|
starring: Juliette Binoche, Alfred Molina, Carrie-Anne Moss, Judi Dench, Antonio Gil (VI)directed by: Lasse Hallström
Audience Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Binding: VHS Tape
EAN: 0786936169348
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Special Edition, NTSC
Label: Walt Disney Video
Manufacturer: Walt Disney Video
Number Of Items: 1
Publisher: Walt Disney Video
Release Date: December 11, 2001
Running Time: 105 minutes
Sales Rank: 3856
Studio: Walt Disney Video
Theatrical Release Date: January 05, 2001
Related Items:
Editorial Review:
Description:
Nominated for 5 Academy Awards(R) including Best Picture, Best Actress (Juliette Binoche -- THE ENGLISH PATIENT), and Best Supporting Actress (Judi Dench -- SHAKESPEARE 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 Vianne (Binoche) would make when she arrived in a tranquil, old-fashioned French town. In her very unusual chocolate shop, Vianne begins to create mouth-watering confections that almost magically inspire the straitlaced villagers to abandon themselves to temptation and happiness! But it is not until another stranger, the handsome Roux (Johnny Depp -- SLEEPY HOLLOW), arrives in town that Vianne is finally able to recognize her own desires!
Amazon.com:
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 Hallström, 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
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating:  - Perfect Date Movie
This is a tale of what happens when the morality police get their judgments completely wrong. Still the movie makes it's point without clobbering viewers over the head. The movie, set in the mid-1900s, stars Depp as an kindhearted "pirate," and Binoche as a nomadic, chocolat making, single mother, (who is also step-mother to a "kangaroo.")
The juxtaposition between characters main and sub, old and young, religious or not, is interesting to follow each has their own unique story to ... Read More
Rating: - Wonderful characters!
I love this film. Juliette Binoche is a joy as the town's newest resident, and her open ways are very foreign to some of her neighbors. Judi Dench is, as always, terrific. From a very personal perpective, Johnny Depp shows up too late in the film, but, as always, lives his role. This may not be a great film and some may feel it is hitting them too hard pointing out people's prejudices. But people do have them and it never hursts to remind us to look beyond the surface. Tjhe film does not treat dogmatic ... Read More
Rating: - Magic and chocolate
Maybe there isn't much difference - but Vianne's is more magical than most. She spends her life as a wanderer, bringing with her chocolate recipes that descend from the Mayas, but with preparation to tempt the most refined Europeans. The story starts when she and her daughter wander into a small city in France that dates back to the middle ages. It's a walled city, filled with walled people, the kind affronted by opening a chocolate shop during Lent and nastily eager to note the mother's never-married state. ... Read More
Rating: - A film you will never forget!
Delightfull, seductive, humorous, and bold would be the four main words to describe this film. A wonderfull story with great performences and wonderfull musical score by Rachael Potter. Juliette Binoche was terrefic, she was very adorable and so was Victoire Thivisol who played her daughter. Carrie-Anne Moss and Alfred Molina delivers a good performence as well and Judi Dench, she is brilliant as always. The film throws light on the simple pleasures of life, the life in towns in France. A film worth watching! ... Read More
Rating: - Hot Chocolate for the Soul
Lasse Hallstrom's "Chocolat" is a richly delicious movie. Set in post-WWII France, Juliette Binoche is luminous as Vianne,a gipsy who works magic with her chocolate. Alfred Molina stars as the melancholy, repressed Comte who initiates a crusade against her in the name of morality. With Rachel Portman's sensuous soundtrack,"Chocolat" is a delicious treat.
In "Chocolat",Vianne befriends the abused Josephine (Lena Olin) as well as the suffering Countess (Judi Dench),who's estranged from her uptight daughter ... Read More
|
