Chocolat, directed by Lasse Hallström, is a modern fable based on a novel with the same title by Joanne Harris. The story, with occasional voiceovers (by Sally Taylor-Isherwood), is based on the familiar paradigm of a stranger entering a small town of naïve residents, provoking unexpected consequences. The setting is Lansquenet-sous-Tannes, a mythical small town in France run by the Count de Reynaud (played by Alfred Molina), who is the elected mayor. (The actual filming locations are Salisbury, England, and two French towns, Beynac and Flavigny). The year is 1959. There is no sin or controversy in the conservative town, at least on the surface, though the Count reports that his wife is in Venice for an indefinite stay, a story that we gradually disbelieve. The Count makes sure that everything around town is in order; he even corrects drafts of the Sunday homilies of youthful Father Henri (played by Hugh O’Conor) before they are delivered. Along come two well-dressed wanderers in bright red capes, Vianne Rocher (played by Juliette Binoche) with her six-year-old daughter Anouk (played by Victoire Thivisol), who is the author of the voiceovers. Vianne rents a shop in the center of town from cranky Armande Voizin (played by Judi Dench), whose daughter Caroline Clairmont (played by Carrie-Anne Moss), secretary to the Count, will not let Armande meet her granddaughter. As Vianne remodels the shop, the town teems with curiosity. When the shop opens, delicious displays of chocolate candies intrigue passersby. Vianne invites onlookers to enjoy a cup of hot chocolate or a free sample from an aphrodisiac recipe combining chocolate and chili peppers reputedly 1,000 years old, obtained from the Mayas during an exploration by her estranged anthropologist lover, George (played by Arnaud Adam), birthfather of Anouk. (Those who have eaten the Mexican dish pollo molé will know that the taste is indeed intoxicating.) Soon, children become chocoholics, a husband is providing sexual satisfaction to his erstwhile frustrated spouse, a widow’s male admirer comes out of the closet, Armande has finally found that a cup of hot chocolate is the only source of joy in her otherwise frustrated life, and Vianne provides shelter to Josephine Muscat (played by Lena Olin) from her abusive husband Serge (played by Peter Stormare). As the tagline says, “One taste is all it takes.” However, the Count spreads a rumor that her daughter is illegitimate to encourage a boycott of the chocolaterie, as the newcomers do not go to mass on Sundays, and the consumption of chocolates during Lent is viewed as excessive self-indulgence. Caroline bans her daughter from going to the shop, where she has met her grandmother, and tries to discourage Vianne from providing sugary diversions to her mother, who is diabetic and prefers to die sooner with a smile on her face than later as a grouch. To complicate the plot further, riverboat gypsy Roux (played by Johnny Depp) docks at the edge of town with his fellow musicians, and captures Vianne’s heart. The Count tries to mobilize the town to get Roux and his “river rats” to leave, and before long fire consumes his houseboat, shocking the Count into realizing that his narrowminded Catholicism has cultivated un-Christian violence. Just when Vianne is most discouraged and ready to pack up and leave the town, she discovers that various townspeople are joyfully working in her kitchen to prepare more chocolates. The priest then delivers the moral of the story from the pulpit on Sunday, namely, that life should be lived to the fullest, based on inclusion rather than exclusion. Presumably, the town then enters the liberationist 1960s even before the big cities of the world, but alas the film is a children’s story for adults. In common with Hallström’s last fable, The Cider House Rules, the subtexts are that illegitimate children need loving adults, conservative religionists are un-Christian, and we should all bring joy to one another by simple acts of kindness. MH