I selected this movie to view, as is my usual preference, randomly without knowing who is in it, who directed it or even knowing what it's about. I don't "follow" people who perform for me or people who tell them what to say.Starting with the story, I liked it from the first frame to the last. It is sweet, like chocolate but it can also be bitter also like chocolate. And decadent and frivolous and slightly sinful. Throughout the movie I tasted hints of Beauty and the Beast, Princess Bride, Mary Poppins and Peter Pan among other classic cinema treats. As with chocolates it has tasty overtones of all of them but remains its own singular blend of deliciousness.The production values are superb. Set mostly in a real French village it has an earthiness that can't be recreated in miniature models or digital effects, although some of the interior set designs at Shepperton studios seem a bit tacky and cheesy and the aerial shots of the village were in fact digitally enchanced. The lighting mood is lifelike, the use of music and sound effects is so spot on never once did it jar or distract. The action flow, editing, costumes (for the most part) all were as perfect as a forest scene from Snow White.All of this deserves a positive rating.But, like the dastardly villain, when it comes to rating the acting not all is so rosy in LaLa Land.Starting with the lead character Vianne, whose pivotal role wept for an actress blessed with a sense of magic and mystery and the free spirit of a pixie sprite, a Mary Poppins/Peter Pan if you will. Instead we get a lackluster performance by billionaire Juliette Binoche looking like a billionaire who just interrupted her shopping trip on Rodeo Drive to walk woodenly around a movie set in expensive designer dresses looking like none other than Juliette Binoche. I'm usually not one for movie remakes but here's one that screams to be remade with a less clueless actress cast as Vianne, perhaps Barbra Streisand (I'm kidding of course).The other lead character, Comte de Reynaud, acted by Alfred Molina was a comic book caricature but then again this is a fantasy movie so I'll tolerate his over-the-top slapstick, but I did find what he did to the character boring. As with Ms. Binoche, it's hard to get into a movie when you can't get out of your head that you're watching multi-millionaire actors.Ditto for Judi Dench as Armande. No matter what the role, if Judi Dench is in it you're going to be watching Judi Dench play Judi Dench. To give you an idea how expendable her role was when she finally died it seemed to be the biggest "ho hum" moment in theater history. No one even said "oh darn she's dead".That being the case I dreaded the appearance of Johnny Depp, expecting all of the above and in spades. Mr. Depp is infamous for playing himself in every role and it's virtually impossible to separate his Hollywood persona from what he does on screen. His character, Roux, doesn't even make an appearance until 52 minutes into the movie and what's this, he's not mumbling, or acting weird, or primping himself, or even acting like actor Johnny Depp. His portrayal is actually subtle and nuanced and believable. And likable. Mon Dieu! He almost single-handedly made up for a whole lot of bad casting decisions.He almost does but not completely. Hugh O'Conor STEALS the entire movie and one is continually left with the sinful desire to see more of him. His fidgety nervousness and blushed cheeks have you wondering what mortal pleasures he's contemplating while in the darkened confessional or standing upright behind the solid wood pulpit. Not since Dustin Hoffman's brilliant "gulp" in Mrs. Robinson's sun room has an actor so brilliantly captured the essence of a naive and conflicted young man who is the odd cog in everyone else's wheel. Yet unlike the other look-at-me celebrities pretending to act like they are someone else, Mr. O'Conor come across like he's not really acting, that he really is Pere Henri and you just want to jump naked into the confessional with him and lip sync "You Ain't Nothin' But A Hound Dog" with him... the highest compliment that could be paid to any actor.The only quirky thing that threw this movie off balance a little bit for me was the odd setting for that type of river in the town of Flavigny sur Ozerain, which from all of the establishing camera angle views does not seem like it would be on the banks of a river straight out of Deliverance. It doesn't look very French or like it would flow adjacent to such a village.I liked this movie despite some miscast roles but will still take away extra points for the unapologetic animal abuse portrayal (feeding chocolate to dogs can kill them) and the fact that it is a Harvey Weinstein movie and it hasn't been banned. Hmm, maybe there is a connection after all to Weinstein, certain women's casting assignments and abusing dogs?

Having lived allover the World as U.S. Military, living at Villages just like this Chocolat 1959 Village, except from the 1960s till decades later. This movie is so accurate of life in a village, but not a stereotype.Some of the villages I lived at were even smaller. A dozen homes and businesses at the center surrounded by miles of farmland and some (large) homes within walking distance of the center of the village. Typical of the villages I lived at orange ceramic tile roofs, with white buildings, cobblestone streets.Takes months to years for the locals to trust you. But once they do, their trust is for life.Some of the Common Rules. Church on Sunday absolutely no work. Saturday Recreation no loud noise work like mowing the lawn, expected that you are at the local Village Bar, Tavern, Gasthaus Saturday Evening to discuss anything. Police yourself and each other, as the nearest Law Enforcement is miles away at the nearest Town, this adds an extra layer of Security as if a Villager sees something suspicious everybody knows within minutes with a dozen or more Villagers taking a look. Every Year you were expected to participate in the dozen or more Village Festivals celebrating Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter, Planting, Harvest, Beer, Wine, whatever crop(s) they grow, Founder's Day, and many more or be considered "Anti Social".

Chocolat (2000): Dir: Lasse Hallestrom / Cast: Juliette Binoche, Judi Dench, Lena Olin, Alfred Molina, Johnny Depp: Magical film symbolizing sinful desires associated with chocolate. A woman and her daughter travel from town to town opening up chocolate shops and invite bystanders to lavishes the taste. Why her chocolates have romantic affects on people is unexplained but the film is visually crafted. Directed by Lasse Hallestrom with disjointed structure and full of clichés but it is a big improvement over the overrated snore fest The Cider House Rules. Despite the lack of background and explanation Juliette Binoche is sunny and pleasant. Judi Dench steals scenes as an elderly woman with diabetes who is smitten by her daughter due to her lifestyle. Lena Olin plays the victim of spousal abuse who finds refuge in the company of this mysterious woman. Alfred Molina debates against Binoche, which leads to conviction when he wakes up in the wrong place at the right time. Johnny Depp is featured as a drifter who gets romantically involved with Binoche, but his role and this subplot is utterly pointless and distracting. None of the subplots are solid due to bad structuring but the cast play off the fantasy level to great payoff. It contains elements of romance but in conjunction with tremendous visual fantasy in appearance. Theme regards acceptance that is as inviting as chocolate to taste buds. Score: 7 ½ / 10

Chocolate was in my eyes a great movie. I'm typically not a fan of movies like these but to watch the characters grow and change overtime was just truly amazing. The main character, Vianne, over came the hardship from the people in the village. Most of the people didn't accept her because they were told by the mayor of the town, who is a huge religious man,that she was no good due to the fact she was opening a chocolate store around the time Lent was beginning. Few people would go into the shop and then less and less started to show because they were being turned against her. She was ready to give it all up and runaway to another new town with her daughter but the friends she made had stood up for her and even had changed the mayors opinion of her. The way she even helped out the older woman to live her last few moments of life to the fullest was just truly amazing even though she was dying pretty fast from her diabetes. This movie is something i would recommend to people who want to watch a good story of characters unfold and how everyone comes together to love one another