Chocolat

Directed by Lasse Hallstrom

Written by Robert Nelson Jacobs 

Cast: Juliette Binoche, Judi Dench, Alfred Molina, Lena Olin, Johnny Depp 

"Once upon a time, there was a quiet little village in the French countryside, whose people believed in Tranquilité - Tranquility. If you lived in this village, you understood what was expected of you. You knew your place in the scheme of things. And if you happened to forget, someone would help remind you. In this village, if you saw something you weren't supposed to see, you learned to look the other way. If perchance your hopes had been disappointed, you learned never to ask for more. So through good times and bad, famine and feast, the villagers held fast to their traditions. Until, one winter day, a sly wind blew in from the North..." 

Chocolat is finely crafted depiction of the tension between love and law, judgement and forgiveness, righteous restraint and living a life worth remembering. 

Vienne Rocher (Juliette Binoche) moves with the wind. When she arrives in the conventional town of Lansquenet-sous-Tannes with her daughter Anouk (Victoire Thivisol), she must choose between following convention or dishing out the windblown medicine she knows best: rich, unrefined Mayan chocolate. 

When she opens her cheery chocolaterie at the beginning of Lent, the mayor (Alfred Molina) jumps at the opportunity to preach against indulgence. Sunday sermons are filled with admonition against the unholiness of chocolate. Still, Vienne’s shop stays busy and it soon becomes apparent that she is doing more than selling truffles. With her daring red shoes and defiance toward gossip, Vienne heals relationships and comforts the hurting. 

She has the inspiring ability to not only guess people’s favorite chocolate, but to see their beauty and potential. 

The river brings a fleet of nomadic gypsies to the sleepy shores of Lansquenet-sous-Tannes. When the townspeople refuse the “river rats” hospitality, Vienne and Anouk greet them with handfuls of chocolate candy. Chief river rat Roux (Johnny Depp) befriends Vienne and together, with mischievous smiles, they bring the town just what it needed: life, laughter and chocolat. 

The book of the same name is equally delightful. Author Joanne Harris offers a pantheon of insight into human flaws and virtues, like some magic Mayan recipe for wisdom. Her writing is fresh, vivid and relevant, and her descriptions of Vienne’s chocolaterie will have your mouth watering for an espresso au chocolat avec chantilly.