Special Exhibit: CHOCOLAT

Year: 2000

 

Duration: 121 minutes.

Where to watch: Hulu, Amazon Prime.

This covert fairytale masquerading as a period dramedy has much in common with the food that gives it its name: it looks delicious, it's sweet with bitter undertones, and its consumption has a feel-good quality.

Juliette Binoche stars as Vianne, a single mother and chocolatier who arrives to a conservative French town in the late 50s. Although its never stated directly on the film, its heavily hinted that there's something a bit supernatural about Vianne and her young daughter: they could very well be kindly witches.

The colorful pair start a very lively business that contrasts with the muted town: a chocolaterie where they sell the most delectable confections and which has an irrevocable effect on the townspeople, who are essentially split in two factions: The overly traditional, self-righteous ones represented by the characters of Alfred Molina and Carrie-Anne Moss, see Vianne and her chocolates as a symbol of temptation and sin. On the other hand, those people who (like the ones played by Judi Dench and Lena Olin), fall in love with the chocolates, find freedom and happiness for the first time in a long while. Then there's a camp of Romani people who also embrace Vianne's ways, particularly Roux (Johnny Depp), who becomes her romantic interest.

Chocolate looks -and sounds- gorgeously. The score by Rachel Portman is among her best, and Roger Pratt's cinematography is perfectly fitting for the story. The tone is a bit whimsical but not overtly so, lending the movie the right amount of fantasy that essentially makes it, as I mentioned, kind of a fairytale in disguise. This will put out some viewers, while those of us who can appreciate magical realism will most likely embrace it.

The film, barely two decades old, and well-received at the time of it's release (it was even nominated as Best Picture at the Oscars), has nevertheless fallen into comparative obscurity, which is a pity, because it's the kind of warm, encouraging fable that could beneficiate these darker, more cynical ages.

Indeed, if you find yourself in need of some endorphin release, but you're getting too worried about calories to enjoy a cup of cocoa, try watching this film instead.