A trifle with substance. Many movies have been made about the redemptive power
of food, but only in this latest fable from director Lasse Halström is
culinary redemption ascribed to the gods. Or so suggests the literal
translation of
Theobroma cacao ("divine food"), the scientific name for
the tree that bears the cocoa bean, the source of chocolate. It's 1959, and
the sleepy French village of Lansquenet-sous-Tannes is awakened — in some
cases, aroused — by the arrival of Vianne Rocher (Juliette Binoche) and
her chocolate confections. Vianne's a ramblin' gal of a particularly prim and
proper sort; with 6-year-old daughter Anouk (Victo...
Released:
2000
Rated:
PG-13
Length:
121 mins