Chocolat
by Lasse Hallstr?m
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DVD details
Actor: Alfred Molina, Aurelien Parent Koenig, Carrie-Anne Moss, Judi Dench, Juliette BinocheDirector: Lasse Hallstr?m
Producer: Alan C. Blomquist
Producer: Bob Weinstein
Producer: David Brown
Producer: Harvey Weinstein
Producer: Kit Golden
Writer: Joanne Harris
Writer: Robert Nelson Jacobs
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language); French (Original Language)
Format: NTSC
Running Time: 121 minutes
Audience Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
DVD Reviews of Chocolat
DVD Review: It's a "Food Movie" ...
Summary: 4 Stars
.... a special genre, a rule unto itself! That's how it tasted to me, anyway ... a pretty confection, like a chocolate-filled eclair, though the chocolate had just a hint of pepper. I might have preferred MORE food, a longer culinary build-up to the birthday feast that becomes the turning-point of the story. It's also a film in the vein of "magic realism" established by Latin American novelists. One can't help comparing it to "Like Water for Chocolate." That comparison does expose the shortcomings of Chocolat: there's not enough of the manic energy, there's nothing quite as funny or as poignant, and the acting isn't half as good. Johnny Depp is more mannequin than Man, more Hollywood pirate than Gallic gypsy. Juliette Binoche plays her role more as Cinderella's Fairy Godmother than as the half-Mayan sorceress she's supposed to be. Only veteran actress Judi Dench shows theatrical savvy -- control of her body, ability to express large emotions with a flicker of her eyes or lips, 'economy' of gesture and posture. She can act!
There are quite a few vitriolic one-star reviews of this film. Many of them compare it unfavorably to the book; since I haven't read the book, I can only suppose they have a point, but I don't much care. The film was a sweet treat, the sort of confection it's best to forget you've eaten lest you feel guilty about your waist-line or waste-time. Other reviews denounce the film as being hostile to religion, specifically to conservative Catholicism. They are correct. Vianne, the chocolate-sorceress, is indeed an atheist, though her stance seems mostly gratuitous. Her 'adversary' in the film is not the puppy priest but the repressed, hypocritical Count. Yes, the film can be taken as anti-clerical, and if you are fundamentally an anti-disestablishmentarian, you'd be wise to skip it.
Perhaps the best part of the film is the photography of the village near Toulouse. Yes, dears, there ARE villages in France just as picturesque and unspoiled as that one, and with any luck you'll find a celebrated gourmet restaurant there. Bon app?tit!
DVD Review: Bound to be a Classic!
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a great movie (chick flick) with a romantic story line, as well as intrigue, resolution of moral issues, great acting, and a little eye candy provided by Johnny Depp. A bowl of popcorn and a fine wine on a snowy evening and you're all set for a fun movie night at home with the girlfriends.DVD Review: chocolat
Summary: 5 Stars
It was a great movie to watch with someone else enjoying it along side with you. It is a couple's style movie with a happy ending. It is not an action guy flick, but is great for couples because it has a relationship twist that overcomes a mythical theme and conflicts in a quaint French village. It builds tension in the story plot where as one would start to hate one of the character for their actions and favor the main character for being a strong willed person who decided not to give up. The back story on the DVD was also great to review to learn about how they made the movie and how if affected the actors. I lost count how many time I saw the movie over a week's time. I would move this up to one of my five top five movie picks that I enjoy.DVD Review: Wonderful story
Summary: 4 Stars
I absolutely love this unique and wonderful story. The acting is great. The story is a modern day fairytale if you like good writing and directing you will like this movie.the story is engaging humorous yet deep.DVD Review: Wonderful story and great performance
Summary: 5 Stars
When chocolate making harmonizes with our passions, and the chocolate maker is Juliette Binoche, total success and delight are inevitable.
While awakening passion in everybody's life in a small village, Binoche faces the classic struggle between being true to one's self and following what is supposedly the righteous way forced on us by others.
Each character in the movie is a forceful presence and each plays an important role in this wonderful story. The short appearances by Johnny Depp ignites a fascinating emotional spark between a noble man and the family of a single charismatic woman and her smart daughter.
Description of Chocolat
With movies like Chocolat, it's always best to relax your intellectual faculties and absorb the abundant sensual pleasures, be it the heart-stopping smile of chocolatier Juliette Binoche as she greets a new customer, an intoxicating cup of spiced hot cocoa, or the soothing guitar of an Irish gypsy played by Johnny Depp. Adapted by Robert Nelson Jacobs from Joanne Harris's popular novel and lovingly directed by Lasse Hallstr?m, the film covers familiar territory and deals in broad metaphors that even a child could comprehend, so it's no surprise that some critics panned it with killjoy fervor. Their objections miss the point. Familiarity can be comforting and so can easy metaphors when placed in a fable that's as warmly inviting as this one.Driven by fate, Vianne (Binoche) drifts into a tranquil French village with her daughter Anouk (Victoire Thivisol, from Ponette) in the winter of 1959. Her newly opened chocolatier is a source of attraction and fear, since Vianne's ability to revive the villagers' passions threatens to disrupt their repressive traditions. The pious mayor (Alfred Molina) sees Vianne as the enemy, and his war against her peaks with the arrival of "river rats" led by Roux (Depp), whose attraction to Vianne is immediate and reciprocal. Splendid subplots involve a battered wife (Lena Olin), a village elder (Judi Dench), and her estranged daughter (Carrie-Anne Moss), and while the film's broader strokes may be regrettable (if not for Molina's rich performance, the mayor would be a caricature), its subtleties are often sublime. Chocolat reminds you of life's simple pleasures and invites you to enjoy them. --Jeff Shannon
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