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49
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9
17
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37
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53
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61
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43
Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant
66
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23
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34
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41
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73
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78
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66
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69
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58
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47
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54
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67
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28
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58
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39
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30
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53
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33
Stepfather, The
45
Surrogates
46
Twilight Saga: New Moon, The
71
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67
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28
Whiteout
73
Zombieland
Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.
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96
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56
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73
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76
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86
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71
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65
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76
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26
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44
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81
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76
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70
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62
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65
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69
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60
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82
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75
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82
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53
Dare
50
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67
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70
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85
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55
Endgame
88
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31
Fix
49
Food Beware: The French Organic Revolution
80
Food, Inc.
xx
From Mexico with Love
28
Gentlemen Broncos
72
Good Hair
89
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63
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74
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xx
How to Seduce Difficult Women
26
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70
It Might Get Loud
46
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43
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34
Looking for Palladin
80
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45
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55
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59
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79
Precious: Based on the Novel by Sapphire
73
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79
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65
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42
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50
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58
Storm
82
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49
Ten9Eight: Shoot for the Moon
73
That Evening Sun
61
Trucker
49
Turning Green
83
U2 3D
45
Uncertainty
67
Visual Acoustics
32
War on Kids
67
Way We Get By, The
65
Wedding Song, The
xx
White on Rice
59
William Kunstler: Disturbing the Universe
74
Woman in Berlin, A
43
Women in Trouble
69
Yoo-Hoo, Mrs. Goldberg
Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.
Chocolat
Generally favorable reviews
Based on 31 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 37 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie >
Movie Info
Genre(s): Romance
Written by:
Robert Nelson Jacobs
Joanne Harris (novel)
Directed by: Lasse Hallström
Release Date:
Theatrical: December 15, 2000
DVD: August 7, 2001
Running Time: 105 minutes, Color
Origin: USA
Summary
RATING: PG-13 for a scene of sensuality and some violence
Starring Juliette Binoche, Victoire Thivisol, Johnny Depp, Alfred Molina, Judi Dench, and Lena Olin
When Vianne (Binoche), a mysterious stranger, and her child arrive in a tranquil French town in the winter of 1959, nobody could have imagined the impact that she and her spirited daughter would have on this community stubbornly rooted in tradition. (Miramax Films)
Also On Metacritic
FILM: An Unfinished Life Casanova The Cider House Rules The Hoax The Shipping News
Also On The Web: Internet Movie Database View The Trailer Official Studio Site
What The Critics Said
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
Chicago Tribune Michael Wilmington
It's tantalizing, delectable and randy, a movie of melting eroticism and toothsome humor.
Portland Oregonian Shawn Levy
It's built of such exquisite craft -- the acting, the decor, the photography, the music -- that to refuse it is to refuse the very sensations that draw us to art, romance and maybe even life itself.
Los Angeles Times Kevin Thomas
A work of artistry and craftsmanship at the highest level.
Read Full Review >Dallas Observer Gregory Weinkauf
If Hallström has a problem with tone, it lies in his almost supernatural niceness. Thus, what arrives on-screen is purely a man's feminism, simple and trite and beautiful and vital.
Read Full Review >TV Guide Frank Lovece
The film burbles with delightful dialogue and a sparkling sense of life.
Read Full Review >Mr. Showbiz Kristy Martin
It's so easy to be mesmerized by Chocolat's brilliant indulgences that one abandons reason altogether.
Newsweek David Ansen
Chocolat is a seriocomic plea for tolerance, gift-wrapped in the baby blue colors of a fairy tale and served up with a sybaritic smile.
LA Weekly Paul Malcolm
While there are scenes of wrenching emotional openness and spontaneous charm -- largely due to the irresistible allure and impeccable craft of its ensemble cast -- the degree of calculation apparent in its plot and images undermines its efforts to move and seduce.
Read Full Review >The New York Times A.O. Scott
So assured in its manipulative prowess that only afterward do you realize how fully you've been worked over.
Read Full Review >Boston Globe Jay Carr
May not be deep, but it certainly is lip-smacking.
New York Post Lou Lumenick
A bittersweet confection that few holiday filmgoers will be able to resist, thanks to melt-in-your-mouth performances by Juliette Binoche, Alfred Molina and Judi Dench.
Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert
The movie is charming and whimsical, and Binoche reigns as a serene and wise goddess.
Read Full Review >New York Daily News Jack Mathews
A charming trifle, beautifully filmed in a Currier & Ives setting, with buttery-smooth performances from Binoche and Depp, and enough good tidings in its nougat center to get you through the holidays.
Read Full Review >Chicago Reader Jonathan Rosenbaum
The director (Hallstrom) and cast are all excellent.
Read Full Review >Entertainment Weekly Lisa Schwarzbaum
It's as agreeably sweet as advertised, with a particularly yummy performance by Juliette Binoche.
Read Full Review >Baltimore Sun Chris Kaltenbach
Has an unerring capacity for going soft whenever a hard edge is called for.
Charlotte Observer Lawrence Toppman
Certainly satisfies our hunger for a light, bright dessert, yet it may leave you hungry for more.
Philadelphia Inquirer Steven Rea
Too bad Chocolat isn't as seductive as its leading lady.
Miami Herald Rene Rodriguez
Like binging on a bottomless box of truffles: Tastes good and sweet at first, but after a while, you start feeling a little green.
Time Richard Schickel
Made with a sort of tasteful vulgarity, this movie never disappoints the slack-minded audience's anticipation of the humanistically healing banality, the life-crushing behavioral cliché.
Read Full Review >USA Today Mike Clark
Never enough goodies to keep the two-hour running time from seeming like three.
Read Full Review >San Francisco Chronicle Carla Meyer
A lighthearted fable with jarring scenes of violence and halfhearted stabs at mystical realism, its saving grace is its gooey center, the luminous Binoche.
Read Full Review >Austin Chronicle Marjorie Baumgarten
Like its title implies, Chocolat tastes good in the moment but leaves behind little nutritional substance.
Read Full Review >Washington Post Desson Thomson
I can only bestow this adaptation of Joanne Harris's bestselling novel with such faint praise as "pleasant" and "mildly disarming."
Read Full Review >What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this movie is 7.4 (out of 10) based on 37 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
Sharon G. gave it a9:
What a great film. It was light and mysterious and warming. It does what a movie like this should do, wrap you up in entertainment on a ill-weathered day. Drinking hot cocoa is a must!
Bohdan M.k gave it a10:
Fantastic movie. Absolutely fantastic. But, have to agree, it's not for all, as some say that it's an acquired, has a bitter kick, or is a little vapid. The film uses these characteristics as tools, and, when allowed, is a marvelous, beautiful, and mesmerizing in its plot, acting, and setting. Love it.
Mer gave it a 10:
Ya the people who gave this movie a 4 or a 2 or whatever do not know what the definition of a good movie is. they are probably the kind of people who like lots of violence massacre scary action-packed movies, and don't like mature movies. It was "a COMPLIMENT to our intelligence, VERY precious, VERY NOT VAPID, and REALISTIC in its feel-goodism." oh yeah and it did have great scenery and casting.
Rachael W. gave it a 10:
I think the cast did an awesome job portraying the charecters. johnny depp and juliette binoche were incredible. it's a movie you can lose yourself in.
Emma gave it a 10:
A dazzling movie! Stresses the importance to accept people for the way they are, and not judging them based on other's opinions. A heartwarming story that'll leave you with a smile on your face!
Pat C. gave it a 7:
Like Chocolate, Binoche is an acquired taste, always forthright and invigorated in a world that imposes the devious and dull. Always count on her as the French equivalent of a Merchant Ivory visit to the provinces.
Layne gave it a 7:
As light a flavor and as sweet as chocolate itself, but with a bitter kick to it. It's good, but shame on the Academy for giving it a Best Picture nod!
