Chocolat (DVD)

Chocolat is the story of Vianne, a lonely traveller who wonders from place to place with her young daughter Anouk. When they find themselves in s small French town, Vianne decided to open up a chocolatiere, but her small business causes huge ripples throughout the Catholic villagers. Is she some sort of witch? When Vianne starts to make friends with the abused Josephine and persuades her to get away from her aggressive husband people see that as ...
...ideas head on…. Chocolat requires you to suspend your disbelief maybe a little bit too much and for more cynical viewers it may be a torturous cinematic experience; with its mushy romantic edge, rather serendipitous occurrences and the idea that chocolate can change peoples lives. But, if you are prepared to stick with it you will find a gentle, affectionate, warmly crafted little drama/romance which has some pretty important things to say. It's ...

JayHall1991 22.04.2006 · Read full review
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Review of Chocolat (DVD)

My reaction to the film Chocolat was an odd mixture of regret and pleasure. The regret was from two sources. For having read the book before I saw the film (although I wasn't to know that the film was already in the making), and for allowing that to mar the cinematic interpretation. I'm not going to repeat the intricacies of plot in this review. Those who want more than this can read other reviews of film or book. It is enough to say that a young ...
...for all the aggravating changes, Chocolat was still a wonderful delight to the senses, the casting, and cinematography was mostly excellent, and I would recommend seeing it, then afterwards, tasting the much finer flavours of the book. Take the very best chocolate bar or truffles you can to eat as you watch it, or you will find it intentionally creates unbearable cravings, and the crude tastes of the cinema foyer pick-and-mix bar will never satisfy. ...

jennysue 15.03.2001 · Read full review
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Review of Chocolat (DVD)

Ah, Johnny, Johnny. We might as well get this bit out of the way at the start, for it was my primary reason for going to see this film. Yes, it's based on a lovely book. Yes, it's directed by someone really cool. Yes, it got nominated for tons of Oscars. What drew me into my local, and forced me to hand over my hard earned cash was none of these things: it was the presence of the utterly beautiful Johnny Depp. I have sighed over those cheekbones, ...
...an it's proved a remarkably beneficial obsession. His habit of going for interesting-arty over box office megabucks has meant that in pursuit of my celluloid love, I have en route discovered many films that I would otherwise not have glanced at twice. What's Eating Gilbert Grape, Ed Wood, Edward Scissorhands.... fine movies all, and of course none the worse for Mr Depp's presence. All of which brings me to this film, which I will in future be adding ...

ImogenW 07.06.2001 · Read full review
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Review of Chocolat (DVD)

When I first saw the trailer for this film, I knew I had to see it. I know, one shouldn't "judge a book by its cover", but a movie where chocolate is practically the central character was totally irresistible for someone who is known in certain Internet circles as "The Chocolate Lady". That, and an amazing cast, was what pulled me into the movie theater. But the charm of this film - despite some critics calling it contrived - was what made me purchase ...
...was a quiet little village in the French countryside - whose people believed in Tranquilite - Tranquility." Simply stated, this is a film about change and simple pleasures, and how the latter effects the former. Into a sleepy, conservative, devoutly religious French town come two strangers - Vianne Rocher (played by Juilette Binoche) and her daughter Anouk (as well as Pantoufle, Anouk's imaginary kangaroo), arriving at the exact same time as the ...

TheChocolateLady 31.08.2003 · Read full review
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Review of Chocolat (DVD)

I have to write this op. in the film section even though it's just become a video (rent it now). I liked this film very much, and if you have ever done A level English Literature you will understand why. Far from allowing you to be creative, this qualification did make you very analytical of symbolism and this film is full of it. Bringing out these points becomes an art. Cue the beginning of the film, a strong north wind blows through a small provincial ...
...wide-open in mid-sermon. The mayor played by Alfred Molina rises swiftly to his feet and closes the door lest the village inhabitants be affected. This sets the pattern beautifully for the rest of the film. With the north wind comes two arrivals, Juliette Binoche and her daughter, they are clothed in red capes which emphasises the fantasy feel of the film. It also has reminiscences of Mary Poppins, a point which I will return to later. They go straight ...

treeman 22.10.2001 · Read full review
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Review of Chocolat (DVD)

...kindly provided the crew of Chocolat is more than capable of keeping the viewer's interest on its own... The party scene at the end is particularly beautifully done. Soundtrack Some gorgeous but understated music which matches the mood of the film perfectly. Keep your ear open for two songs Johnny Depp performs. Overall opinion This is absolutely beautiful film and one I can't even compare to anything else. It is touching, passionate, funny, ...
...the plot or even the individual actors too much and seems to invite the viewer into a little dream world if only for a couple of hours. Seeing fairies dancing along the river bank would hardly seem out of place in this innocent, magical, (yes I know I have used that word quite a lot) happy film. When it was over and after I had cried my last heart-felt tear, I felt on top of the world - as if I could do anything because there is goodness and beauty ...

ally2kc 06.07.2006 · Read full review
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Review of Chocolat (DVD)

...also starring Johnny Depp). Chocolat is a simple, moving tale of everyday folk in a small French village in the 1960’s. However, all is not quite as it seems on the surface, and this film deals gently in the way that we judge and perceive others, and how we can enrich our lives if we only took the time to take a step back and see things in a different way. The basic plot line is that Vianne (Juliette Binoche) and her daughter Anouk (Victoire ...
...the French film Ponette) arrive in the village and open up a chocolate shop. Vianne is not a churchgoer, and this is deemed unacceptable by the towns Mayor (Alfred Molina in fine form). The chocolate shop and its contents are seen to be sinful in his eyes, and he forbids the villagers to visit it. Vianne gradually gains friendship and trust from the villagers through her ingenious ways of offering her chocolate. I will not give any more of the story ...

redridinghood 04.03.2001 (11.05.2001) · Read full review
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Review of Chocolat (DVD)

A wandering single mother and her young illegitimate daughter enter the small French town of Lansquenet in the winter of 1959, and turn the religious community upside down by setting up a chocolate shop at the beginning of Lent. They arrive in red coats, and their mission is to breathe some life into the languid and repressed atmosphere, by allowing the residents to indulge in such sensual pleasures as chocolate eating. Vianne (Juliet Binoche, ‘The ...
...de Reynaud (Alfred Molina) who organises a quiet whispering campaign to have her ousted, and soon begins to control the church service to ensure that Vianne goes out of business. Despite her eschewal of anything religious, Vianne shows her compassion and humanism by rescuing a local woman, Josephine Muscat (Lena Olin) from the hands of her unloving and violent husband, and offers her house as a sanctuary. She also shows warmth towards her landlady ...

Alex1226 11.03.2001 · Read full review
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Review of Chocolat (DVD)

Its just out on video, its got Mr Depp in it (for the layyydies), and its quite hard to pronounce when you ask for it at the corner video store, but is it any good for the non-drip? Yes, in a word, it is. But it's not what I expected. Firstly, Johnny Depp isn't in it very much, its one of those films where they stick the biggest box office draw on the front cover of the video in the hope of luring potential renters. He's in it for about twenty minutes, ...
...but he's ok. The film belongs to the female lead and her screen daughter (and her imaginary Kangeroo, no, really). Alfred Molina plays the village mayor (the counte de something) in a secluded backwood hilltop French village where everyone goes to the same church, except Judi Dench (old lady, crotchety, soon won over by recent resident choc shop owner), and wife-beating, repressed love and bigotry are all swept under the carpet in the name of religeon ...

Raybid 03.09.2001 · Read full review
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Review of Chocolat (DVD)

I had heard, and believed, much of the hype surrounding this film. It was going to win Oscars etc. and had been given 4 or 5 stars in just about every review I had read. The film centres on a nomadic chocolatiere, Vianne (Juliette Binoche), and her daughter (and her imaginary(?) pet kangaroo, Pontouf), who arrive one day in a small French town, and open up a chocolaterie. This does not go down well with the residents of the town, especially as she ...
...arouses even more suspicion by showing a talent for guessing people's favourite chocolates. The story basically charts her struggle against the prejudices of the locals, led by the Compte (Alfred Molina). She picks up a few friends along the way, including the battered wife of one of the locals, and Amande, a diabetic old woman who loves chocolate (Judi Dench). An extra ingredient to the plot comes half way through when a group of "gypsies" arrive. ...

Pumpkin 05.05.2001 · Read full review
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Review of Chocolat (DVD)

When Vianne and her young daughter Anouk ride the North Wind into a sleepy town in France the villagers don’t know what’s about to hit them. Causing almost immediate outrage to the Mayor of the town when he stops by their newly rented shop, Vianne declines his offer to worship with the town’s people. Add to this her decision to open a chocolate shop during Lent. Plus the fact that she readily lets it be known that she is an unmarried mother, Vianne ...
...launches a full-scale hate campaign to rid his little town of such vermin. Gradually the town’s people rise against the Mayors tyranny and venture into the little store - seemingly drawn as if by magic. Fighting against the church and it’s obvious disapproval of sinners crumbling to temptation and the small-mindedness of many people that reside within the town a small clutch of villagers gradually begin to realise that their life can be different, ...

whoopidoo 16.08.2004 · Read full review
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Review of Chocolat (DVD)

I really liked this film. For all sorts of reasons - and not just because Johnny depp looks so goosd with a ponytail and a suntan (although he does!). I like it because it bucks the Hollywood trend and offers cinema goers food for thought that stays with you, rather than just a lot of fizz and froth. It tells the story of a young (unmarried) mother and her daughter, who set up home in a small (both literally and metaphorically) French town. Going ...
...(played superbly by Juliette Binoche) sets up business as a Chocolatarie. The film becomes a battle of two opposing ideologies - the traditionalism and conservatism of catholic France, represented by the town mayor, and the sensual, unconventionalism represented by the mother and daughter. Oh yes, there's a little bit of romance, and chocolate being the most potent magical ingredient there is (as all harry Potter fans know), there's quite a lot of ...

Medusa 22.03.2001 · Read full review
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Review of Chocolat (DVD)

...your diet tomorrow. A final word - if you're looking for action, excitement, and far fetched fighting scenes and sentimentality, then look elsewhere. However, if you appreciate realism, in terms of characters and events, and a solid romantic comedy drama, then Chocolat is one not to be missed. ...

avitallly 29.04.2001 · Read full review
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Review of Chocolat (DVD)

...children's fairy story adaptation. If Chocolat had any hopes of being a mysterious and compelling movie for adults, it sadly loses that particular battle before the first 5 minutes are up. Rachel Portman's score is also far too twee,and not always entirely sympathetic to what's happening onscreen. Nothing about Chocolat quite gels as it might have been anticipated to, although Binoche and a raggle-taggle Johnny Depp (playing a national guitar-strumming ...
...In fact, the men in Chocolat are generally too stereotypical for comfort...some minor belly laughs are gleaned from farcical situations, but by all accounts the source material had rather more complexity in its characterisation. All in all, it's a pleasant way to spend a couple of hours, and some of the scenery is unsurprisingly beautiful. No-one emerges with either tremendous credit or a damaged reputation, and in this modern-day market of brash, ...

EnglishPatient 11.03.2001 (12.03.2001) · Read full review
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Review of Chocolat (DVD)

Chocolate is desire, chocolate is sin, chocolate is passion, chocolate is medicine, chocolate is magic. Or at least it is in this film adaptation of Joanne Harris’s best-selling novel. Before I start this review I have to admit that I have not read the novel and so I will not try and make direct comparisons between it and the film version. This is purely a review of the DVD and I have judged the film on its own merits. THE STORY On a stormy ...
...bright red cloak and a child arrive at a small sleepy village. They are there to set up home and business in the old patisserie, which has now closed down. They have rented the property off an embittered old woman called Armande Voizin. We soon discover that the two strangers are mother, the free spirited Viande and young daughter Anouk. They have lived a nomadic life wandering around Europe form Italy to Spain settling done only briefly in each ...

Mauri 11.03.2003 · Read full review
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Review of Chocolat (DVD)