Chocolat,
directed by Lasse Hallström, is a modern fable based on a
novel with the same title by Joanne Harris. The story, with
occasional voiceovers (by Sally Taylor-Isherwood), is based
on the familiar paradigm of a stranger entering a small town
of naïve residents, provoking unexpected consequences. The
setting is Lansquenet-sous-Tannes, a mythical small town in
France run by the Count de Reynaud (played by Alfred Molina),
who is the elected mayor. (The actual filming locations are
Salisbury, England, and two French towns, Beynac and Flavigny).
The year is 1959. There is no sin or controversy in the conservative
town, at least on the surface, though the Count reports that
his wife is in Venice for an indefinite stay, a story that
we gradually disbelieve. The Count makes sure that everything
around town is in order; he even corrects drafts of the Sunday
homilies of youthful Father Henri (played by Hugh O'Conor)
before they are delivered. Along come two well-dressed wanderers
in bright red capes, Vianne Rocher (played by Juliette Binoche)
with her six-year-old daughter Anouk (played by Victoire Thivisol),
who is the author of the voiceovers. Vianne rents a shop in
the center of town from cranky Armande Voizin (played by Judi
Dench), whose daughter Caroline Clairmont (played by Carrie-Anne
Moss), secretary to the Count, will not let Armande meet her
granddaughter. As Vianne remodels the shop, the town teems
with curiosity. When the shop opens, delicious displays of
chocolate candies intrigue passersby. Vianne invites onlookers
to enjoy a cup of hot chocolate or a free sample from an aphrodisiac
recipe combining chocolate and chili peppers reputedly 1,000
years old, obtained from the Mayas during an exploration by
her estranged anthropologist lover, George (played by Arnaud
Adam), birthfather of Anouk. (Those who have eaten the Mexican
dish pollo molé will know that the taste is indeed intoxicating.)
Soon, children become chocoholics, a husband is providing
sexual satisfaction to his erstwhile frustrated spouse, a
widow’s male admirer comes out of the closet, Armande has
finally found that a cup of hot chocolate is the only source
of joy in her otherwise frustrated life, and Vianne provides
shelter to Josephine Muscat (played by Lena Olin) from her
abusive husband Serge (played by Peter Stormare). As the tagline
says, "One taste is all it takes." However, the Count spreads
a rumor that her daughter is illegitimate to encourage a boycott
of the chocolaterie, as the newcomers do not go to mass on
Sundays, and the consumption of chocolates during Lent is
viewed as excessive self-indulgence. Caroline bans her daughter
from going to the shop, where she has met her grandmother,
and tries to discourage Vianne from providing sugary diversions
to her mother, who is diabetic and prefers to die sooner with
a smile on her face than later as a grouch. To complicate
the plot further, riverboat gypsy Roux (played by Johnny Depp)
docks at the edge of town with his fellow musicians, and captures
Vianne’s heart. The Count tries to mobilize the town to get
Roux and his "river rats" to leave, and before long fire consumes
his houseboat, shocking the Count into realizing that his
narrowminded Catholicism has cultivated un-Christian violence.
Just when Vianne is most discouraged and ready to pack up
and leave the town, she discovers that various townspeople
are joyfully working in her kitchen to prepare more chocolates.
The priest then delivers the moral of the story from the pulpit
on Sunday, namely, that life should be lived to the fullest,
based on inclusion rather than exclusion. Presumably, the
town then enters the liberationist 1960s even before the big
cities of the world, but alas the film is a children’s story
for adults. In common with Hallström’s last fable, The
Cider House Rules, the subtexts are that illegitimate
children need loving adults, conservative religionists are
un-Christian, and we should all bring joy to one another by
simple acts of kindness. MH
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