coats, the chocolate shop is opened and gradually the village becomes more and more colorful. It is symbolic of the change that Vianne brings about. Her magic remedy here is: chocolate. Vianne is descended from South American Indians who once discovered the mysterious ways of preparing this dark ‘food of the gods’. It is Vianne’s chocolate that brings out the suppressed desires of the villagers. The chocolate is the driving force behind the changes Lansquenet is undergoing. Apart from the water scenes, the film was shot in the real town of Flavigny-sur-Ozerain in the Burgundy region. Some extras are the real inhabitants of this town.

Change often finds resistance. Vianne’s non-conformist behavior (she doesn’t go to church, she opens a chocolate shop during Lent, etc.) is a thorn in the side of Mayor De Reynaud (Alfred Molina), who prefers to keep everything as it was. There is a conflict in the village. Dame Judi Dench acts again in her own way, strikingly as the grumpy Armande Voizin, an older woman who is up for a little fun. Lena Olin is Josephine Muscat, whom Vianne and her chocolate give her the courage to leave her abusive husband. Binoche and Olin previously starred together in ‘The Unbearable Lightness of Being’ (1988). After the ‘Matrix’ trilogy, Carrie-Anne Moss shows a completely different side of her as the dowdy Caroline Clairmont. In ‘Chocolat’, after ‘Les Enfants du Siècle’ (1999), Victoire Thivisol again plays Juliette Binoche’s daughter as Anouk. Anouk has trouble with the itinerant existence that she and her mother lead. They move from village to village and never stay in one place for long. That’s why Anouk has invented an invisible friend, a kangaroo named Pantoufle. Vianne has her effect on the village but she is also touched by the village and the arrival of gypsy Roux played by Johnny Depp. Johnny Depp is perfect for this role as a bohemian. In the film he plays real guitar in three scenes and he provided three songs on the soundtrack. Roux is the leader of a group of gypsies on houseboats. The mayor orders everyone to keep out this group of unwanted people. Fortunately, Vianne doesn’t care about that. This is one of the messages of this most charming film. That kindness and forbearance should be a measure of our goodness rather than what we deny ourselves. The other message is that we should above all enjoy life. And that can be made into chocolate!