Blog 7

Chocolat is a film about a woman and her daughter who move into a French village and open a chocolaterie. This film uses chocolate as a symbol of pleasure, of therapy, and of liberation. When the two move in and set up shop, they're clearly not wanted, as shown by Reynaud. But as soon as they show what they've got in store, they begin to get some customers.
 
 Vianne finds the right candy for each person, and in doing so, it helps them open up to her, providing somewhat of a therapy for her customers. Such as when Josephine was having issues with her husband, the chocolate calmed her down and allowed her to open up to Vianne, which lead to her learning how to make chocolate there and also helping separate her from her husband. She also creates a calm place for others to come and indulge themselves. The old lady, the man with the dog, and the artist kid all come in from time to time, at least until Reynaud forbids it.
 
 Speaking of which, there is a good amount of French culture shown in this film. Such as the fact that as soon as Reynaud forbids anyone from going into the Chocolatier, many of the townsfolk deliberately avoid her and try not to make any contact. We also see how controlling Josephine's husband is, and how everyone seems to think Josephine belongs to her husband just because she's married to him. The idea of self-indulgence is also disliked among the town, as it's brought up at the old lady's funeral as the reason she died. The idea of traveling from village to village is also brought up a lot with regards to Vianne's family, the north winds. Although I am unsure whether this is French culture or culture of some other kind. I enjoyed this movie but I definitely need to watch it again in English so I can really get into it, rather than just watching it for class.