Chocolat

Not a Best Picture quality film by any means, but still very good... recommended. My review from <a href=http://pub4.ezboard.com/bnicktheshadow>my board</a>:

SUMMARY

Set in 1959 and based on the novel by Joanne Harris, this film examines how the peace of a highly religious town in France slowly disintegrates after a traveling single mother named Vianne (Juliette Binoche) and her daughter Anouk (Victoire Thivisol) move in and set up a chocolate shop just before the season of Lent.


JUST TELL ME IF IT'S GOOD OR BAD

Sweet on the outside, and not without a delicious creamy filling.


PROS

Chocolat is in many ways like the scrumptious delicacy around which it focuses. It is a sweet and delightful film that makes for a charming, innocent tale.

The premise that serves as the primary conflict in this film - the struggle between Vianne and the Comte de Reynaud (Alfred Molina), the vehemently ascetic mayor of the town, over how the presence of the chocolate shop affects the people - is portrayed in a way that is rather captivating. In this film, we see how the chocolate shop affects various characters in the town on many levels; the requisite for effectively conveying this, of course, would lie in interesting characters. In this respect, Chocolat succeeds tremendously. The cast of characters is an ensemble that never falls short of interesting, yet is easily within the bounds of realism. The inexperienced young preacher who listens to Elvis Presley (Hugh O'Conor); Vianne's aged landlady (Judi Dench) who struggles with her religiously devout daughter (Carrie-Anne Moss) for control of her grandson Luc (Aurelien Parent-Koenig); Josephine (Lena Olin), a lady who seeks refuge in the chocolate shop from her abusive husband (Peter Stormare); and of course, the mayor himself - all of these characters are memorable in their own ways as Vianne and her shop become a part of their lives.

In harbouring such a sizable ensemble, is Chocolat a character-driven piece? In many ways, yes, but not exclusively so. The conflict appears to be primarily between truffles and theology, and is driven around the characters, not by them. There is a definite plot that flows in a cohesive, evenly paced manner and manages to remain interesting. Having not read the original source material for this film, I cannot compare it to the film adaptation; however, examining the film alone, it has a clever premise that is drawn together by an engaging screenplay.

Vianne herself is portrayed magnificently by Juliette Binoche, in one of the finest performances in recent memory. When this acting is taken into consideration alongside the involving direction and writing, the product is a many-faceted and memorable main character who is easy to care about as we see what she goes through.

The film's lighthearted, often satirical tone is supported by its visual look in general; notable is how its colour palette conveys the notion that Vianne brings vibrance into the dull, greyish town that prized its tranquilité so much. The film's tone, is further supplemented by the underlying musical score, which fits the film quite well.


CONS

Most of the problems with Chocolat are not as much flaws with the film as they are limitations or unfulfilled potentials. (Again, when analysing this, I am disregarding the source material, with which I am not familiar.)

The most clearly lacking aspect of the film is in the guitar-strumming pirate-like Roux (Johnny Depp), who is to an extent interesting, but is given a role of little significance in the film as a whole which was obviously conceived to be a lot more, as the film undeniably implies. His relationship with Vianne is simply uninteresting.

There are several other recurring motifs or implications that never come into fruition, and probably should: the song Vianne's mother used to sing to her, the story of her parents themselves and the tradition of passing on chocolate to benefit others, and Anouk's imaginary kangaroo friend are all examples of this.

None of these shortcomings hamper the innocent charm of the film in any way, but they are lingering setbacks nonetheless that serve as a reminder that this film undoubtedly has room for improvement.


OVERALL

A clever premise and memorable characters make for a lighthearted and thoroughly entertaining film.

I'm not even gonna bother with this movie. The best chocolate movie, always has been and always will be, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.

[gimli-son-of-gloin13]

GO GDL96!

[frodosgirlfriend]

Willie wonka sucks compaired to this movie! have you seen Johnny Depp in Chocolat!?! *sigh* he is so perfect!

[Aeryn Evenstar]

I liked Chocolat, too. Even watched it more than once!

[Renille]

A girl in my choir told me that I reminded her of the little girl in Chocolat. I didn't know if that was good or bad,so I had to see it for myself. I ended up really loving it! Anouk DID seem like me when I was younger...that was scary. But I loved the whole thing.It wasn't necessarily deep or anything...but definitely an "AWW...how sweet!" movie.

[Curunír]

I like chocolat, but I never saw the film.

[Hasty Ent]

I was disappointed in this movie. The book was far superior -- isn't that usually the case? The movie strayed from the book's criticism of the Church, and by so doing took the guts out of the story. In typical Hollywood fashion the producers were clearly afraid of alienating their audience, proving once again that they are gutless wonders.

[frodosgirlfriend]

i loved this movie so much i had to buy it *hugs DVD*