Chocolat Movie Analysis Essay Example

Chocolate is a universal language that is used to express love all around the world. Chocolate seamlessly stirs people together, and helps to connect people in several contrasting ways. In Chocolat this theme is heavily shown throughout the film, and demonstrates the idea that chocolate can blend people together. In the movie, the protagonist Vianne and her daughter, Anouk, move to a quaint town in France. This town is very traditional, and hyper focused on religion, and particularly set during the time of lent. Vianne tries to maneuver her way through the community, focusing on her chocolate shop being accepted by the town and the townspeople, and ultimately she wins. In Chocolat, Vianne, Josephine, and Luc all grow as individuals with the help of chocolate, and other characters. 

First, several relationships within Chocolat evolve. To start, Vianne and her mothers relationship develops throughout the film. In the beginning, Vianne and Anouk moved whenever the north wind came, as Vianne insisted it was her mothers wishes. But, by the end Vianne throws away her mothers ashes, and decides to stay in the Village. This moment symbolizes that Vianne finally broke free from the grasp her mother had on her, and she is finally was able to be happy and comfortable on her own. Next, Josephine and her husband’s relationships drastically matured in the film. In the very start of the film, Serge, Josephine’s husband, had such a tight hold on her. She felt locked in, and hardly felt like her own person. That is until she asked for Vianne’s help to free herself. By the end, we see her leave her husband, while he was left in the dust, as the le comte de reynaud simply could not help him civilize himself any further. Finally, Luc and Amande’s connection shifted throughout the movie. At first, they had almost zero contact between each other as Luc’s mother, Caroline, refused that Luc would see her as she was a “bad influence.” But, Luc went against his mothers wishes and ultimately got very close to his grandmother. This benefited everyone because eventually his mother started to accept this, and he was able to get close to her near her end days. 

Secondly, each character’s relationship with chocolate resulted in personal development. First, as Vianne established her chocolate shop, she understood that there would be challenges. Despite this, she tried to persevere, and got those to grow on her side. She was able to do so, and also successfully grew herself. When selling chocolate she gained courage, and learned how important making others feel was, along with how important self happiness was. Next, Josephine had major character development throughout the film. After she left her husband, she completely rebuilt her life. She was able to clean herself up, make her own income, and gained the courage to deny any force against her from her husband. This shows that with chocolate, she gained bravery to reconstruct her life, and make it everything she could have hoped for. Finally, Luc’s relationship with chocolate also was crucial to his character’s growth because he never would have escaped his mothers force. After trying chocolate, and constant visits to the chocolaterie, he was able to grow a connection with his grandmother, and was able to resist his strict mothers rules. This helped him become his own person, and live a more pleasant and comfortable life.

To conclude, Vianne, Josephine, and Luc’s relationship with chocolate helps them as individuals, and their relationships evolve. The movie Chocolat helps in capsule how much small things could really impact people. The impact of chocolate for some character’s is truly transformative, and could make readers question what else could have an impact that large on us.