The village square is dusted with a light covering of snow. A number of people in hats and winter coats play pétanque, while a group of children cluster around a yapping Jack Russell dog. Three old ladies walk past, dressed identically in black, stopping briefly to peer into the window of one of the little shops facing the church. At first sight, it could almost be real. Of course, there are some irregularities. The unseasonal heat. The mysterious but tantalizing scent of chocolate. And the fact that one of the old ladies looks suspiciously like Leslie Caron, who played Gigi in the musical of the same name, nearly half a century ago. Notwithstanding these details, the illusion is almost perfect. It should be; the main square of the little French village has been recreated here with painstaking care, stone by stone. I recognize it instantly, although I have never been there. I recognize the shop, too, although the name has changed. I recognize the people, even though we have never met. I even recognize the dog. They are all from my novel, Chocolat, and this is the set of the film.
The scene has all the surreal elements of a dream. Down the steps to the side of the set, I can see Carrie-Anne Moss, wearing an impeccable twinset, pearls, hat and white gloves, riding a micro-scooter at top speed past a long table covered in cakes; Juliette Binoche is sitting in a canvas chair, having her hair done; a small girl in a red cloak is climbing some scaffolding and, as I turn the corner past a row of enormous lights, I see a woman standing alone in semi-darkness, stirring a large pan on a portable stove. I come closer, and discover that the pan contains melted chocolate. The scent of it is so strong and rich that it fills the entire place, village and all. Set out in front of me, on long tables, are hundreds of chocolate figures of all sizes and species; rabbits, lambs, fish, hens. And all of them seem to be looking straight at me. It's enough to make anyone lose touch with reality.
People often ask me: Did you ever imagine this would happen? Of all the questions I have to answer, I dread this one the most. Could I possibly have imagined that my little book, written on Sunday mornings between my teaching job and my three-year-old daughter, would one day lead to all this? Well, of course I could. That's what I do, after all. I imagine things. I don't, however, expect them to happen. Three years ago, when I wrote the book, I was a French teacher at a boys' school in Leeds. A lot of the time I still think of myself that way. It's easier to live in a fantasy world when real life keeps to a proper routine, but when reality starts playing games, things get complicated. Several times during the past three years, I have found myself genuinely unsure of whether or not I was dreaming.
I suppose it really began with Juliette Binoche. Playing the What-if game (what if my book got published, what if it became a film, what if I could choose anyone I wanted to play in it) I could see it all perfectly before the book was even finished. Some of the details changed, actors came in and out of favour, but in my mind it was always Juliette Binoche as Vianne. I understood that by signing the option agreement I had effectively given Miramax the right to set the film in space, if they wanted to, but all the same I continued to mention Juliette Binoche to everyone I met, as if by some process of attrition I might eventually break through.
[…]
Then, the first rumblings began. The internet is the best place to check rumours. Most of the information I got was from there; the name of the screenwriter; the debate on casting; the signing of Lasse Hallström as director. Miramax kept stubbornly silent, but it was clear to me that something was happening inside the Hollywood dinosaur. I got a copy of Bob Jacobs' script to read; I liked it very much, in spite of the changes to the story. But I continued to expect nothing. Six months later, the rumbling had got louder. The rumours had begun to contradict each other; one day Miramax were going to cast Gwyneth Paltrow, then Julia Roberts, then Whoopi Goldberg. No-one seemed to have taken my hints regarding Juliette Binoche.
Then she phoned me. She had read the book, and talked Harvey Weinstein into giving her the part. (Why didn't I think of that? I wondered, but I suppose this kind of thing only works if you're Juliette Binoche.) Second, she liked the script but was concerned about some of the dialogue. Could I meet her in Paris to discuss it? This, I think, was the moment at which I began to question my grasp on reality. Nothing about life in Barnsley or teaching at Leeds Grammar School had prepared me for this. We met in a café over tea, cakes and the script (there was a marvellous moment as the supercilious garçon who had ignored me as I sat waiting suddenly realized whom I had been waiting for). On screen, Juliette often looks ethereal and rather melancholy; in life she is funny, vivacious and very smart. She plays the star extremely well when she has to (at premières and with rude journalists), but she is above all a real person doing a real job. We talked for hours; once I had got over my awe I found that we shared a surprising amount of common ground.We concluded that we needed to talk some more, and Juliette invited herself for a weekend the following month, to go over the script in detail.
[…]
One of the reasons I originally thought of Juliette for the part is that she has a child the same age as my own daughter, Anouchka, who figures prominently in the book. The relationship between mother and daughter is the strongest one in the story, and I hoped she would bring some of her own experience to the part. I was right; she and Anouchka got on wonderfully (although Anouchka insisted upon referring to her as "Juliette Brioche"), and we all had strong feelings about the fact that my daughter's invisible rabbit, Pantoufle (a key player in the book) had morphed, courtesy of Miramax, into a kangaroo. Sadly, in spite of this, the kangaroo has remained. It is my only real regret.
[…]
Most of my suggestions were adopted. Suddenly I was consulted on all kinds of things, from the musical score to the correct way to cast runes. The red good-luck sachets which Vianne hangs up above her door were taken from my house by Juliette during her visit. So far, I think the luck is working. The shooting began the following week in Bath, then on location in France. I spent the last two weeks on set in Shepperton, where most of the interiors had been built. It was at the same time like and very unlike what I had imagined. The sets were disturbingly familiar; I recognized my great-grandmother’s house in France and her bedroom and all her pots and pans hanging on the wall; the chocolaterie was exactly as I had imagined it, but better, with rows of sweet-jars against the walls and strange Mexican figurines guarding the chocolate treasure. There was even a tribute to the original Pantoufle in the window - a chocolate marzipan rabbit in a magician's hat and cape. Anouchka has it in her bedroom now. The fact that she hasn't eaten it is the greatest compliment I can think of.
Chocolate is a mood-altering substance. I have always suspected this (in twelve years of teaching, it never failed for me), and I saw the proof at last during the filming of Chocolat. Film sets can be stressful places. The budgets, the schedules, the personal conflicts mean that tempers often run high, especially so near the end. But not here. Here, everyone seemed to be having a wonderful time. Lasse Hallström (who I had imagined as a rather frightening figure with a peaked cap and a megaphone) was charming, never raising his voice or showing a sign of impatience. The scent of chocolate from the portable stove behind the set was so strong that actors from other sets found excuses to linger outside, sniffing enviously. In spite of the frenzy of activity backstage, no-one seemed too busy to talk to me. There was an atmosphere of creative, cheerful energy. Even the photographer was smiling. It must have been the chocolate.
At the end of it all, however, I am aware of having been very lucky. I feel like someone who has wandered through a dangerous maze, taking turns at random, and who has, against all probability, blundered their way to the prize. It makes me feel rather guilty, and I almost expected to hate the film, as if in compensation for having had such an easy ride so far. But I don't. It's everything I hoped it would be; warm, funny and light-hearted, with enough irony to keep it from being over-sweet. Sitting watching it for the first time in New York, eating popcorn and watching the credits roll, I can ask myself cautiously whether it's safe to start believing now.
Joanne Harris, 2001 on THE DAILY TELEGRAPH
QUESTIONS AND FOOD FOR THOUGHTS FOR OUR DEBATE:
What are some emotions we associate with chocolate?
Is simply indulging in food immoral?
Is indulgence an act of freedom or oppression?
“Everyone needs a little luxury, from time to time” Vianne
The “temporal” and the “spiritual” are meant to work with each other, not against each other. How can we balance them?
Reynaud sees Vianne as “an exotic temptress who sells sin in the form of chocolate”.
“The devil does not work through evil, but through weakness" - “Physical pleasure is the crack into which the devil sends his roots”
The kitchen is a place of freedom and power for Vianne: “This is an art I can enjoy. There is a kind of sorcery in all cooking, and it is partly the transience of it that delights me; so much loving preparation, so much art and experience, put into a pleasure that can last only a moment, and which only a few will ever fully appreciate”.
In “Lessons in Chemistry”, cooking is a science. In “Chocolat”, it is mostly art. Can you compare the two perspectives? Is there a common trait between chemistry and art? For Vianne, the making and eating of food is the closest the temporal can come to the spiritual. Answer first, then read the following quote and comment.
“There is a kind of alchemy in the transformation of base chocolate into wise fool’s gold, a layman’s magic that even my mother might have relished… The mingled scents of chocolate, vanilla, heated copper, and cinnamon are intoxicating, powerfully suggestive; the raw and earthy tang of the Americas, the hot and resinous perfume of the rain forest… The Food of the Gods, bubbling and frothing in ceremonial goblets. The bitter elixir of life.” In the end, isn’t alchemy the transformation of raw materials into gold? Chemistry + Art = Alchemy
Moral, paganism, religion, mystery and sin, all melted in a pot of… Chocolat:
Like Mary Poppins, Vianne Rocher arrives on the wind. Why do you think the author chose to introduce her in such a fairytale fashion? What does the wind mean to Vianne and Anouk?
Vianne can tell a person’s character by the way they relate to food, especially chocolate. What do you think can be revealed by the way someone approaches food?
Reynaud is suspicious of Vianne from the start, and yet finds it hard to keep away from her. How do you explain his attitude?
What do you think is the role of Anouk’s invisible friend, Pantoufle? Why do you think she needs him?
The arrival of the river people gives Renaud further ammunition against Vianne. Why?
Vianne dreams of settling down, and yet feels that she is never going to be accepted in Lansquenet. Why do you think she feels this way?
Vianne’s paganism is genuinely warm and kind, whereas Reynaud’s religious faith is decidedly chilly. What do you think the author is trying to convey about the concept of goodness?
Armande knows she is putting her health at at risk by eating chocolate. And yet she encourages Vianne to throw her a lavish dinner party. Why?
What is the importance of magic in this novel, and what do you think the author is trying to convey about the concept of belief?
Vianne combats the Church’s idea that morality is automatically linked to religion. Where do you think our sense of morality comes from, and how does it come across in our lives?
In both the novel and the film, chocolate is more than an item of food. It is the exotic 'other'. It is the consummation of sin. It mediates the struggle between conventions and forces of change. The richness of Vianne's chocolates lends the movie its sumptuous richness. Fill in the gaps with the following, missing words:
escape - wind - carefree - exoticism. - involvement. - temptation
pagan - falls - remedies - abstinence - village - sermon
orthodox - mayor - change - ecstatic - Lent - liberation
The film tells the story of Vianne Rocher (Juliette Binoche), a chocolatier who arrives at a small orthodox French village, Lansquenet at the start of the holy days of ________ in 1959. She sets out a tempting range of truffles which the God-fearing villagers find hard to resist. The opening shot establishes the scene of action with a bird’s eye shot of the village and zooming in to the cobbled streets of the village. This first shot sets the mood of the film. The ________ with its narrow streets sandwiched between tall stone buildings offer a sharp contrast to the open fields outside. The closed rigid norms and society constituting the insiders is contrasted to the open flexible outsiders. It is the conflict of the __________ and the liberal that ensues when the outside intrudes upon the inside. This proves central to the plot of the film.
The opening shot homes in on a Church, with the villagers flocking in to attend the ___________ is greeted at the door by the ________ Comte de Reynaud (Alfred Molina), a scene which evokes the image of a shepherd counting his sheep.
The tranquility and order of the village is violated by the sudden billowing of the North _________ that forces the Church doors open. The Mayor gets up from the sermon and shuts them decisively to keep out any interruptions to the decree of God. The North wind heralds _________ and here it brings in the free-spirited mother and daughter Vianne and Anouk. A medium long shot captures the duo traveling with the wind dressed in red hooded cloaks.
A cross-cutting links the scene where the Church doors are shut and another door opened to let in the harbingers of change. This happens to be that of Armande Voizin (Judi Dench) who is among the first to admit change. She rents out her defunct patisserie to Vianne.
Chocolate assumes a mysterious __________ incarnation in the film. Vianne’s chocolates boast of recipes of Mayan origin. They hold the key to “unlock hidden yearnings and reveal destinies.” The __________ itself drew people to the shop to taste the unknown and like the film’s promo caption says ‘one taste is all it takes’.
Chocolate becomes the ultimate ____________. To give in to temptation is sin. Tasting them, especially during Lent, was to indulge in gluttony when abstinence was to be the driving spirit. The villagers however ‘fall’ one by one, much to the dismay of the Mayor. Chocolate becomes the point of contention between temptation and redemption. Vianne’s chocolates promised an ___________ into the heavenly bliss of sensual pleasures as opposed the kingdom of heaven envisioned by the Mayor. He has to keep up the legacy of his father, who had driven out the Huguenots . The statue of his father in the streets is shown from a high angle reinforcing the illusion of him watching over the village.
The customers of the chocolaterie are ____________ that their deepest desires are being fulfilled by Vianne’s chocolate remedies.
Vianne did not attend Church and she was not apologetic about it. Nor was she of the fact that she had an illegitimate child. She was confident of herself and did not care about what others thought of her.
The linear continuity of the film is broken by a flashback that sheds some light on the mysteries of Vianne’s past. Anouk clamours for a story at bedtime and Vianne relates the story of an ambitious pharmacist who goes to South America in search of the secret ____________ of the Mayans. The story is obviously the history of Vianne’s ancestors and offers an explanation to her urge to wander from one place to another. Settling down at one place was not acceptable to Vianne or her mother, they had a calling to answer. They were destined to wander from village to village dispensing ‘ancient cacao remedies’. Through the course of the movie, we see instances when the North wind beckons and Vianne resists. The winds blow during the preparations for Armande’s birthday party, but we see Vianne’s desire to settle down, probably because of her _________ with Roux (Johnny Depp), the river rat.
Vianne launches her chocolate therapy and changes the lives of all those who are involved. Armande is a grumpy old lady who is stifled by the controls and repressions of society. She is in the final stages of her life and has nothing to look forward to. Estranged from her daughter and her grandson, she is a “cranky old woman ... too old to play games.” Vianne’s hot chocolate with a hint of chilli pepper proves to be a liberating experience for her. True to its magical legacy, the chocolate releases her repressions and she is giggling over accounts of her youthful transgressions of the past. Chocolate has released her pent-up emotions and freed her from the controls and repressions of the Church and society. Armande spends the last days of her life _____________ and happy. She tells her grandson, “Don’t worry too much about ‘not supposed to’”. This seems to be the message of the film. This film thus seems to endorse Freud’s poisonous doctrine that advocates the ___________ of all repressions .
Vianne’s chocolate becomes the saviour of another tormented soul. Josephine is abused by her husband both mentally and physically. She is initiated into the pleasures that were formerly unknown to her and the journey doesn’t stop till she has not only freed herself but has also regained her ‘self’.
Ultimately, the Mayor himself __________ to temptation. He begins to lose the villagers one at a time and in his frustration rampages the chocolaterie one night. He cuts up a naked idol made of chocolate in the window of the shop when a tiny bit of chocolate lands on his lips. A taste of just that tiny bit and the self-disciplined ____________ that he had so painfully built-up comes down like an avalanche. He devours the delicacies till he can have no more and falls asleep in the shop window. Waking up in such an awkward position, he is embarrassed but at peace. Could it be because he too had finally given in to temptation?
The story seems to privilege the superstitions and magic of the Mayans over the holy laws and customs of the Catholic Church. The only solution being peaceful co-existence with neither one claiming superiority.
A MUSICAL BREAK BEFORE OUR LAST ACTIVITY
What has this song to deal with today’s story?
What is it about?
THE CHOCOLATE TIMELINE
Riccardo Zambon, 21 Dec. 2024
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