![]() ![]() As Vianne takes in Josephine after Serge beats her one too many times, and becomes romantically interested in Roux, she does what she can to divert Reynaud's efforts to drive her out of the village, while her irresistible confections awaken the villagers' hidden appetites and longings. When a traveling band of Irish gypsies, led by Roux (JOHNNY DEPP), arrive by river, Vianne discovers a kindred spirit while Reynaud, whose wife is on an extended vacation abroad, becomes more agitated by what he sees as yet another immoral outsider attempting to corrupt his people. Nevertheless, Vianne makes friends with various villagers including Luc, as well as Josephine Muscat (LENA OLIN), the abused wife of café owner, Serge (PETER STORMARE), and Guillaume Blerot (JOHN WOOD), whose dog likes Vianne's treats while he's interested in one of the town's widows, Madame Audel (LESLIE CARON). Among them is Caroline Clairmont (CARRIE-ANNE MOSS), Armande's estranged daughter who won't let her son, Luc (AURELIEN PARENT KOENIG), see his grandmother. Soon, Reynaud is on a personal crusade to shut down Vianne's shop on the moral grounds that its decadent pleasures will corrupt the villagers. For not only does the single mother not attend church, but she's also planning on opening a chocolaterie and living above it in a space leased from the village's frumpy, 70-year-old libertine, Armande Voizin (JUDI DENCH). Thus, when the north winds blow Vianne Rocher (JULIETTE BINOCHE) and her daughter, Anouk (VICTOIRE THIVISOL), into town, Reynaud isn't particularly happy. ![]() With Lent just beginning and a new priest, Pere Henri (HUGH O'CONOR), have only just recently arrived at the local church everyone attends, Reynaud has his hands full leading the town by example and writing Henri's sermons. PLOT: It's sometime in the 1950s and in the tranquil French village of Lansquenet, everyone knows what's expected of them, and if they forget, Comte de Reynaud (ALFRED MOLINA), the town's mayor and moral bastion, is there to remind them. QUICK TAKE: Comedy/Drama: When a single, non-churchgoing mother sets up her chocolate shop in a small, religiously repressed French village, she arouses both desire and concern amongst the various residents. It's an unusual insight into a familiar story, and complicates the film's path to a satisfying, if not entirely unexpected, ending.(2000) (Juliette Binoche, Alfred Molina) (PG-13) The comedy, expertly played, segues into romance as Johnny Depp turns up with an Irish accent and a guitar to give the independent Binoche a little love interest, but the heart of the film is the criticism of the heroine voiced by her daughter (Victoire Thivisol), who isn't exactly happy with the life mission of wandering chocolate benevolence that has been foisted on her. Vianne's chocolate has a lot of work to do: Judi Dench is estranged from her uptight daughter (Carrie-Anne Moss) kleptomaniac Olin is at risk of being battered by her drunkard husband (Peter Stormare) lovestruck pensioner John Wood is still unsure about asking out an old lady (Leslie Caron) and there's the sexual inactivity of peasant Ron Cook to tackle.Īs all these stories turn for the better in wry, charming, understated asides, arch-puritan Molina bullies the Presley-loving priest (Hugh O'Connor) into preaching ever more explicit anti-chocolate sermons, even as he is tempted to more drastic measures. The broad strokes are familiar, and might even come from A Fistful of Dollars: a mysterious stranger arrives in town and inspires the downtrodden to rise against the local bosses, who resort to duplicity and - in the end - violence to hang on to power. Here, he brings a delicate touch to a blend of comedy, soap, romance and magic that feels at first like a souffle, but turns out to be more substantial. ![]() Lasse Hallstrom has recently hit his international stride by making films of slightly off-beat literary efforts: his last was John Irving's The Cider House Rules, and Chocolat was followed by E. ![]() The daughter of an adventurous but conformist French pharmacist and a wandering Mayan shamaness, the heroine of Joanne Harris' novel Chocolat represents two literary traditions mixed together - the tale of French provincial manners (cf: Clochmerle) and South American magical realism (cf: Like Water For Chocolate). ![]()
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