Hallstrom's winning 'Chocolat' a delicious low-fat fable

By Joko E.H. Anwar

Chocolat (*** out of ****); Drama/Romance/Comedy, 121 minutes; Starring Juliette Binoche, Lena Olin, Judi Dench, Alfred Molina, Victoire Thivisol, Carrie-Anne Moss, Johny Depp; Written by Robert Nelson from a novel by Joanne Harris; Directed by Lasse Hallstrom; A Miramax Film presentation

JAKARTA (JP): Every time a film about food is released, I am always eager to see it. It is not because I care about food as much as true connoisseurs do, but the subject matter seems to have become an assurance of a good movie.

Name any such films in recent memory -- Big Night, Eat Drink Man Woman, Like Water for Chocolate -- and you will find they are superior works worth seeing over and over again.

Chocolat, one of the most recent entries on food, is also satisfying. All right, it may have been overrated, especially in being nominated in this year's Academy Awards for Best Picture. But it remains a real treat even if you are not much of a foodie; it is much better than the feather-light Woman on Top and is as harmless as fat-free ice cream.

After watching the early scenes, the audience will be able to make a conclusion that the film is not about to defy the rule of happily-ever-after endings to satisfy its audience (Oops! A spoiler).

It could have been more substantial, and anyone who has seen Alfonso Arau's food saga, Like Water for Chocolate, is unlikely to forget the scene where a young woman is freed emotionally after eating a delicious gourmet meal, runs around naked and ends up being an army general!

Chocolat is not that wild, but like many other films on food which are usually hard to resist, Chocolat also offers an exotic setting, magical realism elements and a story as delicious as the cuisine itself.

Set in the late 1950s, the film tells the story of an isolated French town called Lansquenet, run by a pious mayor named Comte de Reynaud (Alfred Molina).

The mayor manages to keep everything in the town tranquil on the surface. He does it in his own way: he never gives up visiting the citizens of the town at their houses and telling them the importance of living according to Catholic morality.

Reynaud, whose wife gave up on him because of his self- righteousness, even writes the sermons which young priest Father Henri (Hugh O'Conor) delivers every Sunday before the seemingly devoted churchgoers.

But that is before "a sly wind blows in from the north", bringing a mysterious woman named Vianne Rocher (Juliette Binoche) and her daughter, Anouk (Victoire Thivisol).

The townspeople immediately know this is no ordinary pair and so does the mayor, who can sense that there is a trouble ahead.

Inspired by her Mayan mother's ancient recipes, Vianne opens a shop which sells all kinds of chocolate, just as the Lenten fasting season begins.

The mayor is furious, not just because Vianne tells him that she does not go to church but also because he thinks that she is deliberately tempting the fasting townsfolk with the good smell of cocoa.

Despite the mayor's warning not to go to Vianne's chocolaterie, people start to visit it and taste Vianne's delicious products.

At this point, the usual magical realism element starts to take place.

Vianne's chocolate works like magic. Bored old couples begin to enjoy great sex. It also frees many of Vianne's repressed customers, including long-suffering Josephine (Lena Olin) who has been abused by her husband Serge (Peter Stormare).

The chocolaterie develops to become a sort of counseling center and Vianne gains a group of devoted clients willing to defend her.

The mayor, however, believes that Vianne is the devil in disguise. He gets more trouble after a houseboat full of people, who he describes as having no moral harbor, arrives.

A boatman played by Johny Depp gets to know Vianne and the two start to develop a close relationship. But things soon start to go bad and Vianne has to decide whether to move on to another town or to stay with all the consequences.

Food can be sexy on celluloid, but the pairing of Binoche and Depp does not really work. In fact, Depp soon becomes an outsider which the audience would love to be out of the picture.

Binoche, on the other hand, is radiant. Her presence is already enough to represent her mysteriously charismatic character but she is also a superb actor.

There is also the likable supporting cast, including Dench and Olin (the film's director's wife) who are solid and charming together.

Dench is amazing as Vianne's landlady who is alienated from her daughter and grandson because of her own stubbornness. Even Moss as Dench's daughter succeeds in making the audience forget her performance in a tight leather suit as the high-kicking Trinity in The Matrix.

Molina, whose great acting talent has never been awarded big roles, shines as always. He is funny without being even slightly ridiculous.

Director Hallstrom is known for his critically acclaimed works such as The Cider House Rules, What's Eating Gilbert Grape and My Life as a Dog.

His movie this time is whimsical and easy on the eyes but, unfortunately, the magic of chocolate does not free it to be a little wilder. Still, it is very uplifting entertainment.