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Actors: Juliette Binoche, Lena Olin, Judi Dench, Alfred Molina
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| Review Summary and Plot Commentary about Chocolat |
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Vianne Rocher, a chocolatiere, and her daughter, Anouk, move into a small French town just as Lent is starting. Vianne befriends the villagers and tries to help them work though their personal problems while soothing them with her various confections. However, the mayor and those who agree with him are trying to drive her and her shop out of town at any cost.
--Jolie, Resident Scholar
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A mysterious woman and her young daughter come to a small, post-war French town, strangled by the narrow prejudices of its broken-hearted mayor. The woman opens a choclate shop - and with it, a Pandora's box of repressed feelings, lost love, family dysfunction, and the meaning of life: independence of thought and feeling, the ability to choose one's destiny without interference, and the ability to truly enjoy every day you're alive.
--Glenda Konopka, Resident Scholar
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Great movie! I believe children could watch this movie, though there are ome sexual references. The MPAA rating for this movie is "PG-13."
There are no "F" Words in this movie.
From the back of the movie:
Nomnated for 5 cademy Awards including Best Picture, Best Actress (Juliette Binoche--The English Patient), and est Supporting Actress (Judi Dench-_Shakespear in Love), Chocolat is the beautiful and captivating comedy from the acclaimed director of The Cider House Rules! Nobody could have imagined the impact that the striking Viann (Binoche) would make when she arrived in a tranquil, old-fashined French town. In hr very unusul chocolate shop, Vianne begins to create mouth-watering confections that almost magically inspire the straightlaced villagers to abandon themselves to temptation and happiness! But it is not until another stranger, the hanome Rox (Johnny Depp--Sleepy Hollow), arrives in town that Vianne is finally able to recognize her own desires!
--Jessica W, Resident Scholar
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Vianne Rocher (Juliette Binoche) is the mysterious woman who arrives in a little French town and opens a chocolate shop during Lent. (The year is 1959 but could just as well be a century before, given how little modernity and technology have invaded this hidebound Catholic enclave.) That first move is enough to anger the mayor, a stuffy and intolerant count (Molina) who vows to put the non-churchgoing intruder with an "illegitimate" daughter out of business. But Vianne knows just what each person in the town likes (and in fact, needs) in terms of candy and life changes: her crusty landlady (Dench), a battered wife of the tavern owner (Olin), a working class couple whose sex life has lost its oomph, and so on. (She is a sort of good witch who turns a town upside down and does it a favor despite itself.) The writing is delightful, the acting by an international cast (French Binoche and Swede Olin played very different roles together in "The Unbearable Lightness of Being," John Wood joins fellow Brit Dench as a mousy old fellow with a crush on widow Leslie Caron(!), and Aussie Carrie-Anne Moss as the count's adoring but repressed secretary is very different from Trinity in "The Matrix"!) Johnny Depp as a gypsy water-rat with a puzzling Irish brogue is a bit out of his depth in this crowd. Mix lots of lovely laughter, mouth-watering footage of chocolate in the making and finished, awesome acting (particularly by Dench, Binoche, and Molina), a terrific soundtrack (from Django Reinhardt and Bach to bits of Elvis), some light philosophy about appetite, racism, and tolerance, and you have a marvelous, magical confection.
--David Loftus, Resident Scholar
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| Analysis of Chocolat |
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Time/era of movie:
- 1930's-1950's
Inner struggle or disability
Yes
Ethnic/Regional/Gender story?
Yes
Main Char. ethnic: (if not US Caucasian)
- French
Story of city/rural life?
- Small Town
Culture of surrounding area:
- French
Main Character
Identity:
- Female
Profession/status:
- small businessman
Age:
- 20's-30's
Hair color?
- brunette (Brown)
Hair type
- (woman) short/butch/lez
Body type
- (woman) skinny
Events of movie makes character more...
- happy
How sensitive is this character?
- sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor?
- Strong but gentle sense of humor
Intelligence
- Average intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Physique
- average physique
Secondary Main Character
Identity:
- Male
- Female
Hair color
- brunette (Brown)
Hair style
- (man) short/standard straight
Body type
- (woman) fat
How much in movie?
- 40%
Main Adversary
Identity:
- Male
Age:
- 40's-50's
Hair color
- brunette (Black)
Sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Average intelligence
Physique
- average physique
Setting
Europe
Yes
European country:
- France
Small town?
Yes
Style
Accounts of torture and death?
- generic/vague references to death/punishment
Movie makes you feel...
- very happy
Sex/nudity in movie?
Yes
What kind of sex:
- kissing
Any profanity?
- None
- Occasional swearing
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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s). | |
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