Chocolat

The enduring appeal of chocolate is that it's not too sweet; there's always a trace of its essential bitterness. Not so in Chocolat: Lasse Hallström's adaptation of the Joanne Harris novel is all confection. A north wind and a fairy-tale narrator whisk Vianne (Juliette Binoche, here a Gallic Betty Crocker) and her young daughter Anouk (a coltish Victoire Thivisol) into the chilly village of Lansquenet. Vianne is a candymaker and a bit of a witch, so the chocolaterie she opens sorely tempts the uptight inhabitants, especially since Lent is just beginning. As in a number of other recent movies -- What Lies Beneath, Malena, The Gift -- she's the exceptional female who uncovers the community's buried fears and desires and so must be destroyed. The agent of that punishment is the stern Comte de Reynaud (a cartoonish Alfred Molina), who tries to unite the rest of the town against the seductive interloper. But you know he's just dying to bite into her chocolate-covered "nipples of Venus," and who wouldn't be? Although Johnny Depp shows up midway as a Irish-brogued "river rat" to stir up other appetites, the most Chocolat will inspire is a trip to the concession stand. At the Showcase (Seekonk Route 6 only).
-- Peter Keough