Chocolat

The movie, "Chocolat", was recommended to me by friends, and I really didn't know what to expect.

Now I'd recommend it!

It's a fairy tale with good guys, bad guys, and I guess I can tell you, a very sweet ending.

Warning!!! There's chocolate dribbling all over the place... in cakes, cookies, and everything imaginable... chocolate melting in pots and chocolate drizzled on baking goods. If you're as fond of chocolate as I am, your popcorn will be forgotten.

Vianne (Juliette Binoche) and her young daughter, Anouche (Victoire Thivisol) move into a small European village and open a chocolate shop. However, this chocolatier is not your average confectionary shop. Vianne can sense the perfect delicacy for each patron, which sends the repressed town into a feeding frenzy and unleashes their hidden passions.

It's a simplistic theme. One must pick between religious eating and sacrifices during Lent or pagans savoring delectable chocolate and good times. A conflict as old as civilization!

The mayor of the village (Alfred Molina) controls the citizens with obedience and religious fervor. Even the young priest sermonizes each Sunday with the mayor's written speeches.

You'll recognize famous actors amongst the citizens. Judi Dench, Leslie Caron, John Wood and Lena Olin are a first class bunch to my mind. Their supporting roles are crucial to the film and round out an impressive cast, which also includes Carrie-Anne Moss (The Matrix) as a stuffy proper woman who has her own troubles with the new chocolatier.

Johnny Depp is a handsome Irish gypsy who is one of the various love interests and chocolate enthusiasts to also stir up the passions in this stodgy town, and in Vianne.

There is hope to see these people influenced by the unusual, but sensual Vianne, and to see them escape from the control of the prudish mayor. The magic is there in the chocolate shop. All it takes is just one bite.

I recommend this movie for the sheer delight of the characters, and I'm willing to admit, for my love of chocolate.