Plot: What’s it about?
Not many movies these days start out with the phrase “Once upon a time…”. Well, not many that aren’t animated, that is. But “Chocolat” is more of a tale than a movie. Let me rephrase that…”Chocolat” is told like a tale, but it’s something that could happen. Get me? Originally I found this movie to be somewhat dull, but then again, I had not seen it and I was just going on word of mouth. I knew that it had been nominated for Best Picture, but then again Disney seems to have at least one “art film” nominated for Best Picture every year, so my natural tendency was to dislike it. That all changed about 10 minutes into the movie, however. Another thing I heard about the movie was that it was hard to describe, and that the closest thing to it was “Pleasantville”. Well, being a fan of that movie, I was trying to think about how a movie about “Chocolat”e was in some way, shape or form connected with the movie “Pleasantville”. Sure enough, after viewing the movie (“Chocolat”), I would have to agree. And get ready for an ensemble cast as well. Johnny Depp and Juliette Binoche may grace the cover, but veteran character actor Alfred Molina is at his best as the utterly refined Comte de Reynaud. So sit back, relax and have a bite of “Chocolat”.
As the story opens, we see two women looking more like Little Red Riding Hood than characters in a movie, but as the mother/daughter arrive in a little French village, we see and learn why they do what they do and why they wear what they wear. Drifting from town to town, Vianne (Juliette Binoche) and Anouk (Victoire Thivisoi) rent out a store from its cantankerous owner, Armande (Judi Dench). In what seems to be a routine for them, they whip the place into shape in no time, all the while keeping the townspeople in the dark about what it is that they’re doing there. You see, it’s the season of Lent, and many things that people would likewise do, are forbidden. As we quickly find out, the store’s sole purpose is to sell “Chocolat”e. But unlike a Hershey bar, this “Chocolat”e seems to be geared towards the individual via a little game. With the flick of a wrist, a dish is spun and the customer asked to voice what he/she sees. Based on that gut response, Vianne chooses a “Chocolat”e for them. Now this is all fine and good, but what would the story be without some resistance. This is where the similarity to “Pleasantville” is drawn. This small town is very religious. Under the constant guise of the Comte, they are almost like slaves. It’s a “voluntary” reaction of course, but the town prides itself on its tradition and that tradition is church, work and family (and not necessarily in that order). Life isn’t perfect for all the town’s residents, though.
As we see the store succeed, we also start to see a few characters come out of the woodwork. A shoplifting, abused wife Josephine Muscat (Lena Olin) is described as “someone who dances to her own tune”, but we see that she is looking for any way out of her marriage. Caroline Clairmont (Carrie-Anne Moss) will not let her own mother see her son, due to a falling-out and the list goes on and on. What Vianne’s store does is not only offer “Chocolat”e that changes things, it starts to change the town as well. And the one thing that the town doesn’t want is change. The rest of the cast includes Johnny Depp in another great, yet small, role. Don’t be fooled by the marketing machine of Miramax, “Chocolat” is a great movie and one that I was quite impressed by (and I was all ready to hate this flick…trust me). Odds are that if I can be convinced, so can you. Care for some “Chocolat?”
Video: How does it look?
I will say that before viewing this on Blu-ray that it’d been about a decade since I last saw this movie. More to the point it only rings a bell because I’d just recently re-watched “I Love You, Man” in which they discuss this film. Still, that’s neither here nor there. The 1.85:1 AVC HD transfer has a very cleaned up look to it, though it does seem to lack the detail and overall clarity of some other movies of the time. Then again if I remember correctly, it was supposed to look like this. Colors are bold, though the palette is a bit washed out. The natural earthy tones seem to prevail in the majority of the film and we’re left with a very clean-looking image.
Audio: How does it sound?
The original 5.1 soundtrack has been bumped up to a DTS HD Master Audio mix that’s not too strong, but it’s an improvement over the previous DVD. By and large the film is dialogue driven and with some discrete surround effects thrown in for good measure. This isn’t the most robust mix out there yet it’s not supposed to be. There are a few instances of the LFE getting involved which adds a bit of depth to the mix. This is about as straight-forward as it gets.
Supplements: What are the extras?
As is the case with a lot of other Miramax films that are now seeing the “blu” light of day, this contains the same supplements as the previous standard DVD. We begin with a feature-length commentary by Director Lasse Hallstrom, David Brown and a few others. Though not the most talkative or informative commentary, it covers the basis. “The Making of ‘Chocolat'” clocks in just under 30 minutes that is something which we’ve all seen before. We see some interviews and it shows the making of the movie and so forth. Some other featurettes are “The costumes of Chocolat” which concentrates on the wardrobe and is interesting, yet short. Another production design featurette shows how they changed the set to look more like a French village as well as seven deleted scenes, though, that do offer a bit more into the film. I feel all should have been included in the movie, but the director felt differently.
