Movie Review: Chocolat

Story: There are two kinds of people in the world. There are sugar people and there are salt people. I am a salt person. Give me a potato chip instead of a piece of candy any day. That could be one of the reasons for my lack of enthusiasm about this otherwise charming, picturesque, incredibly manipulative although lacking any surprises, film. The narrator (groan) starts with Once upon a time.... so right away I nestled into my seat for a syrupy ride. It is the countryside in France, 1959, when a woman and her daughter blow into a small, repressed Catholic town dominated by a maniacal, oppressive Mayor. They proceed to open a chocolat shop the day before Lent. Oy vey! Our beautiful chocolatier seems to be able to intuit what her customers need and amazingly brings liberation to all who imbibe in her delicious temptations. Trouble ensues when the Mayor objects to all of the overt sinful pleasure and gratification his townsfolk are having. The metaphors nearly hit you over the head throughout the film. Based on a book by Joanne Harris (didn't read it) director Lasse Hallestrom (The Cider House Rules) deftly handles what could have been a sap-fest. No one directs children like Hallestrom (see rental category below) and each character stays true to his/her own nature (although wildly predictable).You can go and enjoy this film for its pure fantasy and sweets galore or you could examine it on another level - government repression and church doctrine versus the passionate and the liberated. How sweet it is! Or pass the chips!

Acting: Juliette Binoche as the chocolatier gets more beautiful with each film. She is talented, classy and her English has improved dramatically since The English Patient, which won her an Academy Award. Alfred Molina as the Mayor is wonderfully typecast again as the cartoon meany. Johnny Depp has a stupid part as an Irish river rat. He did appear in Hallestrom's What's Eating Gilbert Grape, so they have some kind of history which is I guess why he was in this film. Lena Olin is also getting more beautiful as she ages. She appeared with Binoche in '88's Unbearable Lightness of Being. This time their roles are quite reversed. The entire supporting cast including Judi Dench, Carrie-Anne Moss (barely recognizable as the same woman from The Matrix) and the charming Leslie Caron are terrific.

Pets: Lots and lots of dogs (it is France), a beautiful white cat and a kangaroo.

Food: Do I have to go into detail about all of the food? It was the best part.

Visual Art: A mixture of South American influence, old world portraiture and church art. And one of the young boys does many morbid sketches.

Soundtrack: Fairy tailish

Titles: Unimpressive

Theater Audience: Fairly crowded and surprisingly mostly male. It also seemed to be dominated by 'salt people.' More popcorn than candy.

Sappy Factor: 9

Quirky Meter: Anything with Johnny Depp automatically gets a 2 on the quirky meter.

Tissue Usage: 0

Oscar Worthy: No

Nit Picking: Johnny Depp needs to drop the pony tail and the ny from his name. His character did not work at all in the film. And I did not buy his relationship with Juliette Binoche for a minute. He is not in her league.

Big Screen or Rental: Have a Hallestrom weekend and see what he does with children. The Cider House Rules, What's Eating Gilbert Grape and My Life as a Dog. For another weekend have a Juliette Binoche festival. But stick to her French films. My favorites are the trilogy, White, Red and Blue.

Length: Too long at 2 hours.

LOBO HOWLS: a generous 6