Chocolat

Juliette Binoche and Johnny Depp star in the “delicious” (Good Morning America) romantic comedy that swept audiences off their feet and earned five Oscar nominations including Best Picture. When Vienne (Binoche) and her daughter Anouk arrive into a sleepy, old-fashioned French village and opens a chocolate shop, she sends the townspeople into a flutter with her uniquely gifted treats. Before long the strait-laced villagers find themselves abandoning heir reservations and succumbing to their deepest desires! But when the handsome stranger Roux (Depp) breezes into town, Vianne discovers that she too is susceptible to the charms of love in this sweet confection from Lasse Hallström, the Oscar-nominated director of THE CIDER HOUSE RULES.

TRIVIA:

• Juliette Binoche went to a chocolate shop in Paris to learn how to make chocolates. Some of the chocolates she made were used in the festival scene at the end of the film.

• Although Johnny Depp lived in France at the time of filming, he doesn’t appear in any of the scenes shot in France. All of his scenes were filmed in England. All of Judi Dench’s scenes were also filmed in England. The DVD commentary notes that her husband was very ill during the shoot and it was important for her to be close to home.

• It is Johnny Depp and Juliette Binoche jumping in the water themselves (despite having stunt doubles). It was reportedly freezing and muddy. But in the close-up shot of Juliette’s face in the water, the man pulling her is not Johnny. This scene was filmed in a water tank.

• The village of Flavigny sur Ozerain, with its 370 inhabitants, became part of the film. 250 people from the area were recruited as extras. The population was informed daily about what was going on.

• According to the audio commentary on the DVD, Johnny Depp doesn’t like the taste of good, gourmet-style chocolate - he prefers the cheap Easter bunny type.

• This film marks the second time director Lasse Hallström and film composer Rachel Portman have worked together. They had just finished their first collaboration on THE CIDER HOUSE RULES (which earned them both an Oscar nomination - - Hallström for Best Director, Portman for Best Original Score). Portman also received another Best Original Score Oscar nomination for this film as well. She had received the award four years earlier for the romantic period comedy EMMA starring Gwyneth Paltrow.

• The cemetery, which overlooks the town, is not real and was created for the film. Also, there is no river adjacent to Flavigny.

• Johnny Depp plays guitar in the film covering three scenes and also does on two songs on the soundtrack (the first and last tracks - - “Minor Swing” and “Caravan,” respectively).

• Anouk’s imaginary kangaroo’s name is spelled Pantoufle, not Pantouf. This is clear in the closed-captioning. Pantoufle means “slipper” in French (this makes slightly more sense in the book, where Pantoufle is a rabbit).

• Some of the filming took place at a small farm in Bruton, Sommerset, England, for its “French rural feel.”

• The film’s three main actresses are all previous nominees for the Best Supporting Actress Academy Award (Juliette Binoche - THE ENGLISH PATIENT, 1996; Dame Judi Dench - SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE, 1998; Lena Olin - ENEMIES: A LOVE STORY, 1989). Binoche and Dench are both recipients in that category and we’re also both Oscar nominated again for this film, Binoche for leading actress and Dench for supporting actress.

• There is no actual statue in the square of Flavigny sur Ozerain. The statue of “Comte Reynauld” was made of plastic, specially for the film. Comte de Buffon in Montbard served as a model.

• Gwyneth Paltrow turned down the role of Caroline that ultimately went to Carrie-Anne Moss.

• Lena Olin, who portrays Josephine Muscat in the film, is married in real life to the film’s director, Lasse Hallström.

• The scenes on the lake were not filmed in France, but in Fonthill Park, near Tisbury, in Wiltshire, England.

• In addition to the film’s director, Lasse Hallström, actors Lena Olin and Peter Stormare (who play husband and wife in the film) are all Swedish-born.

• Lena Olin had previously started with three of her co-stars in this film; she starred with Juliette Binoche in the 1988 romantic drama THE UNBEARABLE LIGHTNESS OF BEING, with Peter Stormare in the 1998 action/thriller CAPTAIN Hamilton and with Johnny Depp in the 1999 mystery thriller THE NINTH GATE.

• When Josephine takes over her husband’s café as her own, a foosball table is clearly visible. This same foosball table is seen in an earlier scene as well.

• Johnny Depp does not appear until 52 minutes into the film.

• In an interview with The Harvard Crimson, Carrie-Anne Moss said that she would like to continue to work with Lasse Hallström.

2000

PG-13

4009750269046

Movie

2018-02-07 18:20:01

1.85:1

~CHF 3.85

2024-05-27

2018-02-07 18:20:01