Chocolat

Directed by Lasse Halström

With Juliette Binoche, Alfred Molina, Johnny Depp, Lena Olin, Judy Dench and others

Christina says:

As an icy cold wind blows from the North and all the villagers are huddled together in their church Vianne Rocher (Juliette Binoche) and her daughter Anouk (Victoire Thivisol) arrive at Lansquenet-sous-Tannes. Vianne freely admits that she has never been married, declares boldly that she never goes to church and opens her sinful chocolate shop in the middle of Lent. Her chocolate soon leads the villagers into temptation and even brings joy to some of their drab little lives. When Vianne offers shelter to Josephine Muscat (Lena Olin), the battered wife of the local innkeeper, the mayor Count Reynaud whose family has ruled the village for centuries sees his authority threatened and accepts the challenge. First of all he tries to turn the boar Serge Muscat (Peter Stormare) into a gentleman so Josephine can return home and resume her wifely duties. But he fails and not just at that. Vianne’s chocolate manages to bridge the gap between her landlady Armande (Judy Dench) and her grandson Luc (Aurelian Parent-Koenig) who are estranged because Armande’s daughter Caroline (Carrie-Anne Moss) disapproves of her eccentric and headstrong mother. Only when Vianne welcomes Roux (Johnny Depp) and his passing band of gypsies the village turns on her and although Anouk was hoping that they finally found a permanent home Vianne considers moving on with the North wind.

CHOCOLAT begins like a mixture of MARY POPPINS and ANTONIA’S LINE. As soon as Vianne and Anouk made their entrance in Lansquenet-sous-Tannes I was prepared to lean back in my seat, watch the preparation of chocolate and be seduced by the delicacies. But in spite of the impressive cast and the beautiful setting the movie didn’t live up to my expectations. The story jumped from one plotline to the next and never managed to rouse my interest in Armande and her daughter, the Count and his wife, Josephine and her husband or even in Vianne and her strange family history.

Other than Marleen Gorris’s Antonia Vianne is facing an opponent with a human side, which hurts the tension between the two of them. Juliette Binoche pales compared to Alfred Molina. The gipsy plotline seems superfluous. Sad but true, Johnny Depp wouldn’t have been missed in the movie. The most sensual experience was the food.

Monika says:

On a cold and stormy winter day sleepy French provincial town Lansquenet-sous-Tannes is ripped from its seemingly innocent quiet. With the arrival of Vianne Rocher (Juliette Binoche) and her little daughter Anouk (Victoire Thivisol) temptation moves into town. She has the audacity to open a Chocolaterie in the middle of Lent, and that’s not all she does! Little by little the newcomers undermine the strict morals of the good people who until then had strictly done the bidding of their priest. And they themselves don’t even attend church on Sundays. Vianne shows a lack of respect for the sacrament of marriage when she opens her home for Josephine Muscat (Lena Olin) who left her beating brute of a husband.

If you expected a deep moral story CHOCOLAT is bound to disappoint you. The movie offers lightness and beautiful pictures, especially of chocolate in all shapes and sizes. You never get enough of the delicacies and sympathize with the people of Lansquenet for yielding to the temptation and forgetting their bigotry. With the chocolate life comes to town. Chocolate supposedly has a soothing effect on the soul, and the movie comes to a happy ending as was to be expected from a Hollywood product. The makers should have refrained from destroying the idyllic French atmosphere by letting the people in church sing an English hymn that just doesn’t fit the picture. Whether CHOCOLAT deserved its five Academy Award nominations is a matter of opinion. It’s not a great movie, but does have a certain charm. And do not go to see it on an empty stomach. It would be torture!

Any comments? Write us:

Monika Hübner

Christina Gross

Last changes: 01/04/03