Seduction through looks, seduction through touch and seduction through delicacies. Actually, we could be talking about Juliette Binoche’s new, absolutely delicious gourmet romance Beloved Cook. But over 20 years ago she proved it together with one unexpectedly sensitive Johnny Depp once explained how fine food can sweeten a love story. But hardly anyone talks about it today.
Chocolat’s recipe is simple but ingenious: food brings people together. It can open hearts, soften souls, dispel bitterness. Humanity, tolerance and great love: All of this fits into a small chocolate shop. But only thanks to Johnny Depp, a brilliant Juliette Binoche and an outstanding cast. You can still stream this treat until February 29, 2024 free in the ARD media library.
Chocolat in the ARD media library lets Johnny Depp and Juliette Binoche save each other and an entire village
Vianne (Juliette Binoche) and her young daughter Anouk (Victoire Thivisol) never really stay in one place for long. They let themselves be carried by the wind. And one gray day in 1959 he carries her to a sleepy village in the south of France. They are currently preparing for Lent. And Vianne has the sin herself in her luggage – at least that’s how the conservative mayor (Alfred Molina) sees it.
She just wants to make and sell chocolate. But this temptation has no place at all in this village during Lent. However, people soon secretly come to Vianne because she knows not only about chocolate, but above all about people. She sees through everyone and recognizes what he or she really needs. But she also uncovers unpleasant secrets.
Senator Filmverleih GmbH
Juliette Binoche in Chocolat
All of this brings Vianne even more into disrepute. And then an encounter occurs that puts a match to the powder keg that the place has now become. Vagabonds dock on the banks of the local river. One of them is the clever, charming Roux (Johnny Depp), who soon takes a liking to Vianne. And suddenly she finds herself at the center of several conflicts and finally has to come to terms with herself.
Chocolat is deeply human and touching because Johnny Depp, Juliette Binoche and their co-stars are more empathetic than ever
Chocolate is many things. A social drama, a Fairy tales about humanity and understanding at the deepest level, a very simple but very great love story. This could all be terribly cheesy and cheap. But it is not. The reason for this is a cast that really gives it their all. But in a quiet, sensitive and loving way.
While Johnny Depp is often the center of madness or a daring, crazy troublemaker like in Pirates of the Caribbean, here he becomes a haven of calm for the restless Vianne. His acting is reduced and in his quiet moments infinitely lovable, mischievous and understanding – something that you see far too rarely from him, but in which he completely thrives.
What’s more, neither he nor Binoche are in the foreground here. Chocolat lives from relationships, from an endlessly linked one network of human destinies. That’s why every single performer shines beautifully here: Judi Dench with a hard shell but a soft core. A stubborn and injured Alfred Molina. A harsh, sadly quiet Carrie-Anne Moss. They all make chocolate wonderfully bittersweet.
If you want to take a breather with this dreamy, adult fairy tale, you can Chocolat is free in the ARD media library until February 29, 2024 stream.