Chocolat is one of my favorite films. It is also the only film I know that feature Lenten sacrifice in the plot. The movie is a delight to watch in the weeks approaching Easter as it tempts you with the most delectable treats while exploring the themes of piousness to the point of zealotry and tolerance for all.
The movie is told as a fable and stars Juliette Binoche as Vianne Rocher, a nomadic woman with a daughter Anouk, who travels from town to town based on the whims of the North Wind. She arrives in the small repressed French village of Lansquenet-sous-Tannes, and much to the dismay of the Mayor, Comte de Reynaud (Alfred Molina), she opens a chocolate shop during the Lenten season. His dismay quickly turns to anger when he learns she had her daughter out of wedlock and does not go to church. He makes it his mission to run her out of town.
But some are not afraid of Vianne and her chocolate shop and through unseen influence their lives are transformed through her. Judi Dench stars as a cantankerous old woman who is estranged from her daughter (Carrie-Ann Moss) and barred from seeing her grandson. She is Vianne's landlord and soon becomes her friend. She also befriends Josephine (Lena Olin) a woman who suffers the abuse of a drunken husband (Peter Stormare).
A battle of wills grows between Vianne and the Comte de Reynaud and things come to a head when a band of gypsies come to down led by the rouge Roux (Johnny Depp)
It is a rare movie that can combine themes of paganism and Christianity and tie it all together with the golden rule to make a delightful confection that can be enjoyed over and over again.
At The Movie House rating ***1/2
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