Merci Pour le Chocolat
by Claude Chabrol
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Anna Mouglalis, Brigitte Catillon, Isabelle Huppert, Jacques Dutronc, Rodolphe PaulyDirector: Claude Chabrol
Brand: First RUN Features
Writer: Claude Chabrol
Producer: Marin Karmitz
Producer: Yvonn Crenn
Writer: Caroline Eliacheff
Writer: Charlotte Armstrong
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Subtitled); French (Original Language)
Format: Color, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.66:1
Running Time: 99 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2003-04-22
Audience Rating: Unrated
Studio: First Run Features
Movie Reviews of Merci Pour le Chocolat
Movie Review: A little spilled chocolate goes a long way.
Summary: 5 Stars
So far, I've seen maybe 7 Chabrol films (older and recent ones) and this is easily the most enjoyable one yet. Actually, I wasn't expecting much, after some mixed reviews here, but found the DVD for a decent price used at a local store, and gave it a shot. While I think Chabrol films are all well above average, and in terms of Amazon ratings, you can always bank on a 4 star rating, but this one had a little more. I really enjoyed watching these characters, and this little plot they've become nestled into is very intriguing. I think it helps that all the actors, especially Huppert, play their parts to a tee.
Stunningly beautiful, but unknown to the US actress, Anna Mouglalis, serves as the centerpiece of the film, which revolves around the question of whether or not she was switched at birth with the Polonski's baby boy, who was born on the same day. Pianist Andre Polonski is initially told by nurses that he has a girl, only to find out they made a mistake and he has a son. Mouglalis's character, Jeanne, who also becomes a pianist, goes to meet the father that may have been hers, and sets off a jealousy issue with Andre's new wife, Mika, played by Huppert. This triggers emotions from the past, and poses a question about the death of Andre's first wife. It also sets up one of the best scenes in the film: a moving recollection by Andre's son, Guillame, about the night his mother died.
Upon Jeanne's first encounter with Mika, some suspense immediately builds, in a very stylish scene where Jeanne is looking at a picture of Andre's first wife, a near reflection of herself as she resembles her, and sees Mika purposely spill a thermos of chocolate on the floor. This gets Jeanne to purposely dip her sleeve into it and later have her forensic lab boyfriend analyze it and find that it contains a tranquilizer.
The direction of the film, building suspense, dry wit, and superb acting performances, all make for an extremely satisfying French film. It is much more lighter than other Chabrol films, and more dialogue driven, without much culmination in the suspense. The violence found in his other films is nowhere to be found. It's more on the black comedy side, then a true suspense thriller, and nothing points to this more than the subtle humor found in the ending. From the low key remarks by Andre (remember that he's just had some sleeping medicine as well), to what happens to Jeanne and Andre's son, to the revealing scene where Huppert gets up from the couch, only to find she was just resting her head in the center of a black afghan, knitted in the form of spider web.
I don't think the film is to be taken as seriously as other Chabrol thrillers, and thus, the somewhat abrupt ending shouldn't be frowned upon for coming up short. I thought it was satisfying enough, and ends the film quite nicely. Let's face it, French films don't EVER end like Amercian films do. I think it's a unique and tidy end to one delicious film! My only gripe was not how it ended, rather when it ended. I would have loved to see more interaction between the characters before it reached it's conclusion. I'll just have to watch it again!
Summary of Merci Pour le Chocolat
Chabrol, the most Hitchcockian of the New Wave directors, has fashioned a delectable psychological thriller that rivals his classics La Ceremonie, Madame Bovary, The Story of Women, and Les Biches. MERCI POUR LE CHOCOLAT is vintage Charbrol, with intricate plots that wend their way in a playful yet suspenseful manner through the elegant homes of several well-heeled French-Swiss in Lausanne, Switzerland. Starring renowned actress Isabelle Huppert (The Piano Teacher; 8 Women; School of Flesh), and co-starring French singing legend Jacques Dutronc (Vincent).Isabelle Huppert stars as Mika, the oh-so-perfect head of a company than manufactures Swiss chocolate; Jacques Dutronc is Andre, her suave, concert pianist husband whose previous wife died years ago in a mysterious car accident. How is it that Andre's teenage son has no musical talent, while the stunning Jeanne, who shares his birthday, is already a world-class pianist? And why does Huppert insist that everyone sip the hot chocolate she prepares so faithfully each evening? Chabrol has fashioned a delectable mystery, dipped in darkest Swiss chocolate.
With quiet dialogue, an understated mis-en-scene, and extraordinary acting, Chabrol has once again given us an enjoyable treat of a mystery, one that gleefully references Alfred Hitchcock, Fritz Lang... and Claude Chabrol.
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