Wonderful character development!

everything you have heard about this movie is true.

There is just so much movie here. For some it may be too much. But in the same secretly sarcastic way most telemarketers say the phrase, the title of this one is particularly apt.

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

A fable of emotional liberation and chocolate. A mother and daughter move to a small French town where they open a chocolate shop. The town, religious and morally strict, is against them as they represent free-thinking and indulgence. When a group of Boat Gypsies float down the river the prejudices of the Mayor leads to a crisis.

Chocolat is a movie my wife picked out for us to watch together on a fall weekend evening on which we planned to sit on the couch cuddled together and spend a simple night of popcorn, movies, and enjoying some alone time together. She picked it out as the synopsis seemed to fit the mood of the evening planned. Indeed it hit it right on the mark! It is a unique story of a woman and her young daughter who live a nomad life style moving from town to town where she would open chocolate shops. She flies in the face of the practices of the average folks of the time and town, but made good friends and through simple acts of kindness won over friends and helped set people free of their inhibitions. I didn't expect to like it that much but wound up loving it. We now spend a weekend evening each fall watching the movie together, enjoying the simple yet quality story that has grown to be one of our favorites. You won't find a lot of movies like it, but that is part of what makes it so special and why I think it is a smart movie for mature audiences. Just a great couples movie that over time seems to be a little better each year we watch it!

The film was nominated for five Academy Awards, including Best Picture. It was also nominated for eight BAFTAs, and four Golden Globes & 29 nominations. Judi Dench won a Screen Actors Guild Award for her performance in the film. Story- Chocolat is a 2000 American-British romance film based on the novel of the same name by Joanne Harris, and was directed by Lasse Hallström. Adapted by screenwriter Robert Nelson Jacobs, Chocolat tells the story of a young mother, played by Juliette Binoche, who arrives at the fictional, repressed French village of Lansquenet-sous-Tannes with her six-year-old daughter and opens La Chocolaterie Maya, a small chocolaterie. Her chocolate quickly begins to change the lives of the townspeople, and shakes up the rigid morality of the community. It scored more than 6 according to the critics.

From beginning to end this movie delights me! The first time I saw it I was enchanted at how seamlessly and stylishly everything flowed. The story was like magic of the chocolate , smooth , classy, creamy indulgence. Not only lovely to look at but the underlying message is wise and moving beyond what you think you are going to see. The title again seals it , you think you know what you are going to get, but the taste lingers long after it's done. I must say the performances are ALL memorable, all shine, glow and leave you with that sweet blush of too much but the need for more!! Bravo to all for this lovely, lovely film! MORE PLEASE!!! Julie Barnes