Chocolat
About the Film
When a mysterious woman named Vianne Rocher blows into a buttoned-up French village on the sly winter wind, she opens a little chocolaterie right across from the church — in the middle of Lent. Her uncanny gift for matching each customer to their perfect confection begins to thaw the townsfolk, drawing out an abused wife, a prickly old woman and other lonely hearts, much to the fury of the pious mayor, Comte de Reynaud, who is determined to run her out. When a band of river gypsies moors nearby, Vianne finds a kindred free spirit in their leader, Roux. As the village slowly opens its heart, Vianne must decide whether she, too, can finally stop running and stay.
Johnny Depp
Johnny Depp plays Roux, the charismatic, guitar-playing leader of a band of river gypsies who moor their boats near the village. A free spirit and self-described “river rat,” he becomes both an outcast the townsfolk distrust and the kindred soul who draws Vianne out of her wandering restlessness — a warm, lightly roguish turn that let Depp play romantic lead and outsider at once.
Cast & Crew
Cast
VianneJuliette Binoche
Anouk RocherVictoire Thivisol
Armande VoizinJudi Dench
Comte de ReynaudAlfred Molina
Caroline ClairmontCarrie-Anne Moss
Luc Clairmont (as Aurèlien Parent Koenig)Aurelien Parent Koenig
Jean-Marc Drou (as Antonio Gil-Martinez)Antonio Gil
Francoise ‘Fuffi’ DrouHélène Cardona
Dedou DrouHarrison Pratt
Didi DrouGaelan Connell
Yvette MarceauElisabeth Commelin
Alphonse MarceauRon Cook
Baptiste MarceauGuillaume Tardieu
Pere HenriHugh O’Conor
Guillaume BlerotJohn Wood
Josephine MuscatLena Olin
Serge MuscatPeter Stormare
Crew
DirectorLasse Hallström
ScreenplayRobert Nelson Jacobs
Based onthe novel by Joanne Harris
MusicRachel Portman
CinematographyRoger Pratt
EditorAndrew Mondshein
Production DesignDavid Gropman
Costume DesignRenée Ehrlich Kalfus
ProducersDavid Brown, Kit Golden, Leslie Holleran
“I’ll come ’round sometime and get that squeak out of your door.”
— Roux, Chocolat
Filming Locations
- Flavigny-sur-Ozerain, Burgundy, France (the village)
- Beynac-et-Cazenac, Dordogne, France
- Fonthill Lake, Fonthill Bishop, Wiltshire, England
- Shepperton Studios, England (interiors)
More about this film
Trivia
- Filmed in France and England between May and August 2000, using real medieval villages and studio sets.
- The film is dedicated to camera operator Mike Roberts, who died in his sleep during the England shoot.
- Young Victoire Thivisol’s dialogue was dubbed by Sally Taylor-Isherwood because her accent was hard to understand.
- Producer Harvey Weinstein staged a Washington, D.C. test screening to rebut a negative USA Today review.
- Adapted from Joanne Harris’s 1999 novel of the same name.
Awards
- 2001 Academy Award nomination — Best Picture
- 2001 Academy Award nomination — Best Actress (Juliette Binoche)
- 2001 Academy Award nomination — Best Supporting Actress (Judi Dench)
- 2001 Academy Award nomination — Best Adapted Screenplay
- 2001 Academy Award nomination — Best Original Score (Rachel Portman)
- 2001 Screen Actors Guild Award — Outstanding Supporting Actress (Judi Dench) Won
- 2001 European Film Award — Best Actress (Juliette Binoche) Won
- 2001 9 BAFTA nominations incl. Best Film
- 2001 4 Golden Globe nominations
