Chocolat (2000)

 ●  English ● 2 hrs 1 min

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Soulful and subtle, this multi-layered social drama revolves around Vianne Rocher (Juliette Binoche), a young, single mother, who is also an expert chocolatier. Vianne's romantic and nomadic spirit never lets her settle down anywhere, and she keeps drifting across Europe, along with her daughter Anouk (Victoire Thivisol), When they reach a quiet, conservative French village that closely adheres to tradition, something within Vianne is affected, and she decides to open a chocolate shop - with Sunday hours - across the street from the local church, much to the displeasure of the village's Mayor. How will Vianne and her delicious chocolate influence the villagers? In turn, how will the village and its inhabitants affect her life? Will her nomadic spirit finally find its home?
See Storyline (May Contain Spoilers)

Cast: Alfred Molina, Carrie-Anne Moss

Crew: Lasse Hallstrom (Director), Roger Pratt (Director of Photography), Rachel Portman (Music Director)

Rating: M18 (Singapore), M (Australia)

Genres: Drama, Romance

Release Dates: 19 Jan 2000 (India)

Tagline: A comic fable from the director of "The Cider House Rules".

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Did you know? It is Johnny Depp and Juliette Binoche jumping in the water themselves (despite having stunt people). It was reportedly freezing and muddy. But in the close up shot of Juliette's face in the water, the man pulling her is not Johnny. This was shot in a water tank. Read More
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as Comte de Reynaud
as Caroline Clairmont
as Jean-Marc Drou
as Luc Clairmont
as Yvette Marceau
as Didi Drou
as Baptiste Marceau
as Dedou Drou
as Francoise 'Fuffi' Drou
as Guillaume Blérot
as Roux
as Armande Voizin
as Vianne Rocher
as Josephine Muscat
as Serge Muscat
as Alphonse Marceau

Direction

Director
First Assistant Director
Second Assistant Director

Production

Production Company
Co-Producer
Executive Producer

Distribution

Writers

Screenplay Writer
Novelist

Camera and Electrical

Director of Photography
Still Photographer
Gaffer

Music

Music Director

Sound

Sound Designer
Sound Effects Editor
Sound Editor
Sound Re-recording Mixer

Art

Production Designer
Art Director
Prop Master
Set Decorator

Casting

Costume and Wardrobe

Costume Designer

Editorial

Makeup and Hair

Makeup Artist
Hair Stylist

Special Effects

Special Effects Technician

Stunts

Stunt Double

Visual Effects

Digital Compositor
Film Type:
Feature
Language:
English
Spoken Languages:
French
Colour Info:
Color
Sound Mix:
Dolby Digital, DTS, Sony Dynamic Digital Sound
Frame Rate:
24 fps
Aspect Ratio:
1.85:1 (Flat), 2.35:1
Stereoscopy:
No
Taglines:
A comic fable from the director of "The Cider House Rules".
One Taste Is All It Takes
One taste is not enough
What do you see?
...and the world is still indulging!
Goofs:
Miscellaneous
The movie is set in 1959, yet when Comte de Reynaud enters Caroline's office in the beginning of the film, a modern security motion sensor can be seen in the top right of the screen.

Miscellaneous
In one of the scenes where Vianne is getting the pot of hot chocolate to pour a cup for Armande, there is a 1990s-style heating device near where she got the pot.

Audio/Video Mismatch
At the Easter festival a bal folk dance tune is played (Scottish Morvandelle), but the sound is completely out of sync with the dancing couples in all scenes.

Character Error
In the scene where Vianne jumps off the dock into the lake, you can see Vianne jumping and Roux watching her from behind with a calm expression. When the camera switches to Roux's close-up, Roux's back is to the camera. He then turns around and looks shocked for a second, then says "Jesus..." and jumps in after her.
Trivia:
Juliette Binoche went to a chocolate shop in Paris to learn how to make chocolates. Some of the chocolates she made were used in the festival scene.

Although Johnny Depp lives in France, he doesn't appear in any of the scenes shot in France. All of his scenes were filmed on set or on location in England. All of Judi Dench's scenes were filmed in England. The DVD commentary notes that her husband was very ill during the shoot, and it was important for her to be close to home.

It is Johnny Depp and Juliette Binoche jumping in the water themselves (despite having stunt people). It was reportedly freezing and muddy. But in the close up shot of Juliette's face in the water, the man pulling her is not Johnny. This was shot in a water tank.

According to the audio commentary on the DVD, Johnny Depp doesn't like the taste of good chocolate - he prefers the cheap Easter bunny type.

The boat on which Vianne and Roux have their love scene was built on a stage and then physically rocked to mimic the water. When the outside of the boat is shown after they kiss, the shadowy figures were added digitally.

The cemetery which overlooks the town is not real and was created for the film. Also, there is no river adjacent to Flavigny.

Johnny Depp plays guitar in this movie in three scenes, and also does on two songs on the soundtrack (the first and last tracks)

Some of the filming in Chocolat took place at a small farm in Bruton, Somerset, UK for its "French rural feel."

Anouk's imaginary kangaroo's name is spelled Pantoufle, not Pantouf. This is clear in the closed-captioning. Pantoufle means "slipper" in French (this makes slightly more sense in the book, where Pantoufle is a rabbit).

In several of the kitchen scenes, you see a woman's hands stirring chocolate. These are not Juliette Binoche's hands, but an extra's. Vianne's bracelet was added to make it look like her.

Gwyneth Paltrow turned down the role that went to Carrie-Anne Moss.

The film's three main stars are all previous nominees for Best Supporting Actress (Juliette Binoche - The English Patient (1996), Judi Dench - Shakespeare in Love (1998), Lena Olin - Enemies: A Love Story (1989)). Binoche and Dench are both winners in that category, and were both nominated for this film.

Some of the extras used in the movie were from the town.

The French town of Flavigny-sur-Ozerain, where most of the movie was filmed (except for scenes on the water), does not have a chocolatier. However, it is the home of l'Abbaye de Flavigny; the abbey makes anise (and other flavored) candies that are sold worldwide in little tins decorated with flowered designs and copies of old engravings. Unfortunately, the factory does not allow visitors.

The man that Josephine dances with at the party is a flamenco dancer.

In the scene where Pere Henri is dancing, Alfred Molina was originally supposed to walk down the steps and see him. However, because he actually had a hurt toe, he just stood there instead of walking down the steps.

The village of Flavigny sur Ozerain with its 370 inhabitants, became part of the film. 250 persons from the area were recruited as extras. The population was informed daily about what was going on.