UNITED STATES: JULIETTE BINOCHE AND JOHNNY DEPP SPEAK ABOUT THEIR NEW FILM "CHOCOLAT"

Record ID: 390645

  • Title: UNITED STATES: JULIETTE BINOCHE AND JOHNNY DEPP SPEAK ABOUT THEIR NEW FILM "CHOCOLAT"
  • Date: 3rd December 2000
  • Summary: LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (DECEMBER 3, 2000) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) LASSE HALLSTROM SAYING "I started out as a television producer in Sweden doing broad comedy .. so it's kind of going back to my roots a little, partly. It's a story that has a lot of range, it's farcical and comedic and dramatic .. so I like those genre crosses, crossovers."
  • Embargoed: 18th December 2000 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: VARIOUS FILM LOCATIONS/LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, USA
  • Country: USA
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVAA60LGRO1YP4JBG599G74G97HL
  • Story Text: Had too much chocolate for Christmas? Well, now is not the time to lose some of those kilos. Hollywood is serving up a tasty helping of post-Christmas comedy with the new movie "Chocolat", starring Juliette Binoche and Johnny Depp.
    "Chocolat" tells the poignant story of single mother Vianne Rocher (Juliette Binoche), who opens a chocolate store in a French village only to be spurned by the town's residents.
    On a blustery day in the 1950s, Vianne and her young daughter arrive in the little French town of Lansquenet to set up a small chocolaterie. They rent a shop from 70-year-old Armande (Judi Dench), who is something of an outsider in town herself.
    A wanderer, Vianne is descended from a mysterious woman who used exotic spices in her recipes for chocolates to excite the passions in people's lives, and Vianne has become an expert at creating chocolate treats too.
    Does chocolate really have extraordinary powers? Juliette Binoche thinks so: "The Mayan believe that the, you know, the chocolate has some powers .. and it does actually, because it gives you some.. a kick in the ass... and it's a wonderful way to share, also." Director Lasse Hallstrom, nominated for an Oscar last year for "The Cider House Rules,"
    says "This is a story that is basically about the ever-ongoing clash between tradition and change."
    Indeed, Vianne gets into trouble when she refuses to abide by village conventions and Catholic church rules concerning Lent. Local aristocrat Comte de Reynaud (Alfred Molina) is the first to criticize the newcomer, warning villagers to stay away from her shop. And, when a romance develops between Vianne and an Irish gypsy (Johnny Depp), Comte de Reynaud declares war.
    For Molina, getting the chance to work with Hallstrom and his stellar cast was an opportunity the actor couldn't pass up.
    "We had a wonderful time.. have to say, and you know very often having a wonderful time isn't necessarily the most accurate barometer of whether it's going to be a good film or not, but in this case, I think it worked out," says Molina.
    Johnny Depp couldn't agree more. In fact, working with Juliette Binoche was truly a joy for the Hollywood star: "She's incredibly dedicated, incredibly hard-working, um ..
    beautiful in the sense that there's nothing mechanical about it. It's all proper behavior, she's living the moment. And, she's a pleasure to watch, and a pleasure to get into the ring with."
    Swedish director Lasse Hallstrom won critical acclaim for his last project, the more issue-driven "The Cider House Rules." So, was making the transition to comedy a tough one? "I started out as a television producer in Sweden doing broad comedy .. so it's kind of going back to my roots a little."
    Hallstrom says.
    "It's a story that has a lot of range, it's farcical and comedic and dramatic .. so I like those genre crosses, crossovers."
    "Chocolat" is currently on release across the U.S.
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