AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |
Back to Blog
Chocolat filmi2/21/2023 There are troubles in the town, quickly confided to Vianne, who consoles Josephine ( Lena Olin) after she is beaten by her husband Serge ( Peter Stormare). Reynaud styles himself as the local arbiter of morals, even writing the sermons which Father Henri ( Hugh O'Conor) delivers from the pulpit while the complacent aristocrat's lips move contentedly in unison. The town is ruled by Comte de Reynaud ( Alfred Molina), whose wealth and books do not console him for the absence of his wife, who is allegedly visiting Venice, but may just have packed up and moved out. Whether her character has deeper agendas, whether she is indeed a witch, as some believe, or a pagan priestess, as she seems to hint, is left unresolved by the movie-but anyone who schedules a fertility celebration up against Easter Sunday is clearly picking a fight. Like Catherine Deneuve's, her beauty is not only that of youth, but will carry her through life, and here she looks so ripe and wholesome that her very presence is an argument against the local prudes. But by far the best feature, in my view, is the stunning photography, and it's probably worth buying the DVD for that alone.The movie is charming and whimsical, and Binoche reigns as a serene and wise goddess. The actors are not stretched by the gentle and undemanding story line, but Judi Dench delivers a finely judged performance, and Juliette Binoche is every bit as appetising as the chocolate she makes. Contrary to what some other reviewers may have suggested, the chocolate element, though ever-present, is far from overpowering. One is the photography, which is unusually good throughout and sometimes very impressive indeed (it's wonderful to see this film on a widescreen television) and the other is the film's attack on religious bigotry, courageous in these times when we are all supposed to be "non-judgemental". Two things, in my opinion, save Chocolat from being mediocre and forgettable. Very much a message of our times, in other words, and perhaps none the worse for that - though whether self-indulgence is always the best way forward is a question that's elegantly passed over. In the end, good defeats bad, love triumphs over hate, and everyone is released from cramping conventions to do their own thing. Delicious and irresistible chocolate confectionery tempts everyone, and turns then into better, more liberated people. Mother and daughter, both outsiders, blow into stuffy old-fashioned French village (cobbled streets, quaint houses, romantic lamplight, no cars, no uncouth farmers) and bring with them the power to release the claustrophobic and straight-laced community from its inhibitions - not the first time on screen that this formula has been employed. To learn more about how and for what purposes Amazon uses personal information (such as Amazon Store order history), please visit our Privacy Notice. You can change your choices at any time by visiting Cookie Preferences, as described in the Cookie Notice. Click ‘Customise Cookies’ to decline these cookies, make more detailed choices, or learn more. Third parties use cookies for their purposes of displaying and measuring personalised ads, generating audience insights, and developing and improving products. This includes using first- and third-party cookies, which store or access standard device information such as a unique identifier. If you agree, we’ll also use cookies to complement your shopping experience across the Amazon stores as described in our Cookie Notice. We also use these cookies to understand how customers use our services (for example, by measuring site visits) so we can make improvements. We use cookies and similar tools that are necessary to enable you to make purchases, to enhance your shopping experiences and to provide our services, as detailed in our Cookie Notice.
0 Comments
Read More
Leave a Reply. |