Movie Review: "Chocolat"

"Chocolat" (2000) rightfully belongs to the best romance films and comedy-dramas that make the viewers both feel the sensual pleasures and go through the emotional transformation of every character. Being based on the similarly-named novel by Joanne Harris, this outstanding American-British movie was adapted by Robert Nelson Jacobs, directed by a Swedish film director Lasse Hallstrom, and produced by Alan C. Blomquist, Bob Weinstein, David Brown, Harvey Weinstein, and Jack Maeby. Chocolat arouses interest at once due to an all-star cast including charming Juliette Binoche (an expert chocolatier), Johnny Depp (a gypsy Roux), Carrie-Anne Moss (Armande’s daughter), and other brilliant actors and actresses.

The main Plot Film "Chocolat"

A beautiful single mother Vianne arrives in a peaceful small town in France in the late 1950s. She manages to start her own business as a chocolatier; however, her undertaking is not welcomed since she breaks the established customs and disturbs the repose. All the citizens, including the mayor of the town, are skeptical and resistant when it comes to a newcomer and her chocolate shop. The attitude changes after the local people see the warm personality of a young woman and her willingness to assist and please them. Besides, they enjoy the delicious chocolate made by Vianne and learn how to be thankful for little things, and rejoice at love and simple pleasures. There are other subplots, which intertwine into a splendid story that gives a great emotional lift.

Chocolate and other delicious confections serve as a symbol of liberation, change, and progress. A free spirit penetrates a conservative village and writes a new page in its history and relationships. Amazing sweets reveal the potential of common people to happiness, joy, and magic. They inspire the villagers and sweeten their lives. Food, chocolate, in particular, is used in the movie illustrating essential societal issues and demonstrating the power of love, kindness, readiness for joy, and tolerance for people who lead other ways of life different from conventional ones. Everybody who tastes it is bound to change the attitude and get happier. All the villagers fall under the spell of unmatched taste and new opinions Vianne brings to them.

Chocolate in the movie is an embodiment of seeking a new sensual approach to a life full of happiness and pleasure. Such new life is in contrast to dull existence deprived of any joy though it does not reduce itself to mere eating and consumption. Food cannot be a meaning of living, but it adds flavor and shows the importance of simple pleasures, which help to bring happiness even to the lives of people around. Tolerance and openness to new things symbolized by chocolate in the movie have a strong magic power that connects people and helps them get on well together.

"Chocolat" is capable of warming the viewers’ hearts, entertaining them, and revealing some mysteries of life that are hidden from indifferent eyes and can be found everywhere, even in the box of favorite sweets. Nobody can fail to be moved by the movie that presents fanciful sets, a magic atmosphere, and a delightful story. Moreover, striking chemistry between the main characters proves again that opposites attract each other, and such interaction brings only positive changes. The obvious message of the movie sent with the help of chocolate teaches everybody how important tolerance is. I enjoyed the plot that can make life more beautiful despite its predictability and simplicity. It inspires and makes everybody think about attachments, traditions, relationships, and the capacity of rejoicing. I feel that it can make the viewers more open to life and help them look at it from a new angle.