
The second aspect is the concept of morals and how they affect the story. While the Christian town becomes more open to change, Vianne decides to abandon her life long journey for the sake of her daughter.
#Chocolat 2000 movie#
While the two belief systems are opposed at first, the climax of the movie allows them to move closer together and instill some of their characteristics in each other. It is left open to interpretation in how far the north wind is a magical or rather just an atmospherical event. While the former is mostly represented through tradition and a rigid set of morals and rules, the latter is allowed to instill some magic into the movie. The movie presents two different sets of spirituality, at the one hand the strict Christian belief of the town and on the other hand the South American folk tradition of Vianne's ancestors. The first aspect that needs to be analyzed is the religious one. While in a bigger city, people would be able to avoid each other, this small town lets no conflict be unresolved. The setting in a small French town simply amplifies the contact between characters. We are thankful for their contributions and encourage you to make your own.Ĭhocolat is an interesting twist on the romance, as it shifts the focus from the love story, as the title picture would suggest, to a deeper discussion of morals, religion and life in general. Otherwise, enjoying it for what it is during the film should be enough.These notes were contributed by members of the GradeSaver community.

If you might like an eclectic blend of orchestral film scores and hybridized Andean music, then you should check out the score to Chocolat. While the score does add texture and emotion to each scene, it simply does not bring the film to any higher level as a whole. I am reluctant to diminish this score too much, because the individual pieces are still well crafted and solid. My fellow viewer's cell phone going off in a particular scene made more of mark than any specific piece of music. When I listened to the score again, I recognized the music, but I had no strong associations with certain moments in the scene. However, because the music is so specific to the scenes, and lacks a sense of true unity, the pieces fall short of collectively creating an overall powerful soundtrack. There is a lot of cross-culturalism, brought on in part by Vianne's Mayan heritage, and Portman flavors each scene well. The film deals with some very serious and dangerous moments, but mostly in a light-hearted way, and Portman successfully balances the sense of joy, melancholy and intrigue. We like and care about Vianne and her daughter, but they too have demons that must be exorcised, just like the town.Ĭomposer Rachel Portman could have imposed an overall thematic cover to the film, but instead chose to color each scene individually. What makes the story interesting is that it is not just a question of whether she will change the town, but will the town change Vianne and her wandering ways. We soon learn that this woman, who came in mysteriously with the North Wind, adds a certain magic to her chocolate, bringing out the true desires in this repressed town.



The woman, Vianne (Juliette Binoche), sets up a chocolaterie, much to the chagrin of the wickedly uptight mayor, played wonderfully by Alfred Molina. The film starts when a mysterious woman and her daughter appear in a conservative town in 1950's France. What is refreshing this time around is that the film tries to take the story to another level without becoming too self-serious.
#Chocolat 2000 free#
The easiest and most personal story for most artists to tell is the one of being a free spirit trapped in a conservative or misunderstanding place, and Hollywood has churned out many such a tale. Lasse Hallstrom's Chocolat is a simple film with a fairly simple theme, told with a healthy dose of magical realism and choco-worship.
