Chocolat

Chocolat Directed by Lasse Hallström

Review by Katie Rose

 

Chocolat is an interesting one. Why? Well because it is one of those very rare specimens that I actually prefer the movie over the book. Shocking, I know! I will explain why I feel that way at the end of the review; however since I think the movie is better, that is what I will be talking about here.

Chocolat is about a French woman named Vianne and it takes place in 1959. Vienne is part of an ancient line of South American women who are called by the north wind from place to place. Her father married her mother when he was in South America, and brought her back to France. Called away by the north wind, however, she eventually ran away with the young Vianne. They moved across Europe, never settling. Vienne and her daughter Anouk now live the same lifestyle. Vienne makes a living as an expert chocolatier, and opens up shops in whatever town she and her daughter land in.

This time, Vienne and Anouk have landed in a small French village that is led and controlled by a deeply Catholic mayor, Comte Reynaud. The town is very repressed, which is beautifully shown through the complete lack of color used through filming. The only splash of color is in Vienne’s chocolate shop, which is beautifully decorated, and eventually the homes of the gypsies who come to visit the town.  The town people are very conservative, and shun all pleasure and celebration. The Comte’s obsession with tradition and his harsh interpretation of the Bible is force fed to the people through the Father of the church, whom the Comte controls. He quickly disapproves of Vienne because she does not go to church and she is a single mother, and moves to turn the town against her. Vienne, however, is optimistic and cheerful. The townspeople are inevitably drawn to her and she set out to improve their lives.

This movie has always been one I really enjoyed. It is visually very appealing, with beautiful settings and the way they film the chocolate makes you want to consume and entire chocolate shop yourself.  The story is engaging, funny, and entertaining. At the same time, however it is dark, harsh, and heart wrenching. All the characters, even the ones you start out disliking, you learn throughout the course of the movie have their own reasons for the way behave, and become much more sympathetic. There is overall message in this movie about the hypocrisy of those who exclude other people to prove how “good” they are, and how compassion and acceptance of others can makes all the difference. The relationship between Vienne and her daughter is a loving one, but not without its strain as Anouk hates the constant moving around. The cast is heavily female, with all the women having a range of problems that are not very similar to each other at all. Vienne is a heroine to be sure, but she is not perfect. She suffers from insecurity and a desire to be loved by everyone. This makes her extremely relatable. The conflict with her daughter, I would assume, also makes her very sympathetic to mothers. I have been told it is very difficult having a vision for your child’s life and having them completely reject it. Maybe one day I will discover that for myself!

I tried to read the book, I really did. It was just so much more negative than the movie was. It villianized Catholics to an uncomfortable level and overall had a much more dark overtone than the movie did. The book does not have the happy, hopeful ending that the movie has, and I dislike that immensely. Looking over chat boards online, most people disagree with me. They prefer the book because it is more “deep”, unafraid to offend Catholics, and they dislike how the movie changed the ending to make it a happy one. Well, if that is your cup of tea then so be it. I like the happy version better. There is one particular line at the end of the movie that the priest makes about how he does not believe goodness is measured by what people deny themselves, and who they exclude. It is a powerful message that I really appreciate.

                The movie was nominated for several Oscars when it came out in 2000, including Best Picture and Best Actress. There are some adult themes in this movie, such as domestic violence that might make it inappropriate for children. The casting is absolutely excellent in this movie. Seriously, go look up the cast! You have Julieette Binoche, Judi Dench, Alfred Molina, and oh yea did I mention Johnny Depp? And those are just the main characters!

                Final Recommendation: For a good time, watch the movie! Just make sure there is no chocolate within reach while you do or I guarantee you will eat it all! If you are more interested in a darker, deeper story than I would suggest you read the book. (Then again you can always do both!)