On the Saturday evening before Easter, Reynaud sees Caroline, to whom he is attracted, leaving the chocolaterie and is devastated. While recovering the ashes, Vianne sees the townspeople and the positive influence she's had on their lives and decides to stay.ĭespite shifting sentiment in the town, Reynaud remains staunch in his abstinence of eating any chocolate. Anouk, now attached to the town, refuses to go and during a scuffle, the urn containing Vianne's mother's ashes breaks, scattering them over the floor. With the return of the north wind, Vianne decides she cannot win against Reynaud, and decides to move on. Horrified, Reynaud orders him to leave the village and not to come back.

Reynaud initially believes the fire was divine intervention until Serge confesses to starting it, saying he thought it was what he wanted. Armande later dies in her home and is discovered by Luc, devastating both him and his mother meanwhile Roux packs up and leaves with his group. No one is hurt in the fire, but Vianne is shaken. Luc takes Armande home after the party, while Josephine and Anouk fall asleep on a boat, which Serge sets fire to, while Roux and Vianne make love on a barge in the river. When Caroline sees Luc dancing with his grandmother, she begins to accept that Armande's influence in her son's life may be positive. They hold a birthday party for Armande with villagers on Roux's boat. Although most of the town objects to their presence, Vianne embraces them and a mutual attraction develops between her and the leader, Roux. Later that night, a drunken Serge breaks into the shop, attacking both women, but Josephine knocks him out.Īs the rivalry between Vianne and Reynaud intensifies, a band of river Romani camp near the village. Simultaneously, under Reynaud's instruction, Serge attempts to make amends for his abusiveness, eventually asking Josephine to come back to him, but she refuses. As she works at the chocolate shop and learns the craft, her confidence slowly increases. Through their friendship, Josephine finds the courage to leave Serge after he beats her, moving in with Vianne and Anouk. Vianne develops a friendship with Josephine, who is being physically abused by her husband Serge, the local café owner. After finding out about their secret meetings, Caroline reveals her mother is diabetic, but she continues to eat the chocolate when visiting the shop. Vianne arranges for him and his grandmother to meet in the chocolaterie, where they bond. Armande's daughter Caroline will not let her see her grandson Luc, as she is a 'bad influence'. Reynaud, who will not admit his wife left him, speaks out against Vianne for tempting the people during Lent.Īrmande, Vianne's elderly landlady, is one of her first allies. Vianne opens a chocolate shop despite not fitting in well with the townspeople, begins to make headway with some of the villagers to come to her shop. In 1959 they arrive in a quiet French village, overseen by mayor the Comte de Reynaud at the start of Lent. Vianne and her six year-old daughter Anouk drift across Europe following the north wind, like Vianne's mother before her. Binoche won the European Film Award for Best Actress for her performance, while Dench was awarded a Screen Actors Guild Award in 2001. It received five nominations at the 73rd Academy Awards, including Best Picture. Critics gave the drama positive reviews and a number of accolades, praising its acting performances, its screenplay, and Rachel Portman's score. The film began a limited release in the United States on December 22, 2000, and went on general release on January 19, 2001. Soon, she and her chocolate influence the lives of the townspeople of this repressed French community in different and interesting ways. Adapted by screenwriter Robert Nelson Jacobs, Chocolat tells the story of Vianne Rocher, played by Juliette Binoche, who arrives in the fictional French village of Lansquenet-sous-Tannes at the beginning of Lent with her six-year-old daughter, Anouk. Chocolat ( French pronunciation: ) is a 2000 film, based on the 1999 novel Chocolat by the English author, Joanne Harris, directed by Lasse Hallström.

Le chocolat