Chocolat
2000 Directed by Lasse Hallström
Synopsis
...and the world is still indulging!
A fable of emotional liberation and chocolate. A mother and daughter move to a small French town where they open a chocolate shop. The town, religious and morally strict, is against them as they represent free-thinking and indulgence. When a group of Boat Gypsies float down the river the prejudices of the Mayor leads to a crisis.
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Normally the surprise I feel while watching a film I've known about for years is pleasant, in this case it was a surprise that I didn't really care for Chocolat. A fable about a liberated woman who brings chocolate and life to French zealots, what's not to like there? Apparently, quite a bit.
I thought the addition of Johnny Depp and his fellow river raft rats was unnecessary and tiresome. Seriously, so, in the end what the liberated and liberal woman really needed was..A MAN. He also seemed very out of place in this movie. That's not what bothered me the most about Chocolat, I just found it sort of a funny observation.
There was potential here but it wasn't…
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I love Juliette Binoche, so a film about Atheism versus Christianity might be slightly skewed toward favouritism, as opposed to a purely objective stand-point. So, take this with a grain of salt, but you've been forewarned.
While I do not want to talk about the positives of a film that weighted heavily on the perspectives of a child telling a story as she looks back on her life. But, there are special ingredients that almost made this film work entirely in its unconscious favor; the capture of an alluring look, liberation, a rich back-story (how she and her daughter came to be), to quirky and interesting characters all countering on one-another.
But like any film, there are ingredients that you…
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Bom o filme. Fazia um tempo que eu não ouvia a palavra "matreiro" hehe. Pra ouvir essa palavra só na versão dublada.
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Just learned via IMDb that the part of Pantoufle the kangaroo was actually played by a wallaby who learned to hop more realistically. Marsupial method acting.
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This warming and touching film with a gorgeous setting in france was divine. I loved the idea of chocolate shop and adding the religious restrictions to it. This movie was not repetitive compared to other heart warming movies and a great romantic feel to it.
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[Seen in 2000, not sure when, neglected to date stamp back then]
As far as fantasy-driven movies about the healing power of food and the romance of strangers, this one is certainly charming, light and well-cast. However, these types of movies should have a stronger air of mystery about them and this one is as predictable as they come; though often, its sense of simplicity renders the outcome of scenes decidedly unimportant anyway.
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If Mary Poppins was French and dealt with spoonfuls of cacao in place of sugar.
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chocolate + johnny depp = bi winning
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Made me want to eat chocolate. It gets 5 stars for that. As a piece of entertainment though, it only gets 3 stars.
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Review coming soon.
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Chocolat is a light and fluffy drama that is just harmless enough to not matter. There is nothing to be gained from this, but it's a nice distraction for a couple hours.
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A film that is as sweet and enjoyable as the ,mouth-watering chocolates it showcases.
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LOVE this movie. I watch it every year during Lent, and every year I appreciate how good it is. Johnny Depp's not bad, although his character is completely unnecessary to the story. It's all about Alfred Molina as the pious and obsessive Comte de Reynaud. He's so fantastic, isn't he? The other performances are good as well, it has great music, and the food shots are torture in the best possible way!
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Anybody who watches this movie without having a mug of hot chocolate is doing themselves a disservice.
I've had my own idea for a movie like this, where an Appalachian mountain man moves into a small town in Northern California and amidst the vegan bakeries opens up butcher shop called "Baconalot".
Juliette Binoche is like a forbidden fruit in this movie, not just the chocolate she makes, and she crushes it.