Chocolat

Chocolat, an Oscar nominated movie directed by Lasse Hallstrom, is about a mysterious woman named Vianne Rocher and her chocolates. She moves with her daughter Anouk to a small French town to open a chocolate shop. Though many of the conservative townspeople are skeptical of Vianne’s character and chocolates, they soon begin to change because of her food. Vianne’s chocolates rekindle their relationships with one another, and bring them to harmony.

Amande Voizin was a gloomy and sullen old lady who was conflicted by her own daughter. She did not like the way her daughter Caroline Clairmont treated her son Luc. Her grouchy temper can be seen when Vianne meets Amande for the first time in her chocolate shop. As Vianne spins a dish and asks Amande what she sees in the dish, Amande answers, “I see a cranky old woman too tired to play games.” Caroline was overly protective of her son, and expected him to behave the way she wanted. This frustrated Amande because she believed this cause Luc to become a timid child while Caroline considered her mother as a bad influence to Luc. However, this conflict begins to relieve as they encounter Vianne’s chocolate. Amande opens up to people and starts to interact with them after she becomes friends with Vianne. She is also able to improve her relationship with her grandson, whom she was not able to talk to for a long time before meeting Vianne. Moreover, Luc is able to gain more confidence in himself and his special skills in drawing after Vianne encourages and compliments his skills. Luc becomes closer to Amande and they learn to understand each other much more, despite their differences. Vianne even arranges Luc to draw a portrait of Amande, which marks the starting point of concord. Amande and Caroline also accept their differences and somewhat resolve their conflict.

Vianne and her chocolates also change the life of Comte de Reynaud, the main antagonist of the movie. The Comte is a man who firmly believes in order and principles. He is also a proud man who refuses to accept the fact that his wife had left him. To this disciplined Comte, Vianne and her free ways of thinking seemed to be bad influence to the townspeople. The Comte tried to resist to this change, and the change that brought the townspeople to harmony. At the end of the movie, however, the Comte is also enticed by the pleasures of Vianne’s chocolates and accepts the change. He finally reconciles his differences with Vianne. Not only that, he begins to have feelings for Caroline Clairmont, therefore accepting the fact that his wife did leave him. “Even the Comte de Reynaud felt strangely… released. Although it would take another six months to work up the courage to ask Caroline out to dinner.” Vianne’s chocolates changed even its firmest opponent, the Comte.

The chocolates also have an effect on Vianne Rocher herself. Even the happy and light-hearted Vianne had problems with her daughter Anouk. Anouk was frustrated from the constant moving that separated her from the friends she made. Vianne was also aware of her daughter’s dilemma but believed that it was her duty to travel and share her food with other people like her ancestors did. Then Vianne meets a gypsy named Roux because of her chocolates and eventually falls in love with him. At the climax of the movie, Vianne attempts to leave the town with Anouk, but again, her chocolates and the friends she made in the town enchants her. Vianne and Anouk decide to stay in the town they love, and Vianne also develops her relationship with Roux.

The chocolates of Vianne Rocher changed the characters of the movie, and allowed them to reconcile with each other. I believe that the chocolate is a metaphor for the harmony that Vianne brings to the townspeople.

Source: Chocolat (2000) Memorble Quotes

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0241303/quotes