Film: Chocolat – Study Guide

2nd Part
1- Explain the title. In what way is it suitable to the story?
The title, Chocolat, is suitable to the film because by means of chocolate Vianne begins to work her magic and help those around her, bringing change to the conservative community.

2- Identify the film genre
The genre of Chocolat is romance drama, since it places interest in two lovers, Vianne and Roux. Both of them arenomads since she is a free-spirited single mother who never settles down, while he is a river drifter, who doesn’t have a home and wanders visiting different towns. The film is settled in a small rural France old-fashioned town, so it also tells the story of people seeking for acceptance: Vianne Rocher and Roux are met with some resistance from the townspeople, especially from the Comte deReynaud, who is not only the mayor of Lansquenet, but also the self-appointed moral authority.

3- Setting: say where the primary action takes place (town, country) and what is the time setting for the action (period of history, season, part of the year)
The action takes place in the small rural French village of Lansquenet-sous-Tannes. It is a reserved and conservative town, since religion andmoral play an important role in the villagers’ lives.
The story is set during the winter of 1959.
The film was shot in the village of Flavigny-sur-Ozerain in Burgundy, France.

4- How much time does the story cover? A few minutes? A lifetime? How long?
The story covers around half a year. The film starts with the arrival of Vianne and her daughter to the small town during a heavy storm inwinter and follows with their settling down during Lent, which makes the townspeople met them with skepticism and disapproval at her single-mum status, her non-attendance at church and the fact that she opened a chocolate shop during that time of the year. The story finally finishes with the decision of Vianne to stay in the town, having found a home for herself and her daughter there, and with thevisit of Roux in the summer to be with her.

5- Who are the protagonists in the story? (Main and secondary)
The main characters are Vianne Rocher, a single mother who arrives in the town, and the Comte de Reynaud, the mayor or Lansquenet. The secondary characters are Anouk (Vianne’s daughter); Roux, a river drifter with whom Vianne develops a mutual attraction; Amande Voizin (Vianne’s landlady);Josephine Muscat; Serge Muscat (Josephine’s husband); Luc Clairmont (Armande’s grandson who she isn’t allowed to see); Caroline Clairmont (Armande’s daughter, with whom she is distanced as she doesn’r like her mother’s ways), Madame Audel, Jean-Marc Drou, Francoise Drou, Pere Henri (the priest of the town, who always has the Comte telling him what to do and say), Dedou Drou, Didi Drou, YvetteMarceau, Alphonse Marceau, Guillaume Blerot (the different villagers)

6- What sort of conflict confronts the leading character? Internal? External?
One of the main characters, Vianne Rocher, confronts internal and external conflicts. Her internal conflict is that she cannot break free from her own trouble and ancient past, while her external conflict is that the town doesn’t accept her.
Thesecond main character, the Comte de Reynaud confronts internal and external problems too. His internal conflict is that he cannot accept that his wife left him, and his external conflict is that he doesn´t accept the chocolaterie of Vianne Rocher and her presence in the town.

7- Where are they from?
Vianne Rocher and his daughter Anouk are always traveling from place to place, they are nomadicpeople. So we don’t know certainly from where are they from, but we can deduce that for the things that she carries with her, they could belong from a tribe of South America.

8- Speak about the plot (brief summary)
Vianne Rocher (Juliette Binoche), an expert chocolatier, drifts across Europe with her daughter Anouk (Victoire Thivisol). In the winter of 1959, they travel to a tranquil French...