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Chocolat (Miramax Collector's Series)
Director: Lasse Hallström
Actors: Ashton Smith, Archie Van Beuren, Juliette Binoche, Alfred Molina, and Leslie Holleran
Rated: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Retail Price (not our price): $14.99
Release Date: 2001-08-07
Theatrical Release Date: 2000
Studio: Miramax
Run Time: 122 minutes
Format: Array
Format: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, Widescreen, NTSC
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Discs: 1


Editorial Reviews (supplied by Amazon.com):

1) 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

2) Description
Nominated for 5 Academy Awards(R) including Best Picture, Best Actress (Juliette Binoche -- THE ENGLISH PATIENT), and Best Supporting Actress (Judi Dench -- SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE), CHOCOLAT is the beautiful and captivating comedy from the acclaimed director of THE CIDER HOUSE RULES! Nobody could have imagined the impact that the striking Vianne (Binoche) would make when she arrived in a tranquil, old-fashioned French town. In her very unusual chocolate shop, Vianne begins to create mouth-watering confections that almost magically inspire the straitlaced villagers to abandon themselves to temptation and happiness! But it is not until another stranger, the handsome Roux (Johnny Depp -- SLEEPY HOLLOW), arrives in town that Vianne is finally able to recognize her own desires!

Customer Reviews (supplied by Amazon.com):
Average Customer Rating: 4.0 out of 5

1) a must-see   [Rating: 5 out of 5]
this is one of the most delightful movies i have ever seen.it kept me interested from the start to finish.diane from milwaukee

2) Chocolat   [Rating: 5 out of 5]
This was avery good movie. It arrived on time and in perfect condition. It's a very funny and entertaining movie.

3) Love and acceptance   [Rating: 5 out of 5]
Our suburban Presbyterian church used the video CHOCOLAT together with Hillary Brand's book CHOCOLATE FOR LENT in church-wide small adult group classes for six weeks. It was a great study in love and acceptance as portrayed by the main character in the video. As a professed non-religious person, Vianne showed many of Jesus' values so clearly depicted by his actions and parables. Her non-critical acceptance of Armande and Josephine had much in common with Jesus' acceptance of Levi the tax collector (Luke 5:27-32) and the prostitute who washed his feet with her tears (Luke 7:36-50). CHOCOLAT is a complex, multiple-subplot story very well done. No wonder it won five Academy Award Nominations.

4) Semi-Sweet   [Rating: 3 out of 5]
A religious, small town in the French countryside receives newcomers Vianne (Juliette) Binoche and her daughter. They come dressed in red, and soon open a chocolate shop across from the church on the first week of Lent. Scenes of townspeople in confession describing the delicious chocolates are meant to be titillating. Chocolate treats from the new shop is described sensually with double-meaning, including sex and other sins of enjoyment. The mayor launches a campaign to get rid of the new chocolate shop that is causing so much excitement in this once sleepy little village. Then the children see "pirates" along the river and Vianne's daughter runs to her mother announcing the landing of the swarthy crew. It is a band of Irish river people and headed by a handsome Roux (Johnny Depp - who plays pirates well). The beautiful Vianne and the handsome Roux become romantic as they understand each other as outsiders and agents of change for all they touch. "Chocolat" is a sweet movie, but trite in that it suggests that all a person needs to liberate their soul, forget all the wrongs done to them, and become happy is a piece of candy. There is a "leave it to Beaver" feel to the movie - too perfect, and the dialogue is often boring. Judi Dench plays a role as a local diabetic who does not want to give in to her disease. She keeps eating the sweets and enjoying life despite her critical condition. I felt pain in all the actors trying to keep a French accent going - it did not come naturally for most in the film. Overall, enjoyable and more of a "chick flick" with a sweet chocolate shop princess and a swarthy pirate to bring it to a Disney ending.

5) Getting impatient with fake Irish   [Rating: 2 out of 5]
This movie seems to be universally loved, and the cinematography is lush, but the pace thunked to a halt for us with the appearance of Johnny Depp. Maybe it is his unconvincing Irish accent, but a slow, charming film became self-conscious and unwatchable when he showed up as, for Pete's sake, an Irish "river rat." We like Depp but he seems out of place. (For a wonderful, also slow, but unerring Lasse Hallstrom film, consider 'An Unfinished Life'.) On the plus side, the preparation and serving of chocolate is done beautifully; the skills of the director and cinematographer in this regard are wonderful.