Chocolat

Is this Lasse Halstrom (orthography?) bad or what? I thought that "Cider house rules" was boring, but I was surprised to see that "chocolat" is even worse. First, is that supposed to be France? I am French and I come from Montpellier and I know the department of the "Tarn" and this sure doesn't look like it. It looks like northern France or even England but not like the south west. And why is it that we French people speak with an accent in american movie, is the american viewer too stupid to understand that they are in fact speaking in french? (en francais dans le texte) so why not let everybody speak english normally please... Furthermore, in 1959, almost half of the french population was communist. Where did they find a village in Tarn without a communist mayor in 1959? Have they heard of the french revolution? You know when we cut the heads off nobles like the Conte, and killed all our priests. This is the way Americans WANT to see France, not the way it was or is. The plot is so childish and predictable it's depressing. They even get the "Gitans" showing the stupid villagers how to enjoy life. Actually they weren't Gypsies but "River people". I have never heard of them before. It must have been an invention of the director, or they got confused with Ireland ? This was a very very long movie, my back was sore from the cheap seat, but my wife LOVED it, so guys be prepared to be bored but your "nenettes" will love this insipid film and they'll be sweet to you back at home.

What an extraordinarily predictable load of cliches. What a waste of acting talent. What a waste of time. How anyone who has ever been to France, been in love, seen a film, read a book, eaten, breathed, or even just been born can give a positive review to this load of tosh is beyond my comprehension.

-This film transports through the art of story telling. -It takes you out of your situation and introduces you to a group of fascinating people. -Each character either is beautiful or becomes beautiful. Chocalat can be loved on the surface or somewhere more profound. The audience can choose the depth in which they wish to receive it. Little children may be entranced with the way chocolate looks when melted and stirred, whereas adults are entranced by the emotional impact of learning how to not deny one's self of the little pleasures in life (and also be captivated by melted chocolate!) Chocalat is grounded in emotional reality, but possess magical qualities breaching into the realms of a fairy tale. An entire family can enjoy this one or you could simply watch it on your own. I sometimes like to have the film on in the background while doing homework. Eventually I am immersed without fail. DO NOT DENY YOURSELF THIS PLEASURE

This film is crap. Nothing happens apart from boredom for the viewer. There are also terrible fake accents to insult anyone who happens to come from the country that the accent is meant to be from. I don't think the cast are worthy of a mention so I will refer to a couple of offenders - the main girl with an awful French accent and the bloke who turns up in a boat who is Irish? This film was actually made to test audiences. In a stroke of genius, the makers of this film have proved the stupidity of the population by influencing the fickle film industry and fooling the population into voting this crap for some awards. The pretentious clowns who like this film are responsible for the brainless society that we live in. And that is YOU if you think this is good. This film was turned off before it could reach it's utterly pointless climax...and one more thing........Yawwwnn........

Good commercial for chocolate though did chocolate ever need any kind of commercial? It looks like a Sunday NY Times spread: chic clothes & makeup, but some of the worst acting I've ever seen on film. Plus hey, they think it's funny to show a dog lopping up chocolate kisses off the floor, but try that on your dog if you want to put him or her down.. Not funny to me. Lots of coyness, though.

I originally saw Chocolat in France. It opened during Lent and was shown in English, for maximum insult-the-French value I guess, and had a mercifully short run with no great popularity (especially when compared with other anglophone films such as Chicken Run, Shrek, and Mission Impossible 2). I saw it juxtapositioned between multiple viewings of Amelie Poulain. Such a difference between the French fairy tale (told in a light, colorful if longwinded way), and the politically correct Anglo/American pseudofrench clunker. It was like the difference between breathing and watching a lecture on breathing from the viewpoint of a tree. Now that Amelie is available in the US, I am saddened to see how little attention it has drawn other than from the critics. Maybe the real thing is a little bit too foreign, and will have to be remade with Madonna to be as palatable to Americans as Chocolat was.

I am starting to think that I should just stop seeing anything with the name "Miramax" on it. Talk about Formula. I was able to correctly predict the outcome of every single story line in this film within the first 10 minutes. That just does not cut it for me anymore. I am looking for some originally like the Wonder Boys, Unbreakable or even Return to Me. The latter was predicatable but way better than this one. My wife loved it and I guess as a fairytale it was okay. However, I felt ripped off by this film - so formulaic. It appeared the characters were having a much better time than I was eating all that chocolat. Perhaps if Miramax distributed a free box of Chocolates at the door it would have been much more satisifying. This is a date rental movie at the most. Oscars should not even be mentioned.

I agree with the previous post that mentioned that the so-called "likable" characters (specifically the charmless and annoying Juliette Binoche) were the ones I was rooting against. That may be the first time that has ever happened for me -- actually generating a supreme dislike for the protagonist that I was supposed to like. I will now avoid all Juliette Binoche Oscar-nominated films because this one, along with English Patient, is not only overrated but painful to sit through. Now that I got THAT vent out of my system, I am SO tired of these blatant anti-religion movies that attempt to disguise themselves as something else. This is NOT a charming fable that uses religion as its backdrop. Rather, it is an anti-religion (Catholicism) manifesto that disguises itself as a charming (and is THAT ever debatable) fable. Nothing is subtle and the characters are either annoyingly cloying or downright boring. If you are going to make an anti-organized religion movie, do it with gusto and make a STATEMENT as well, as Lars von Triers did with the brilliant Breaking the Waves. That movie was indeed anti-organized religion, but it was also a movie about the power of FAITH. I know I strayed from the subject, but I had to do ANYTHING to allow myself to forget about this horrible movie for a couple minutes.

A film to awaken the senses and stimulate the sweet tooth, `Chocolat,' directed by Lasse Hallstrom and starring Juliette Binoche. is both a sensuous and sensational delight. In the mid ‘50s, as if borne on the winds of fate, a somewhat mysterious woman arrives in a small town in France, with a young daughter, Anouk (Victoire Thivisol) in tow and a special talent that soon has the townsfolk in quite a stir. Binoche is Vianne Rocher, a woman who uses her exotic recipe for chocolate to unlock the repressed sensibilities of the predominately Catholic citizenry, heretofore kept under the rigid and righteous thumb of the Mayor, Comte de Reynaud (Alfred Molina), with no respite or help, even from the town's young and inexperienced priest, Pere Henri (Hugh O'Conor). And because Vianne has the audacity to open her chocolate shop during Lent, when of course her sumptuous treats are forbidden, she quickly runs afoul of the Mayor and a battle of wills between the two ensues. Her chocolates are irresistible, but the Mayor has tradition and religion on his side, and it puts the free-spirited Vianne-- who has something of the gypsy in her-- to the test. As a director, Hallstrom has just the right touch that brings out the best this story has to offer, which is to say, quite a bit. It's an affecting and funny movie that will touch you emotionally as it involves you with the characters; Hallstrom knows what buttons to push and when, and it works splendidly. There's a touch of mystery surrounding Vianne that underscores the sensitivity of the story, and Hallstrom never allows it to become maudlin, which successfully maintains the integrity of the drama. And there are moments throughout the film that evoke an almost dream-like sense of pacification that draw you in as you indulge in the mouth watering visual pleasures of the chocolate. Be forewarned, though, it's a tough one for diabetics to watch. What Hallstrom also has going for him in this one is an absolutely exquisite cast, many of whom give Oscar worthy, memorable performances, beginning with the superb Juliette Binoche. There's an earthy, enigmatic and classic sense of beauty about her that make her presence on screen captivating; she's simply a joy to behold. Judi Dench (Amande), meanwhile, does a terrific character turn as a mother whose daughter, Caroline (Carrie-Anne Moss), deems her an embarrassment and a bad influence on her son, Luc (Aurelien Parent-Koening), and Lena Olin (Josephine) is outstanding as well, as an unhappy woman who finds hope in Vianne's undaunted spirit. Three extraordinary performances from gifted actresses that should be recognized with Oscar nominations. And Molina, too, as the narrow minded Comte, gives possibly the best performance of his career, while Johnny Depp (Roux) lends some charm as the leader of a roving community of river people. Rounding out the supporting cast are John Wood (Guillaume), Peter Stormare (Serge) and Leslie Caron (Madame Audel). Possibly the `sweetest' film of the year, as well as one of the best, `Chocolat' is a visual and emotional triumph that will warm your heart and make your taste buds salivate, with a story and characters as rich and satisfying as the candy they embrace. It's a film with a human touch whose images and sensitivity will remain with you long after the screen has gone dark; an uplifting, entertaining movie that proves that the answers to the mysteries of life just may be found in that box of chocolates, after all. I rate this one 10/10.

This movie starts being a comedy, and finishes with drama and romance genre. And it's one of the greatest movies I already saw, with such a good atmosphere and also one of the most appetizing scenes ever.(It's really hard watching this movie while you are on a diet!) (Juliette Binoche is terrific as Vianne Rocher and Johnny Depp as Roux is so sexy!) Viane Rocher is the owner of a chocolaterie in a small Town of France; She and her daughter Anouk are always traveling to different places to live,following the Maya's tradition, since Viane herself is daughter of a Mayan woman.In the small town, Viane makes new friends, and tries to help the people there with her cacao recipes and her talent to guess the deep desires and the favorite chocolates of everybody who talks to her. Her problems start to complicate when the Comte De Reynaud tries to boycott her store, and a sexy foreigner named Roux come to the small town with his group,making Vianne attracted to him and for the first time not guessing what is his favorite chocolate and what is behind the mysterious guy.