Film Addict's March Film Choice

So now we're in the middle of Lent and while I don't observe it because I am religious in any way, I think I'm more spiritual, I find it impressive when people actually fully observe Lent properly.  This is why I chose Chocolat as my film of the month - a film about a repressed village going through Lent.

Chocolat is the 2000 drama film directed by Lasse Hallström, adapted from Joanne Harris's book of the same name.  Chocolat was nominated for a number of awards including five Academy Awards, including Best Picture.  The cast include Juliette Binoche (The Unbearable Lightness of Being, Caché), Johnny Depp (Pirates of the Caribbean, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street), Judi Dench (Skyfall, Philomena), Alfred Molina (Spider-Man 2, Raiders of the Lost Ark), and Lena Olin (The Unbearable Lightness of Being, The Ninth Gate).  Binoche and Dench won an award each for their performances which I fully agree with as they are both fantastic in this film.

Rating: 8

Recommended To: Those looking for a happy film

Favourite Characters: Josephine - better character development; Armande - love her

Favourite Part: Josephine: Who says I can't use a skillet?

Good Points: Most of the characters grew; didn't undermine religion; sets were great

Bad Points: Romance seemed forced; Armande and Caroline's relationship could have been explored more

Chocolat tells the story of a mother and daughter who travel across Europe whenever the North wind blows who come to settle in a little French town.  Vianne Rocher (Binoche) is an expert chocolatier, having learnt the craft from her mother who learnt it from her family and so on and so on; Vianne comes to a quiet town in France with her daughter, Anouk, (Victoire Thivisol, Ponette) and asks to rent an old patisserie from Armande (Dench).  Vianne then works day and night until she is finally able to open a chocolaterie much to the disdain of Count Paul de Reynaud (Molina) as the townspeople are currently observing Lent.  On top of opening a chocolaterie, Vianne wears provocative clothes unlike the other women in the town, a prime example is Caroline (Carrie-Ann Moss, The Matrix), Armande's daughter.  She has also never been married despite having a child and doesn't go to church, making her and Anouk stand out even more.  However, Vianne has a friendly nature which draws people in and the first one to fall for her charm is her landlady, Armande, shortly followed by Josephine (Olin), an abused housewife and slowly others are drawn in.  This causes a rivalry to form between Vianne and Raynaud which is further intensified by the arrival of a band of river gypsies, led by Roux (Depp); they are embraced into the community by Vianne and Anouk with great reluctance from the townspeople.

For a cast of this size, it is unusual for nearly every character to develop and grow but in this film, a large number of the characters do as if the town was a character itself.  I understand why not many films do it because it can be overwhelming and complicated but for some reason it works as Vianne has triggered a change in this town and it seems for the better.  I loved the film because of this as character growth is key and while vast, it makes the film work for me because each character became endearing and I found myself wanting more after the film finished as I wanted to see more change.  Like a good book, a good film should leave you wanting more.

From what I read from the film as someone of agnostic beliefs, Chocolat doesn't undermine religion which I loved because it was set during such a religious time of the year, in a heavily Christian based town.  While it could be seen as Vianne tempting all of the characters in this town with chocolate, she is just encouraging them to not be so strict on themselves, refusing any kind of pleasure in life, and to just embrace life and change as you are never too old to grow as aspects of our personality change over the years when we lose someone or meet a new person.  As well as this, I always think that Christianity isn't that strict, everyone just interprets certain lessons differently and I loved how Pere Henri gives his own point of view on Christian lessons in his final sermon as I completely agree with it; embrace the final sermon.

I was amazed by the sets on this film, the chocolaterie especially, because they all worked well together aesthetically, even Vianne's shop which stands out but still fits somehow.  They all convey the era in which this film is set in as well as the country/continent.  What I loved about the chocolaterie was the sheer amount of thought and detail that went into everything, even the chocolates, some of which were made by Binoche herself.

There is no doubt for me that Josephine is my favourite character in this film even though I love all of the townspeople from this little town because they make me laugh every time I watch this film.  Josephine won out though because her character growth stood out more than anyone else for me and "she dances to her own tune" as one of the townspeople says which I never think is bad.  She goes from being this shy, timid woman who is beaten by her husband to a strong, independent woman who has the courage to go out on her own to open her own café; while this is triggered by Vianne's arrival, she eventually grows on her own and even stands up to her husband without Vianne's encouragement.  When she stands up to Serge, she finds out what she's actually made of and goes on to become a confident woman much like Vianne which is wonderful because this little town needs more freethinkers and the festival at the end proves it because the townspeople are happy and have never been so lively.

Other than Josephine, I feel I have to say Armande was a close second as my favourite just because she is the grumpy old woman you find in some films.  She brings this sassy element to the film as she says what she thinks no matter what because that's who she is.  It's clear that despite her grumpy nature, she cares for her family and her friends as she keeps her grandson's birthday present on her until she has the chance to give him it which is incredibly sweet and shows how much she loves her grandson.  Another moment that corroborates this in my opinion is after Josephine stood up to Serge, Armande reassures her as Josephine shakes, commending her on her bravery which I loved her for.

The way the poster and DVD cover sells this film is as a love story as Vianne seductively feeds Roux chocolate but the film is more than that; it's about change and growing as a person and breaking out of restrictions.  For me, the romantic element was unnecessary and a vapid distraction for romance lovers out there; I could have done without it.  If the director or the screenwriter really wanted a romantic element in this film then they should have had someone else for Josephine to fall for, making that the focal relationship not Vianne's and Roux's.  Having watched this film was adapted from, Roux and Josephine were the couple; I would have enjoyed that a lot more than the relationship in the film because it would have conveyed even more character development on Josephine's behalf which I may have enjoyed.

The relationship between Armande and Caroline could have been explored more in the film so we as an audience could see them interact more; I find relationships like that interesting and it could have given the film more depth even if it made the film longer.  I understood that they were distant because Caroline considers Armande as a radical; I think they would have been closer now that Caroline's husband isn't around, presumably he's dead.  I believe Armande would have wanted to be there for Caroline and Luc to support them because she cares and loves them dearly.  With there being a lot of character development in this film, I think the already established relationship of Armande and Caroline could have developed more and they could have been closer.  However, this may just be me.

Josephine: Who says I can't use a skillet?

I loved this line because it was her key moment from my point of view, the moment she stood up to her husband by whacking him around the head with a skillet which signifies the moment where she can be considered a truly strong woman as she's been gradually building up to this moment as she has gained confidence rapidly under Vianne's wing.  To cap off this scene, she has this excellent line that always makes me laugh no matter how many times I hear it.  What I love is that though she has changed significantly at this moment, Josephine continues to grow as she stands up to Vianne, refusing to let her leave the town as Vianne seems scared to commit to one place despite there being stability for Anouk.

So Happy Easter and good luck with Lent if you are observing this Christian ritual, it's nearly over.  I recommend watching this film if you are a Depp fan or even a Dench fan because they are great in this film and if you enjoy character rich films then this would be a great one for you as well.  I do warn you that you may crave chocolate after seeing some of the set which were incredible because of the small details.

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