We soon are shown the characteristics of the mayor of the village Comte de Reynaud.
This is told through the camera work as it is situated high above as if to say his ancestors are looking over his every move. He believes in self control and opposes Vianne as she is compromising with his authority and the morals that the towns people should live by.
He is faced with another demon, that of his wife. It is shown that all that is left of the marriage to his wife is a black and white photo of the couple on his desk. When asked about her absence from the village he tries to hide the truth, only later on in the film does he gain independence when he submits to the chocolate and accepts that the old ways of life are not always the best.
With this we meet Josephine, in church, stealing a mirror out of a person’s purse. She is perceived by many to be crazy. She is illustrated as being a messy and over protected woman in her thirties. She steals to get away from the abuse she suffers at the hands of her husband. A source of independence and freedom, something he can not control. During the movie she stumbles in to Vianne`s shop, beaten but boundless. There is a little light source apparent outside but in the shop it is only dimly lit and there is also an eerie silence inside. We see scenes of a smiling Josephine and her costume changes during this to give her a more brighter and neat look. It’s only after a run in with serge that she gains a final stage of freedom.
After Serge’s banishment, Josephine takes over the sleazy café and creates a family orientated atmosphere, where she appears to be herself after facing constraints for so many years. Judi Dench’s character of Amande can be first thought of as a cranky, old scrooge, even though her house is to some extent neat her life portrays a depressing look. It is only after drinking a hot chocolate her eccentric disposition changes.
When Luc and Amande are reunited we see that their similarities between them are endless. Through the movie Amande regains her love of life as she dances and smiled all through out her party. Her party creates her favorite scenarios being her friends, Luc, chocolate and final acceptance.
Luc’s first appearance is shown in the church as he draws an over emphasized body of a person in the hymn book, while everyone around him is singing. His grandmother hates the way his mother fusses over him.
In Luc's room he yearns to be outside with the other children. In this scene the camera is positioned high where his room is, to say that the two worlds are so far apart and secluded. In his room pictures of imaginary worlds are hung, each one more twisted then the last. Unfortunately his mother fusses all over him as shown when Luc develops a little nose bleed. She gushes over him, trying to clean him up. After doing the portrait of his grandmother Luc starts to laugh and acts like a normal boy. It’s only after Luc runs away to be at his grandmother’s birthday party his mother releases how over protective she has been. In the scenes towards the end of the movie we see Luc at the Easter Sunday celebrations laughing, running around and being a kid.
The movie brings into view many different lives and also their stories. As extreme as they might appear, it is not that different and secluded from the society we live in now. It’s only because the village is so small and secluded that everyone’s faults seen to become so clear. This movie shows the determination of people trying to become independent as most are sick of the ways of the old and are looking for a source of output but unfortunately they are told repeatedly what they are doing is wrong in God’s eyes.
In the film we are shown the way of a quiet village in the French countryside where they live by the motto “tranqulite” and have done for many years. It is only after the arrival of a traveller that the town is able to live the way the people crave it to be.
