Chocolat (2000)

Chocolat - 2000

Our next film is 2000's "Chocolat", in which a woman and her daughter arrive in a quiet French town and totally transform its populace with her different way of living.

The film's cast includes Juliette Binoche, Johnny Depp, Judi Dench, Alfred Molina, Leslie Caron, Lena Olin, Peter Stormare, Carrie-Anne Moss, Aurelien Parent Koenig, Victoire Thivisol, and Hugh O'Conor.

In a small town in the French countryside, the town population goes about their day to day lives as they always have.

The winds of change arrive and bring Vianne Rocher to the town along with her daughter, Anouk.

She rents out the town patisserie and plans a surprise for the town when she opens up.

The uptight mayor of the town visits her and is very displeased to discover that she's an unwed mother who has moved into their very conservative town.  Another shocking discovery is that she doesn't attend church, a compulsory activity for the town's residents.

Instead of a patisserie, Vianne opens a chocolaterie and all of the townspeople are tempted by the delectable delights on display in the window.  They are afraid to partake as they are in the middle of Lent.

Vianne's chocolate shop begins to transform the lives of the citizens right away.  Monsieur Blerot begins to be bold and approach the object of his affections, Madame Audel.  When he confesses his passion for her to the priest, the cleric is shocked.  "At her age?  At your age?" asks Pere Henri.  "Yes, and yes," comes the timid reply of Monsieur Blerot.

Vianne also starts a friendship with her landlady, Armande.  Cranky and stubborn when they first meet, Armande's defenses come down once she gets a taste of Vianne's special hot chocolate, and a friendship is struck.

And Vianne also helps a battered woman escape a horrible marriage (much to the disgust of the mayor, who believes that the woman should return to her husband).

When a band of itinerant "gypsies" comes to town, Vianne ignites the ire of the mayor by becoming very friendly with their leader, Roux.

She spends a lot of time trying to figure out just what exactly is Roux's favorite kind of chocolate.  He tells her that everything she's offered him is delicious, but none are his favorite.

When Vianne's shop is ransacked and most of the things she's made for an upcoming chocolate festival are destroyed, she is ready to pack it all in and hit the road again.  On her way out, she stops into the kitchen and finds many of her friends recreating what was lost and extending true friendship to her.

And at her chocolate festival, even the mayor comes around and fully accepts Vianne into the community.

She even discovers Roux's favorite kind of chocolate: hot chocolate.

Cast rundown:

   Juliette Binoche................................Vianne Rocher

   Johnny Depp....................................Roux

   Judi Dench.......................................Armande Voizin

   Alfred Molina....................................Comte de Reynaud

   Leslie Caron.....................................Madame Audel

   Lena Olin.........................................Josephine Muscat

   Peter Storemare...............................Serge Muscat

   Carrie-Anne Moss..............................Caroline Clairmont

   Aurelien Parent Koenig.......................Luc Clairmont

   Victoire Thivisol.................................Anouk Rocher

   Hugh O'Conor...................................Pere Henri

And that's it for Chocolat.  Juliette Binoche actually learned how to make chocolate in Paris as part of her training for the film.  Some of the chocolates she made were used in the festival scene.  The film was shot at the village of Flavigny-sur-Ozerain in France.  About 250 of the townspeople were used as extras in the movie.

As always, if you wish to leave a comment, please remember our posting rules.