Chocolat (Miramax Collector's Series)
Miramax Product Details
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Sales Rank: 440
Miramax
Released: 2001-08-07
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Media: DVD (1)
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Product Description
A WOMAN AND HER DAUGHTER OPEN A CHOCOLATE SHOP IN A SMALL FRENCH VILLAGE THAT SHAKES UP THE RIGID MORALITY OF THE COMMUNITY.
Amazon.com
With movies like
Chocolat, it's always best to relax your intellectual faculties and absorb the abundant sensual pleasures, be it the heart-stopping smile of chocolatier Juliette Binoche as she greets a new customer, an intoxicating cup of spiced hot cocoa, or the soothing guitar of an Irish gypsy played by Johnny Depp. Adapted by Robert Nelson Jacobs from Joanne Harris's popular novel and lovingly directed by Lasse Hallström, the film covers familiar territory and deals in broad metaphors that even a child could comprehend, so it's no surprise that some critics panned it with killjoy fervor. Their objections miss the point. Familiarity can be comforting and so can easy metaphors when placed in a fable that's as warmly inviting as this one.
Driven by fate, Vianne (Binoche) drifts into a tranquil French village with her daughter Anouk (Victoire Thivisol, from Ponette) in the winter of 1959. Her newly opened chocolatier is a source of attraction and fear, since Vianne's ability to revive the villagers' passions threatens to disrupt their repressive traditions. The pious mayor (Alfred Molina) sees Vianne as the enemy, and his war against her peaks with the arrival of "river rats" led by Roux (Depp), whose attraction to Vianne is immediate and reciprocal. Splendid subplots involve a battered wife (Lena Olin), a village elder (Judi Dench), and her estranged daughter (Carrie-Anne Moss), and while the film's broader strokes may be regrettable (if not for Molina's rich performance, the mayor would be a caricature), its subtleties are often sublime. Chocolat reminds you of life's simple pleasures and invites you to enjoy them. --Jeff Shannon
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Chocolat (Miramax Collector's Series)
- DVD: 0 pages (2001-08-07)
- Publisher: Miramax
- Label: Miramax
- Starring: Juliette Binoche, Judi Dench, Alfred Molina, Lasse Hallström, Leslie Holleran
- Director: Lasse Hallström
- Encoding: Region 1
- Format: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, Widescreen, NTSC
- Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1,
- Rated: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
- Studio: Miramax
- DVD Release Date: 2001-08-07
- Run Time: 122
- ISBN: 0788827006
- Average Customer Review: based on 432 reviews
- Sales Rank in DVD: #440
Avg. Customer Review:
Customer Rating:
Summary: More Molina Is All I Want for Xmas 2010-03-01
Customer Rating:
Summary: Chocolat (2000) 2010-02-19
Customer Rating:
Summary: Fine 2010-02-06
Customer Rating:
Summary: An ocean of chocolate delights 2010-02-01
Customer Rating:
Summary: Ordering Chocolat 2010-01-24
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Well, it STINKS. The performances stink, with the exception of too much Molina, good as he is, and too little Dench, and that is because Dame Judy's character simply doesn't add up to anything. The appearance of Depp is the most stupidly contrived "cameo" I've ever had to endure.
Is the film really that bad? Well, yes. It is brutal in places that make no sense, it's a pointless and fart-gas quality story, if one can call that a story. As I said, Molina is as usual quite stunning, but why is he wasted on these types of things? Why did he have to play Father Tetzel in "Luther"??
Anyway, saves your pennies and buy "The Ladies in Lavender" if you want good. Better yet, get "The Whales of August".
This film made me almost give up chocolate forever.