Chocolat

Director: Lasse Hallstrom

Overview

The most tempting of all sweets becomes the key weapon in a battle of sensual pleasure versus disciplined self-denial in this comedy. In 1959, a mysterious woman named Vianne (Juliette Binoche) moves with her young daughter into a small French village, where much of the community's activities are dominated by the local Catholic church. A few days after settling into town, Vianne opens up a confectionery shop across the street from the house of worship -- shortly after the beginning of Lent. While the townspeople are supposed to be abstaining from worldly pleasures, Vianne tempts them with unusual and delicious chocolate creations, using her expert touch to create just the right candy to break down each customer's resistance. With every passing day, more and more of Vianne's neighbors are succumbing to her sinfully delicious treats, but the Comte de Reynaud (Alfred Molina), the town's mayor, is not the least bit amused; he is eager to see Vianne run out of town before she leads the town into a deeper level of temptation. Vianne, however, is not to be swayed, and with the help of another new arrival in town, a handsome Irish Gypsy named Roux (Johnny Depp), she plans a "Grand Festival of Chocolate," to be held on Easter Sunday. Based on the novel by Joanne Harris, Chocolat features a distinguished supporting cast, including Judi Dench, Lena Olin, Carrie-Anne Moss, Peter Stormare, Hugh O'Conor, and Leslie Caron.

Product Details

Release Date:	04/19/2011
UPC:	0031398135227
Original Release:	2000
Rating:	PG-13
Source:	Miramax Lionsgate
Region Code:	1
Presentation:	[Wide Screen]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround]
Language:	English
Time:	2:02:00
Sales rank:	7,564

Special Features

The making of Chocolat; Feature commentary with director Lasse Hallstr?m and producers David Brown, Kit Golde and Leslie Holleran ; The costumes of Chocolat; Production design featurette ; Deleted scenes

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Juliette Binoche	Vianne Rocher
Johnny Depp	Roux
Carrie-Anne Moss	Caroline Claimont
Judi Dench	Armande Voizin
Alfred Molina	Comte de Reynaud,Actor
Lena Olin	Josphine Muscat
Peter Stormare	Serge Muscat
Leslie Caron	Madame Audel
Victoire Thivisol	Anouk Rocher
Hugh O'Conor	Pere Henri
Aurelien Parent-Koenig	Luc Claimont
Antonio Gil-Martinez	Jean-Marc Drou
Helene Cardona	Francoise Drou
Harrison Pratt	Dedou Drou
Gaelan Connell	Didi Drou
Elizabeth Commelin	Yvette Marceau
Ron Cook	Alphonse Marceau
Guillaume Tardieu	Baptiste Marceau
Michele Gleizer	Madame Rivet
Dominique MacAvoy	Madame Pouget
Arnaud Adam	George Rocher
Christianne Gadd	Chitza
Marion Hauducoeur	Gati
Esteban Antonio	Thin Grizzled Man
J.J. Holiday	Musician
Malcolm Ross	Musician
Ged Barry	Musician
Tatyana Yassukovich	Storyteller
John Wood	Guillaume Blerot
Rachel Portman	Composer
Alfred	Actor

Technical Credits

Robert Nelson Jacobs

Kerry Barden	Casting
Alan C. Blomquist	Executive Producer
Stuart Brisdon	Special Effects
David Brown	Producer
Kit Golden	Producer
Leslie Holleran	Producer
Billy Hopkins	Casting
Anthony Hunt	Special Effects
Meryl Poster	Executive Producer
Suzanne Smith	Casting
Harvey Weinstein	Executive Producer,Executive Producer
Robert Nelson Jacobs	Screenwriter

Scene Index

Disc #1 -- Chocolat
1. Opening Credits: A Tranquil Village and the North Wind
2. "Where Are You From?"
3. To Lead by Example
4. The Radical Atheist
5. Waking the Passion
6. Fasting and Favorites
7. "One's Enemy"
8. "People Talk"
9. Hidden Thoughts and Yearnings
10. The Chocolate Crusade
11. A Guaranteed Problem
12. "Boycott Immorality"
13. Chocolate, Worms, and Sin
14. Planning a Party
15. Exquisite Indulgences
16. Riverboat Disaster
17. Saying Goodbye
18. Banishment From the Village
19. "Don't Worry, Mama"
20. Comte and His Confections
21. Freedom From Tranquillity
22. End Credits

Menu

Disc #1 -- Chocolat
Play Movie
Bonus Material
The Making of "Chocolat"
Audio Commentary
View Film With Audio Commentary With Director Lasse Hallström and Producers David Brown, Kit Golden and Leslie Holleran: On
Proceed
View Film With Audio Commentary With Director Lasse Hallström and Producers David Brown, Kit Golden and Leslie Holleran: Off
The Costumes of "Chocolat"
Production Design Featurette
Deleted Scenes
Comte Collects Rent
Are We Goig to Move Again?
Milking the Cow
Cat Food
Boule Game
Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow
Armande's Letter
Set up
Spoken Languages
English
French
Captions and Subtitles
English for the Hearing Impaired
Spanish
Subtitles:None
Chapter Selection
Sneak Peeks
The Cider House Rules
Malona
Bounce
The Yards
Shakespeare in Love
Life Is Beautiful
Good Will Hunting
Il Postino
Like Water for Chocolate

Editorial Reviews

This modest but handsome Chocolat enchants viewers with its whimsical charm, beguiling characters, and unerring insights, while providing the best English-language vehicle to date for the luminous Juliette Binoche. Binoche portrays a peripatetic single mother who arrives in a sleepy French village and establishes a chocolate shop during Lent. She displays a remarkable facility for sensing the moods of customers and finding confections to match, but the sensuous appeal of her products is lost on the town mayor (Alfred Molina, who’s never been better), an uptight soul who believes she will undermine his authority. Johnny Depp, as an Irish riverboat gypsy, supplies a leading man of sorts, but Chocolat is really an ensemble film, and his contribution is no less important than those of Molina, Judi Dench (playing Binoche’s irascible landlady), and Lena Olin (as an abused wife who works in the shop). Director Lasse Hallstrom (The Cider House Rules) resists the temptation to make his film a full-blown allegory, but he also refuses to allow the story’s realistic elements to overshadow its mystical ones. Every bit as tasty a confection as the ones Binoche makes onscreen, Chocolat is smooth, sweet, and satisfying.