 | Acceptance, Community, Mercy/Grace
- Pere Henri's (the young priest) Easter Sermon: ?I
want to talk about Christ?s humanity, I mean how he lived his life
on earth: his kindness, his tolerance. We must measure our goodness,
not by what we don?t do, what we deny ourselves, what we resist,
or who we exclude. Instead, we should measure ourselves by what we
embrace, what we create, and who we include.? (Carla Thompson
Powell, Livonia, MI)
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| Clean/Unclean, Righteousness
- The small French town has been kept
"clean" by the Comte de Reynaud and his family ever since
the first Comte ran off the Huguenots. He controls everything, even
writing the young priest's sermons. He is meticulous, especially in
observing Lent. But Vianne and her daughter comes to town and opens
(during Lent!) a Chocolate shop, which magically feeds the needs of
those who eat it. The Comte knows she must be stopped. Before long,
some "River Rats" (including Roux, who romances Vianne)
also come along. There is a battle between these "clean"
forces and the "unclean." Although before long it becomes
obvious that those who are "unclean" are living out a life
a goodness. (Darrel Manson, Artesia, CA)
- The movie, Chocolate, presents a wonderful
opportunity to talk about the nature of evil, the goodness of
creation, and the reality that nothing human is alien to us. Just as
is true of the Biblical stories, something of every character lives
inside each of us. The people whom we like the least can function as
sacraments to invite us to look at those aspects of ourselves which
we dislike or of which we are ashamed, and which we therefore
project onto others in order to avoid meeting them in ourselves -
and therefore cutting ourselves off from the possibility of opening
them to God's love, (which accepts all of us - not just the
"good" parts) and allowing it to heal and transform us so
that we may live life from our true center, which is Love -
and which is the only power more powerful than the power and the
reality of Evil. (Senter Crook)
- Pere Henri's (the young priest) Easter Sermon: ?I
want to talk about Christ?s humanity, I mean how he lived his life
on earth: his kindness, his tolerance. We must measure our goodness,
not by what we don?t do, what we deny ourselves, what we resist,
or who we exclude. Instead, we should measure ourselves by what we
embrace, what we create, and who we include.? (Carla Thompson
Powell, Livonia, MI)
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| Conversion, New Life
- The Count De Reynaud (the mayor of the city and control freak about town), after the Easter Sermon
and the chocolate festival in the town square after church, was
"strangely released". For him, everything was changed. He
no longer saw his job as ridding the town of immorality and any
threat to tranquility and tradition. (Carla Thompson Powell,
Livonia, MI)
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| Female Christ Figure,
Joy, Liberation, Generosity/Hospitality
- A mysterious, appealing woman Vianne appears in a small
French town. She quietly challenges the
religious establishment's hold on the people, by the
generously hospitable way she lives and by her welcome of outcasts.
The Mayor keeps the people in line by the force
of his joyless, controlling personality, and has
brought the church under his influence (he writes the
priest's sermons, exhorting the people to fasting and abstinence).
Vianne opens a chocolate shop, and the people
start secretly visiting during Lent. They are
torn between their religious duties and the vision of joy
represented by Vianne's hospitality and wonderful food. She and the
Mayor come into conflict, as he resents her
power to attract the people and cause them to
break the Lenten fast. Eventually the Mayor's midnight attack on
her shop backfires on him, as he unwittingly tastes the chocolate
and surrenders to his own need for joy and
comfort. (Marnie Barrell,
Auckland, New Zealand)
- While I am a little troubled by her "pagan" portrayal,
Vianne is clearly a Christ figure. She reaches
out to the outcast (Armande, Josephine, and Roo
the "River Rat."). She can identify the wounds
each person carries and knows how to heal them. She is unafraid to
associate with "sinners," and understands the need for forgiveness
(especially in terms of Josephine) better than anyone else in the
town. She also serves a special meal for Armande
and friends. Finally, her name sounds an awful
lot like "Viens," (the "s" is not pronounced in French),
which means "Come." Think of all the times she invites people to
come in! ("Come to me, all you who are
burdened...") (Lorinda H.M. Hoover)
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| Holy Spirit
- I was immediately struck by the use of the wind in the movie, and
Jesus' comment that the wind/spirit blows where
it will. The wind blows open the church doors.
Perhaps an attempt by the Holy Spirit to open up and renew
the congregation? But the Conte de Reynaud bolts the doors agains
the wind. For all his devotion, he cannot (until
the end) accept the work of the Holy Spirit,
because he craves order and traquility above all-even
above the work of the Spirit. It is the wind who blows Vianne
and Anouk into town, and it is Vianne
who is able to breathe new life into the
community-even into the Conte! (Lorinda H.M. Hoover)
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| Seductive Power of Sin/Evil, Ubiquity of Evil
- The Comte has broken into the Chocolatarie on Holy Saturday to
destroy it. He is in the display window breaking things. He has
been severely fasting all during Lent. A piece of chocolate lands
on his lip. His tongue reaches out and tastes it. He loses
control, stuffing himself with every kind of chocolate until he
passes out, to be found in the morning by the priest headed to
church. (Darrel Manson, Artesia Christian Church, Artesia CA)
- The movie, Chocolate, presents a wonderful opportunity to
talk about the nature of evil, the goodness of creation, and the
reality that nothing human is alien to us. Just as is true of the
Biblical stories, something of every character lives inside each
of us. The people whom we like the least can function as
sacraments to invite us to look at those aspects of ourselves
which we dislike or of which we are ashamed, and which we
therefore project onto others in order to avoid meeting them in
ourselves - and therefore cutting ourselves off from the
possibility of opening them to God's love, (which accepts all of
us - not just the "good" parts) and allowing it to heal
and transform us so that we may live life from our true center,
which is Love - and which is the only power more powerful
than the power and the reality of Evil. (Senter Crook)
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| Tradition, Transformation, Mercy/Grace
- This movie takes place in a small town in France in 1959. The
town has always expressed their community life using the word
?tranquilite? (tranquility). You knew what was expected of
you, you knew what your place was. And if you happened to forget,
someone would remind you. They trusted the wisdom of ages past,
lived with the values of tradition, family, and morality. Into
this town comes Vianne, played by Juliette Binoche. She does not
go to church, has a daughter without a father present, and has the
gall to open a chocolaterie right in the middle of Lent! As she
opens and conducts her business, it becomes clear that she is
anything but traditional. Vianne does nothing by the book. She
does nothing out of obligation, but everything out of love. It is
her encouragement that brings Josephine out of her abusive
marriage. It is her encouragement that brings Armande together
with her grandson. It is her encouragement that brings a widow of
30-some-years out of mourning and into a new relationship. The
town is transformed by her chocolaterie and her grace. (Carla
Thompson Powell, Livonia, MI)
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