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A tempting film about temptation
& a very deprived French village
By
RON MILLER
of TheColumnists.com
AT A TIME when way too many people may be ready to blame television, movies and hip-hop music for the decline of contemporary community standards, here comes "Chocolat," a sweet little European movie that points out the real culprit: chocolate.
Let there be no doubt about it: From the moment single mom Juliette Binoche turns up in the remote French village and opens a candy store in quarters rented from cranky old biddy Judi Dench, community standards start dipping as surely as the fruits and nuts Binoche plops into her thick, rich and oh-so-decadent chocolate.
For instance, there's the grubby husband who hasn't cast a lascivious eye on his deprived wife for many, many moons. But as soon as he crunches on a few of Binoche's chili-laced chocolates, he feels a strange pounding in his temples every time he sees the missus bending over, scrubbing the floor. Voila! His wife is all smiles, every time she comes into the candy store for a refill.
Then there's the case of the hard-drinking husband who keeps his timid wife, Josephine (Lena Olin), in line morally by whacking her around regularly. He has the support of the strait-laced town mayor (Alfred Molina), who backs anyone who adhere's to the mayor's rigid code of behavior. But the battered wife soon is drawn by the smell of Binoche's little chocolate factory--and once she eats a few chocolates, she gains all the courage and resolve she needs to leave her hubby and become a strong and independent woman.
And there's also dumpy Judi Dench, who swills Binoche's hot chocolate as if it were absinthe, and quickly develops into a witty and wise boulevardier-about-town. Dench wants to spend some quality time with her young grandson, but his mom doesn't want him coming under her influence. But the appeal of chocolate soon draws the lad into Binoche's establishment--and his grandma's arms.
Finally, there's the notorious river rat (Johnny Depp), whose whole band is ruled off limits by the puritanical mayor. You can bet chocolate lures him under Binoche's awning--and, in no time, she's rallying all kinds of townspeople like a sort of high calorie Pied Piper and the mayor realizes he's in a real war for the hearts and minds of the townspeople.
Director Lasse Hallstrom approaches this delicious film as a fable with a twinkle in its eye--and, though the setting is France, it's really a sort of Eurovillage where English, French, Spaniards and Americans all dress funny and behave as if they're in a sort of international Brigadoon that only materializes once every 40 years or so.
The
film's message seems to be that people should be judged by the
good they do with the conduct of their own lives and not by rules
they may break along the way. If that's not what you get out
of it, don't worry. "Chocolat" is a film to be enjoyed
like an extra-rich bon-bon, with a feeling of slight wickedness,
and not to be intellectualized overmuch.
Binoche, Dench, Molina, Olin and Depp are absolutely wonderful
and there's even a quick look at Leslie Caron in a small character
part to enliven the proceedings. What's not to like? "Chocolat"
looks good, sounds good and, in the end, should make you feel
good, unless you're one of those people who only eats wheat germ
and skim milk and spends half the morning getting on and off
your bathroom scale.
© 2001 by Ron Miller. The poster art is from Miramax pictures.
You can comment on this column or contact Ron Miller with an email to: talkback@thecolumnists.com
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