Chocolat (2000)

A woman and her daughter open a chocolate shop in a small French village that shakes up the rigid morality of the community.

Director:

Lasse Hallström

Writers:

Joanne Harris (novel), Robert Nelson Jacobs (screenplay)

Stars:

Juliette Binoche, Judi Dench, Alfred Molina

Nominated for 5 Oscars. Another 7 wins & 31 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Alfred Molina	...	Comte de Reynaud
Carrie-Anne Moss	...	Caroline Clairmont
Aurelien Parent Koenig	...	Luc Clairmont (as Aurèlien Parent Koenig)
Antonio Gil	...	Jean-Marc Drou (as Antonio Gil-Martinez)
Hélène Cardona	...	Francoise 'Fuffi' Drou
Harrison Pratt	...	Dedou Drou
Gaelan Connell	...	Didi Drou
Élisabeth Commelin	...	Yvette Marceau (as Elisabeth Commelin)
Ron Cook	...	Alphonse Marceau
Guillaume Tardieu	...	Baptiste Marceau
Hugh O'Conor	...	Father Henri
John Wood	...	Guillaume Blérot
Lena Olin	...	Josephine Muscat
Peter Stormare	...	Serge Muscat
Leslie Caron	...	Madame Audel

Storyline

When single mother Vianne Rocher (Juliette Binoche) and her six-year-old daughter, Anouk (Victoire Thivisol) move to rural France and open a chocolate shop, with Sunday hours, across the street from the local church, they are met with some skepticism. But as soon as they coax the townspeople into enjoying their delicious products, they are warmly welcomed.

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Plot Keywords:

chocolate | france | village | food | chocolate shop | 

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Taglines:

A comic fable from the director of "The Cider House Rules".

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for a scene of sensuality and some violence

Did You Know?

Trivia

The village of Flavigny-sur-Ozerain, with its three hundred seventy inhabitants, became part of this movie. Two hundred fifty people from the area were recruited as extras. The population was informed daily about what was going on.

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Goofs

When Roux enters Serge's shop at first with the little girl, it films her hair, which is neat, straight and glossy. Yet when Serge says he doesn't "serve animals", it films the girl again, and suddenly her hair is totally messed up and tangled.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Storyteller: Once upon a time, there was a quiet little village in the French countryside, whose people believed in Tranquilité - Tranquility.
[Sunday morning congregation sings]
Storyteller: 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.
[wife kicks sleeping husband in pew]
Father Henri: The season of Lent is upon us. This is of course a time of abstinence. Hopefully also it's a time of ...
[...]

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Connections

Referenced in Katy Keene: Chapter Three: What Becomes of the Broken Hearted (2020)

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Soundtracks

Trois Gnossiennes
Written by Erik Satie
Arranged by Ronald Corp
Performed by New London Orchestra/Ronald Corp
Courtesy of Hyperion Records

User Reviews

Both artistic and very entertaining

Chocolat is a good film. The plot is indeed very good, and despite being simple at a first sight it have various layers and subtle symbolism, specifically in the 'chocolate' types. For example, for the boy with a spicy personality, bitter chocolate she offered. And to the woman depressed, scarred by life,with bitter personality, she then offered spicy chocolate. The chocolat itself represented some kind of a freedom and liberation of the repressed side of the persons. Very interesting, and it's definitely a film to be appreciated. The way the city reacts is also very curious. The characters which appears in the film have special kind of personality and a subtle meaning in them as well. And is up to the viewer to discover what these meanings are.

The art direction is also good, very suggestive and definitely is important to the film overall. The natural aura that the film exudes has much to do with the excellent work in the lightning and in the scenario,with rudimentary, but harmful stores in the small Italian city. The soundtrack is wonderful, and fits perfectly each scene. The acting is overall very good, Alfred Molina,Julliete Binoche and Judi Dench specifically are stunning in their roles.

I highly recommend this film. 8.2/10

Details

Official Sites:

Official site Official YouTube

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English French

Release Date:

19 January 2001 (USA)

Also Known As:

Chocolat

Filming Locations:

Noyers-sur-Serein, Yonne, France

Box Office

Budget:

$25,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$157,624, 17 December 2000

Gross USA:

$71,509,363

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$152,699,946

Company Credits

Production Co:

Miramax, David Brown Productions, Fat Free

Technical Specs

Runtime:

121 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1