Rating: 
Summary: A Little Heavy Handed, but worth the effort!!
Review: It's a little surprising how many reviewers here at Amazon who did not like this insisted on calling it "Liberal" etc, which seems to be such an all-encompassing word these days. It's true the church does not play well in this flick, though the novice,nervous young priest seems to come off just fine at the very end! Face it, this is a very well photographed late 1950's small town trip to France, though I wonder how many small French towns then or now are in the grip of such dull, repressed,almost medieval types. Yes, the lady comes to town with her chocolate shop, and whips up a little bit of tolerance and fun into a generally dismal group. There actually is violence here with the lunatic drunk almost strangling the chocolatier, and the short sex scene when this charming bohemian lady tells her daughter of grandad's escapades in Central America. Given the innocence of the story, this seems like another Hollywood soft porn voyeur effort, completely unnecessary. And then she shacks up with the hippy type boatman at the end of the party. Also, something odd, and something else for liberal-haters to assault! But I enjoyed the numerous, and well done church scenes...I'd give it a higher rating except that too many characters are too stereotyped, especially the pious mayor, who seemed incongrously nasty at times. And the ending was a little too pat...All in all, a pretty good movie, not just for those with a sweettooth! There's no denying a certain pleasant charm here, in a generally charmless era of moviemaking!
Rating: 
Summary: Egads!! What a horrific bore.
Review: I can't believe Amazon recommended this...to ME! What a pretentious, boring, silly film. The plot is straight out of a porno: a woman moves into a small town and starts selling candies that get the natives all hot and bothered...Hoo-boy! Even if you added a few gun battles and car chases into this dreck, it would probably still stink like last weeks garbage.
Rating: 
Summary: Bad for your teeth
Review: Set in the late 1950's, a gypsy woman and her young daughter literallly blow into a tiny French town to open a Chocolaterie, during the period of Lent no less. This causes problems for the town mayor and his precious townsfolk. He thinks her prescence will tempt his folk into succumbing to their sinful vices, such as erm, chocolate. Glossy, saccharine and dripping with sentimentality, this "chick flick" for the over 30's cannot even be saved by the creditable direction of Lasse Holmstrom. "Chocolat" is not an International art-house movie, it's actually as close to Hollywood feel-good sap as you can get.
Rating:
Summary: Subtle as A Chocolate Frieght Train
Review: I absolutely agree with 'A viewer from Southfield, Mi USA'. This movie is paifully awful for anyone who enjoys good foreign and indie films. If you don't come away from it feeling like you were just forced to eat too many chocolate Easter bunnies, then you are probably among the pretentious thousands who thought it was "deep" or "truly human" or "spiritual" as I've read in countless nauseating reviews. The director rented a lot of very good films (Babette's Fest, Antonia's Line, Like Water for Chocolate) and tried to force everything that was good in those into this. But, to make it worse, and unlike those films, the director thought we were all too stupid to get the symbolism so goes out of the way to explain EVERYTHING to us. Even the word "tranquilite" needs to be translated by the narrator. Why does the imaginary kangaroo hop away at the end? Don't worry, the narrator will explain it. By the time the statue's grimmace turns into a smile at the end of the movie, I was heaving in my popcorn bag. How did it get an Academy nod? Give me a break. It says a lot more about the Academy than the movie.. C'mon, even Adam Sandler gets to vote on those things. Truth be told, Miramax lobbied the academy really hard on this one. Don't reward them. Buy "Like Water for Chocolate" instead.
Rating:
Summary: Sweet with a hint of chili powder
Review: I've read the reviews that say this was a light concoction not worthy of an Oscar nod. Perhaps such an old-fashioned, sweet tale of acceptance and roots is easily trampled under the boots of Roman gladiators. But if you want to know which movie I ran out to buy as soon as it was available, it's this one. I have watched it many times over and never tire of it. It is the details that matter here; the incredibly beautiful cinematography and haunting score, the sets that echo the chocolate theme everywhere you look (check out Alfred Molina's office--the paint on the walls is mahogany so rich you could eat it). The acting by the principles is fine-Depp and Binoche have great chemistry-but it's the secondary characters that stand out; the heartbreaking daughter with her imaginary kangaroo that is the only stable thing in her life, the luminous Lena Olin (who in my opinion should have been nominated for best supporting actress and perhaps even given the lead) who practically steals the show from Juliette Binoche, and the always regal Judi Denche. Alfred Molina gives a multilayered performance; for a person with such broad features that would so easily lend themselves to caricature, his sublety and range is brilliant; he draws a complete portrait of a person who has let his loneliness turn to bitterness and fanaticism. It is his grand dive into what he would have previously thought of as decadence but is actually an admittance of vulnerability that gives this movie its greatest poignance.
Rating:
Summary: Quite tedious, slow and boring.
Review: Ok, so it is much better then Cider House Rules. However, that is not saying much. This movie in question, i.e., Chocolat
VHS ~ Juliette Binoche , is slow, boring, tedious and once again Halstrom attacks religion and religious minded persons. No thank you. Not Recommended.
Rating: 
Summary: He's done it again
Review: A seemingly harmless plot folds into something scary in the sense that it reveals human nature when it comes to handling deviant behaviour in traditional, closed communities. A masterpiece from my fellow countryman.
Rating:
Summary: Lovely film!
Review: It's been a long time since I've seen a movie with this caliber of talent. Binoche does a wonderful job and Dench does an usual role for her, but it works spectacularly! This film's sub-stories of spouse abuse, mother-daughter relationships, and learning to really live life make this film the masterpiece that it is. Did I mention the yummy chocolates?? I had a major craving for chocolate myself after seeing this one.
If you're in the mood for comedy, subtle seriousness, and talented actors...well then check out this film!
Rating:
Summary: Delightful movie...
Review: A work of art that motivates and inspires the mind to look beyond one's day to day routine. Very entertaining, with a delightfully discrete manner of opening your eyes to the reality of love and aging.
Rating:
Summary: Pretentious load of garbage
Review: I have yet to see a less horrible movie since I saw this one. The symbolism is not so much thinly disguised as it is like getting hit with a freight train. It is one pretentious load of garbage that attempts to disguise just how bad it is by being a period piece set in France. Avoid at all costs.
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