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Review: Chocolat – A Charming Feel-Good Movie

chocolat-vianne-cover

Chocolat (2000) Film Review

Chocolat is based on the bestseller of the same name by Joanne Harris. It is a feel-good story about home, acceptance, and chocolate.

An extraordinary woman and her daughter come to a quiet, traditional French village and open a chocolate shop just in time for lent. One by one she begins to affect the staid, uniform lives of the people there for the better. However, there are those in the community who fear change and will do almost anything to prevent it.

chocolat-vianne-and-anouk-arrive

The film has a warmth and quiet strength much like it’s heroine. It is a charming period drama about community, belonging and living the life that is right for you. There is just enough magical realism to give the story a fairy-tale like feel. It also helps that Chocolat is a visual treat. Not just because of the delectable confectionery on show either. The majority of the scenes are filmed in a picturesque French village in Burgundy. The cinematography is also very near to perfect.

chocolat

However, there are those that feel that Chocolat is anti-church. I would disagree. After all, having a moral that encourages acceptance and kindness over rigid adherence to custom didn’t exactly strike me as un-Christian. It also has a good message about how women can help each other. I liked how the women most let down by the community held together, united by the stranger in their midst.

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Chocolat has all the ingredients that produce an entirely enjoyable whole. It has humor, drama, growth, warmth, family, good messages, stunning visuals, a little magic and is completed with a touch of romance.

chocolat-roux-and-vianne

There is a sweet, subtle romance between Vianne and Roux, a traveling ‘river rat’ which while not a large part of the film added a little extra layer of enjoyment to an already good movie.

All in all a perfect film to curl up with during the winter months.

Content Note: This film is rated PG-13 and contains some mild sexuality.


Photo credit: Miramax

 

OVERALL RATING

Five Corset Rating Lower Byte Size

“The stuff that dreams are made of.”

ROMANCE RATING

four heart rating

“In vain have I struggled. It will not do. My

feelings will not be repressed. You must allow me

to tell you how ardently I admire and love you.”

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By on December 2nd, 2016

About Elinor Cackett

Elinor is a writer and semi-recent graduate of English and Creative Writing at Aberystwyth University. She has been writing ever since she could hold a pen but her love affair with fiction started when the entirety of David Eddings’ 'The Belgariad' was read to her at age four. She currently has a couple of books and half a dozen short stories on the go. She spends her free time writing, analysing media and knitting very colourful scarves.

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