Blog Entry 7


In Lasse Hallström's 2000 film Chocolat, food represents the pleasures the people of the small town are being denied. For Josephine, it's freedom from her husband and the ability to be her own person. For Luc, it's freedom from his mother and Armande is denied the right to see her grandson. Vianne Rocher is apart of a Shamanic Legacy, which is very present in her character throughout the film. As a Shaman, Vianne's role in the film is to act as a clairvoyant of sorts. When people enter her shop she has them spin a wheel and uses what they see as a basis for what kind of chocolate they need. She refers to the wheel as a game and tells them she can guess their favorite chocolate off their answers, but I think it's more based on their answers, she is able to understand what chocolate will help them on a deeper level within their lives. In Food, Film and Culture, James Keller writes "The Shaman searches for the lost soul to capture and return." (Keller) This quote sums up Vianne's role in the film. She helps the people through spiritual healing, whether they realize it or not, and restores the soul of the town one person at a time. 
At this point, I've said this to so many people since the beginning of the semester, but Babette's Feast is my favorite film we've watched in this class so far. That being said, I loved all the similarities between both films. Vianne and Babette are both mysterious characters who arrive in small villages unannounced and both manage to change the lives of those around them through food. They both manage to get the townspeople to open up and take part in pleasures that their religion has been holding them back from.

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