Vianne's Many Roles Within "Chocolat"

It's without a doubt that Vianne Rocher is "the falcon" of Chocolat. She enters our story as a literal force of nature to be reckoned with. Just like her chocolates, Vianne is a mixture of many things; two of those things being of both French & Mayan descent. Some other important aspects of Vianne's character is that we see her cook and heal throughout the film. Because of Vianne and her cooking & healing, we see the French town of Lansquenet-sous-Tannes transform from drab and subdued to vibrant and full of life.

   The role that I want to focus on is her role as a cook. Without cooking, we wouldn't have a story! Vianne's job as a cook allows for her to heal & help the villagers around her because she heals through cooking. When she first opens her shop, we see the townspeople reluctant to venture into her store. She convinces her first customer, Yvette Marceau, to by a bag of unrefined cocoa nibs from Guatemala that will waken the passion between herself and her husband. We see later on that these chocolates, do in fact, rekindle a fiery passion between The Marceau's.

   The second time we see Vianne's impact on the community is through Josephine Muscat. When the

audience is first introduced to Josephine, we see that she is a quiet, paranoid, kleptomaniac who is trapped in an abusive relationship with her husband. In the first five minutes of the film, we learn that in this town "If you saw something you weren't meant to see, you learned to look the other way". This is very much the case when it came to Josephine's situation. The only person who didn't abide by this rule was Vianne. Although Josephine stole from

her shop, Vianne brings her chocolate, offers her friendship and a safer place to live. Through making chocolate, Vianne and Josephine become good friends and Josephine learns to come out of her self and become more self-confident. By the end of the film, she even finds the courage to gather all of the townspeople and teach them how to make chocolates the same way Vianne taught her. She does this to show Vianne that she's truly made a difference in this town and that they wouldn't be the same without her in it.

   Last but not least, I feel that Vianne's most powerful healing through cooking is the impact she has on the life of the sharp-tongued, Armande Voisin. She is the first person in Lansquenet-sous-Tannes to give Vianne and Anouk a chance. When Vianne gets her to try Hot Chocolate with a pinch of chili powder, we see Armande's harsh exterior melt away. Because of Vianne and her cooking, Armande can have a beautiful relationship with her grandson, Luc, gain the respect of her daughter, and ends up bringing the townspeople and The Romani together through a love of food, fun, and music.

   In the end, it is because of  Vianne and her ability to love and heal through cooking that the town is able to feel whole and jubilant as, we assume, it was meant to be. All because of Vianne, Anouk, and their life-changing chocolates.