Chocoholics beware - if you are in therapy to wean yourself off eating this marvellous invention, do NOT see this movie.
The story follows Vianne Rocher, Juliette Binoche and her daughter, Anouk who literally blow into a staid, stifling town during lent in the 50's. Renting out the unused paterisserie the the apartment above from Armande Voizin, Judi Dench, Vianne and Anouk set up a Chocolaterie. They meet bitter opposition in setting up the Chocolaterie by the local big wig, moral guardian and feared mayor, the Comte de Reynaud, Alfred Molina, who is battling his own personal dilemas.
I won't go too much into what happens as some of the plot would be revealed, possibly spoiling your enjoyment of this film.
You meet some delightful characters, including the young priest who has a penchant for rock and roll, in a time when it was still deemed morally wrong to have such inclinations, the tired downtrodden wife whose life gets far more interesting when her husband discovers Vianne's delightful chocolat and some not so nice characters like the local cafe owner who routinely beats his wife played by Lena Olin (who, incidently is also wife of the director of the film, Lasse Hallstrom), unbeknownst to the villagers.
At times this sweet film goes overboard with niceness and eagerness to please, but for the most part it is a balanced film, with a little bit of romance, humour and morals to keep you entertained. If you are a Johnny Depp fan (which I am) you might be dissapointed with the screen time given to his character (or not given as the case is), but apart from that I highly recommend this film. I also recommend you either have a large meal before seeing it, or have a decent swag of chocolate in your possession to scoff during it!
The story follows Vianne Rocher, Juliette Binoche and her daughter, Anouk who literally blow into a staid, stifling town during lent in the 50's. Renting out the unused paterisserie the the apartment above from Armande Voizin, Judi Dench, Vianne and Anouk set up a Chocolaterie. They meet bitter opposition in setting up the Chocolaterie by the local big wig, moral guardian and feared mayor, the Comte de Reynaud, Alfred Molina, who is battling his own personal dilemas.
I won't go too much into what happens as some of the plot would be revealed, possibly spoiling your enjoyment of this film.
You meet some delightful characters, including the young priest who has a penchant for rock and roll, in a time when it was still deemed morally wrong to have such inclinations, the tired downtrodden wife whose life gets far more interesting when her husband discovers Vianne's delightful chocolat and some not so nice characters like the local cafe owner who routinely beats his wife played by Lena Olin (who, incidently is also wife of the director of the film, Lasse Hallstrom), unbeknownst to the villagers.
At times this sweet film goes overboard with niceness and eagerness to please, but for the most part it is a balanced film, with a little bit of romance, humour and morals to keep you entertained. If you are a Johnny Depp fan (which I am) you might be dissapointed with the screen time given to his character (or not given as the case is), but apart from that I highly recommend this film. I also recommend you either have a large meal before seeing it, or have a decent swag of chocolate in your possession to scoff during it!
