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Chocolat

Chocolat

List Price: $19.99
Your Price: $14.99
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Sweet and a little sleepy
Review: I liked this film, although it got draggy in spots. And while I would watch anything with Johnny Depp, his Irish accent comes and goes (unlike, say, Brad Pitt's in Snatch which was brilliantly incomrehensible throughout) and is something of a distraction, although his presence onscreen never is. Most of the film is beautiful photographed, except for certain scenes where Binoche is not lit to advantage and therefore made to appear less beautiful than she actually is.

The saving grace of this film is the performances, notably by the children involved, by the magical Lena Olin (who's never turned in a less than fluid performance in her entire career), by Binoche who is growing nicely as an actor, and, always, by Judi Dench. Here is an actress who can take control of any scene without any effort but simply by dint of her formidable presence.

The story itself is somewhat cliched; the pacing could've been improved with some judicious editing. But the costumes and settings and, of course, the chocolate confections make this an entertaining film--definitely worth seeing, as long as you're not in a hurry.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Total Chick Flick
Review: If you're a guy. Skip it. If you are a woman. Buy it and torchure your boyfriend/husband for a couple of hours.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Poor
Review: This moive was Choco long, Choco boring, Choco stupid, and I want my Choco money back. Worst movie I've seen.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Chocolat
Review: This is one of the very best movies that I have seen in years. Extremely rare use of profanity, the photography is like watching a beautiful classical picture pass before your eyes, and the music is wonderful. The actors were perfect for and very convincing in their parts. Johnny Depp even played some of the music in the score, and the scene with him and the worm was delightful. Juliet Binoche was both winsome and spirited as the new proprietress of the "chocolaterie." She was a good role model for young women today. Judy Dench, always wonderful, was superlative in her role as the crochety old woman. I have seen the movie six (6)times and each time there was something different to see, something I had missed in a prior viewing. To my way of thinking it should have won an Oscar... or three!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Tantalizingly sweet movie on temptations and morality
Review: Chocolat is set in a small town in Framce, where Juliette Binoche plays Vianne and her little girl, Anouk transforms the convention upon opening their confectionary shop that threatens the local mayor (played by Alfred Molina) and his rigid hold on propriety. The movie, directed by Lasse Hallstrom falls no short of magical charm - and plays it well sublimely with a great supporting ensemble like Judi Dench, Carrie Anne Moss and Johnny depp as Roux, her love interest to branch the subplots that made the movie a tantalizing delight.

It is the acting that shines, Binoche plays Vianne with a subtle charm and resilience that illuminates alongside with Lena Olin as a battered wife. Judi Dench spices the screem with wit and hard emotions and Alfred Molina is aptly casted as the mayor with the prim and proper decorum. Chocolat is simple as a story that dissects the quandry between temptations and morality, and a lighthearted note on human emotions. Forgivance is seen in the mother and daughter feud, hope when Vianne sees Josephine (Lena Olin) as a friend. It is all heartwarming and yet the correct amount of saccharine to make this movie a delight. Not forgetting the passionate Johnny Depp as her love interest, yes predictible though it may be, Chocolat is indubitably spellbinding with charms.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Cutesy fluff that I (admittedly) dig...
Review: To summarize neatly, Chocolat is a simple little fairytale-esque ditty, chock full of pretty people and charming accents. The plot - described in length through other reviews - is uncomplicated, with a mild magical edge to it. I generally loathe such cinema, but something about this particular film appealed to me; basically, it's a nice, cutesy-type film to curl up on the couch with. Not too complex, so little thought required...

(It does, however, have a subliminal affect on your appetite. Guaranteed, within a few minutes, you will be craving some serious Raisinette action...)

Truly. If for no other reason, you should watch this for the chocolate factor. It makes for better eye candy than Depp does (or perhaps my priorities are simply skewed). Hmm.

My only complaint: Why is Johnny Depp so prominently featured on the movie posters/adverts, when he is only a supporting player? Alas, the Pretty Boy Sells factor. Let us pause to mourn poor Judi Dench's (who gave an endearing performance as one cranky old gal) absence from the video box...

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Oh, very good.
Review: This was a funny movie to watch, because it was lent and I was off chocolate. It was excruciating from that point of view. Fortunately it was brilliant from every other point of view.

It blends emotion, humour, drama, issues, the church and loads of other points. It has a really superb plot. I also like the way it takes on the beaurocracy of the church (don't get me wrong, I'm a Christian, I just the that parts of the church are very two-faced).

It is one of the few films I've seen which has an obvious good-guy and bad-guy thing going on, and actually works. The acting is superb, with Juliette Binoche supported by an excellent backing cast.

Go see it, its excellent

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Left off the "e".
Review: Another entry in the indie-film-genre-featuring-beautiful-women-who-are-really-good-cooks. This time, it's a chocolatier in a small town in France, who has the cheek to open her shop during Lent. When she arrives in town with her fatherless daughter, both wearing Hawthorney red cloaks, the experienced filmgoer will emit a weary sigh: it's to be another harangue about narrow-minded villagers who've yet to fully experience Life, which is represented in this movie by bon-bons. This has all been done better before. Not only that, director Lasse Hallstrom imbues the set with a pseudo-art house surrealism, which is not alleviated by the "international" cast, most of whom (except for Juliette Binoche and Peter Stormare) don't know how to speak with a French accent. Johnny Depp is especially jarring as an "Irish gypsy" (!) Finally, the title itself is pretentious: since everyone speaks English, the dropping of the "e" at the end of "chocolate" is an obvious bid at art-house respectability.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: As Scrumptious as Chocolate itself
Review: First big suprise with this film was that it was filmed in English language, not French, so there are no subtitles. I've read that more and more movies are being shot in the English language simply because the potential box office profit is so much huger. Put simply, this is a delightful film which many critics are probably grading downwards because it is "just" a simple story that is simply (but beautifully) told. I am hardly ready to number myself among them! Lasse Hallestrom, who first distinguished himself with the marvelous "My Life As A Dog," knows his way around a film script and with actors and it shows. Playing much like a fable or fairy tale, Juliette Binoche is a woman, Vianne, who wanders from place to place with her daughter, Anouk, setting up shop as a chocolatier. This time she sets up shop in a peaceful French village in the winter of 1959. Delightful as the love story portion is with the river rat, Gypsy-like Johnny Depp, it is the hilarious war waged on Binoche by the town's mayor, played by Alfred Molina, who will reduce you to complete gut-busting laughter. His wife left him and his inability to deal with that fact fuels a lot of his animosity towards Vianne and the general air of sensual repression he wishes to foster in the village. All of the villagers are delightful characters and Binoche is pulled into relationships with them. If you need to brighten up your day, this is the movie to get.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: I must have a sweet tooth!
Review: I enjoyed the movie to full enjoyment. I have always been a big Leslie Caron fan so being able to see her on the big screen has always been a dream that has now been fulfilled!!! Considering Leslie wasn't in a large part of the film I came to love the acting and beauty of the lead character Juliette Binoche! She was wonderful in it. She should have won that oscar. What were those people thinking??? Well if I ever see her name anywhere again I'll be in the front row to see her again in her next oscar nominating or (hopefully) winning roll. I know she has it in her. Well I enjoyed the movie tremendously and recommend it to anyone of any age. I love this movie to death!!!!


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