One man gets slobbering drunk, but his drunkenness is not glorified or excused. A half-dozen other mild profanities also arise.ĭrug and alcohol content: Men sit around a table in a café, playing cards, drinking alcohol and smoking cigarettes. The man later sets fire to a boat, producing a spectacular blaze.Ĭrude or profane language: The Lord’s name is abused four times. His drunken blows are stilled when his wife brains him with a skillet.
Violent content: An abusive husband assaults his wife and Vianne. Also, one of Vianne’s chocolate sculptures is of a nude woman. Their tryst is only implied (kissing before, unbuttoned clothing after). Vianne consummates a fledgling love affair with Roux (a “river rat” she befriends). When confronted with the fact that she has no father, Anouk responds that she does have a father, she just doesn’t know who he is. Her promiscuity is evidenced in a comment made by her daughter, Anouk. Vianne herself has no inhibitions about sex. Another sex scene features breast nudity, but shadows obscure most of the detail. Nudity and sexual content: One of Vianne’s chocolates acts like a double dose of Viagra, prompting one of the town’s married couples to revive a flagging sex life (the act is implied with a closing shutter and brief sound effects). Sacraments are trivialized (communion is juxtaposed with eating a cookie) and moral fortitude is ridiculed. Other scenes reveal a harsh bias against things of the Church. He’s appalled at the very idea of eating chocolate during Lent-the precise time Vianne sets up her shop. He’s convinced that Vianne’s chocolates are morsels from hell, and does everything in his power to run Vianne out on a rail. And it’s clear that his motivation has a lot more to do with maintaining his power over the community than it does with any kind of sorrow over sin. Outside the church walls, the mayor preaches penitence and damnation every chance he gets. The mayor even edits sermons before Pere preaches them. He is intimidated and bossed around by the mayor. Spiritual content: Pere Henri shepherds his small Catholic congregation with trepidation. So what kind of chocolate is it? Moviegoers will arrive at vastly different answers. Vianne isn’t bringing the freshness of God’s truth to this town, she’s bringing … chocolate.
Open laughter and frivolity replaces furtive glances and dour expressions (but to what do they owe this new spark of vitality?). The townspeople learn that tradition for tradition’s sake serves no purpose (but to what ideals do they then devote themselves?). That said, many of the film’s other positive messages are left wide open to interpretation. She refuses to allow the town’s climate of fear and isolation to keep her from being friendly and openhearted. Even the mayor benefits from her generosity. Positive elements: Vianne does not discriminate among persons. Indeed, her accuracy is nearly magical, as are her confections. Vianne seems to know exactly what kind of chocolate each person craves. In the end, the town doesn’t stand a chance. The townspeople are caught in the middle, torn between their solemn traditions and a rapidly growing lust for indulgence. It’s the mayor against Vianne’s godless invasion of truffles. And to make matters worse, she’s disrupting his town’s calm sobriety. And Mayor de Reynaud chalks that up against her. “The sly wind blew in from the north,” narrates Vianne’s daughter Anouk, just as she and her mother find themselves in yet another unsuspecting town. As does the wind (in a way that makes one think of Mary Poppins). Of course, chocolate serves as a metaphor here. She’s spent her life drifting from village to village tempting locals with her sumptuous treats. The Cider House Rules reveled in half-truths and moral mindbenders. Lasse Hallström is gaining a reputation as a director fond of creating movies that make audiences think.
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