A contemporary cinema experience would be incomplete without a visit to the snack bar. And, in many cases, chocolate is available in some form or another, from Raisinettes and Milk Duds to the legendary Sno-Caps. Although many people prefer to bring their own chocolate these days, there are occasions when you want to indulge in something sweet on the big screen as well. Here is where my favorite genre comes in: chocolate-themed films.
Whether Valentine’s Day is approaching, or you just want to add a little sweetness to your weekly date night; some of these are romances and would be a fantastic choice. Nonetheless, a few of these capture images of societal institutions and the human mind that may be utilized as references in an academic work. Yet they all have one thing in common: they’re the finest chocolate flicks out there.
Therefore, without further ado, here is our entire list of chocolate movies, rated from least to most enjoyable (according to critics). A lower score does not inevitably imply that the film is awful or that it is not worth viewing. Let you be the judge of it.
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The Top Chocolate Movies, Ranked
#9, Consuming Passions – UK
Based on Michael Palin and Terry Jones’ 1973 BBC television drama of the same name. Consuming Passions is a dark comedy about a luxury chocolate line that sold successfully owing to heightened taste, which was contributed by a bunch of employees who fell and died in a vat of chocolate. The proprietors attempt and fail to duplicate the flavor with numerous components before resorting to acquiring dead corpses for use in their chocolate.
The humour is conveyed in traditional British style, both serious and sardonic. Everything goes swiftly yet leaves you smiling, so if you like Monty Python, this movie could be for you. IMDB awarded it a score of 5.5 out of 553 reviewers who evaluated it, however the bulk of those who submitted a review gave it a higher grade. Due to some fairly mature themes, the film is not recommended for a very young audience.
#8, Peace by Chocolate – Canada
This film is based on the actual tale of the Hadhad family, a refugee family that fled Syria due to the civil conflict. Issam Hadhad (Hatem Ali), the house’s father, is a great chocolatier. They aim to open the Peace by Chocolate Chocolate Store with the aid of the locals.
The plot chronicles the family’s challenges with assimilating into a new environment, as well as the obstacles of prejudice. That seems especially topical to me since thousands of Afghan migrants have settled in the Washington, DC region since the Taliban seized power in 2021. If you like success tales with a chocolate drizzle, this could just be the thing for you. It debuted in 2021 and now has a 6.1 rating on IMDB.
#7, Lessons in Chocolate – Italy
In this film, Mattia Cavedoni (Luca Argentero), an Italian businessman, is compelled to take the persona of his wounded migrant worker, Kamal Hawasgwaibh (Hassani Shapi), in order to win first place in a chocolate contest. The winner will get a loan that Kamal must accept in return for not disclosing Mattias’s unethical business methods to the local authorities.
Mattia then meets Cecilia Ferri (Violante Placido), a gorgeous chocolate pastry teacher who teaches him the ropes and eventually develops feelings for him. Cecilia, on the other hand, is tormented by a history in which men constantly lied to her. Hence, the humor follows Mattias’ efforts to avoid being revealed while maintaining appearances, as well as his character’s development beyond the content. This film was released in 2007 and has an IMBD score of 6.1.
#6, Dripping in Chocolate – Australia
Dripping in Chocolate, rated 6.2 on IMDB, is a 2012 murder mystery with one clue: a chocolate foil wrapper. Juliana Lovece (Louise Lombard) is the proprietor of a chocolate business in this film. A strangled victim is discovered in a tight corridor near her business, with chocolate wrappers on their person.
Bennett OMara (David Wenham), a local detective, is on the case. Nevertheless, other victims with the same traces from Juliana’s business are discovered, and the search for the murderer continues, but Juliana remains the leading suspect.
#5, Merci Pour le Chocolat – France
Andr Polonski (Jacques Dutronc), a renowned musician, marries Mika (Isabelle Huppert), the owner of a Swiss chocolate firm, in the plot. He abandons her for another lady, who dies in a car accident, and he and Mika finally remarry. Mika feels ignored, despite the fact that they have remarried. Nonetheless, she strives to be a nice wife by making him a cup of chocolate every night.
As Jeanne Pollet (Anna Mouglalis) enters their life, things get more complex. She is a gifted pianist who is searching for the truth about her birth and the chance that she is Andr’s daughter. This psychological thriller has a 6.6 on IMDB and is based on Charlotte Armstrong’s book The Chocolate Cobweb. There are many unanswered issues in this film, but one thing is certain: there is something in the hot chocolate.
#3, The Chocolate War – US
Based on Robert Cormier’s 1974 young adult book of the same name. Some consider it to be one of the finest young adult books of all time, and it is on the American Library Association’s list of the Top 100 Banned Books. This 1988 film, which has a 6.6 on IMDB, is set at a fictitious Catholic high school named Trinity High. Jerry Renault (Ilan Mitchell-Smith), our protagonist, is dealing with sadness as a result of his mother’s death and issues with his father.
Trinity has an annual fundraising event in which students sell chocolates. Vice-Principal Brother Leon (John Glover) has lately been appointed interim headmaster and has pledged to double last year’s sales. Archie Costello (Wallace Langham), the head of The Vigils, the school’s secret organization, lends him his support. Archie, unbeknownst to Brother Leon, intends to trick him by convincing Jerry to refuse to sell any chocolates for 10 days.
But, after reading a quotation from T.S. Eliot’s The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock in his locker that reads: Do I dare upset the universe?, Jerry is encouraged not to sell even after the 10-day period has expired. Brother Leon and Archie see Jerry’s disobedience as a challenge to their power and begin to target and organize the whole student population to harass Jerry.
The selling of chocolate implies conformity, and the film does an excellent job of illustrating authority and power structures in society, as well as the perils of mob mentality, and I strongly suggest it.
#3, Romantics Anonymous – France
At a support group, two strangers with anxiety disorders meet. Jean-Ren Van Den Hugde (Benot Poelvoorde) is the proprietor of the Chocolate Mill, a failing chocolate company, and Anglique Delange (Isabelle Carr), a young lady with official training as a chocolate maker.
Anglique even produces her own chocolates, however she has been hiding them for the previous seven years due to her social anxiety issue. Yet she soon ends herself working at the Chocolate Mill, where she rapidly sees that the firm isn’t doing so well. So she utilizes her talents behind closed doors to attempt to salvage the company from itself.
She soon falls in love with Jean-Ren, but they both struggle to express their emotions because of their shared concerns. What follows is a romantic comedy about how they strive to rescue the Chocolate Mill from bankruptcy and overcome the difficulties in their relationship with the aid of their workers and support group. This film received a 6.8 on IMDB, however it deserves a higher rating.
#2, Chocolat – US
This film, which was released in 2000, is based on Joanne Harris’s 1999 book of the same name. Vianne Rocher (Juliette Binoche) moves into and opens a chocolate shop in the imaginary community of Lansquenet-sous-Tannes with her six-year-old daughter, Anouk (Victoire Thivisol). Vianne is an atheist and a single mother in a community full of religious zealots, so there are bound to be disputes. Worse, the mayor (Alfred Molina) is mobilizing the villagers against her, branding her a dangerous influence.
Vianne is able to persuade a few townspeople to become her friends and supporters by using her charms and chocolate. She also encounters Roux (Johnny Depp), whose sort is likewise not wanted.
This film received positive critical response, with an IMDB score of 7.3, and uses chocolate to symbolize gluttony. The acting is excellent, and the relationship develops well. Overall, it was a pleasure to see. If you have a significant other, I suggest watching it with them, and certainly bring bonbons.
#1, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory – US
This film has to be one of the most iconic for me and anybody born after 1960. Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory has an IMDB rating of 7.8 and is based on Roald Dahl’s 1964 children’s story, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. I wouldn’t say it’s only about chocolate; there’s a lot of confectionery in the film, and the factory seems to make other-worldly confections. My favorite is the sweet blossom cup that Willy Wonka chewed through.
We are introduced to Charlie Bucket (Peter Ostrum) from the beginning, who works as a paperboy and is presented as poorer than the other youngsters. We get a peek of his family’s circumstances, which is a struggling low-income household with four bedridden elderly parents to care for.
Ultimately, Johnny strikes gold and becomes one of the few to get a golden ticket, granting him entrance to the coveted tour of Wonka’s chocolate factory. The factory is a beautiful area that depicts more imaginative candy-making operations.
More importantly, we get to watch how each adult and kid pair acts when confronted with the marvels of the factory. Individuals who succumb to their selfish desires are carried away, accompanied by a musical composition that describes their demise. It’s all quite amusing.
After that, a somewhat contemporary adaptation of the film, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, was released in 2005 and received a 6.7 on IMDB. There is also a prequel in the works, dubbed simply Wonka, that attempts to depict Willy Wonka’s childhood prior to his life as the proprietor of the Wonka factory. The biopic, featuring Timothe Chalamet as the quirky chocolatier himself, is set to be released in December 2023.
Discovering More Chocolate-Related Films
I’m sure there are more chocolate movies that I haven’t mentioned. After all, chocolate has expanded rapidly and effectively around the globe. Nevertheless, I had to filter out movies that merely had chocolate in the title, so if you want me to add another chocolate movie to this list, please keep that in mind.
There are other films, such as E.T. and Matilda, that use chocolate as a story device. Yet, in terms of the influence they have on the films as a whole, these flicks fall a bit short.
What I love about contemporary life is the availability of streaming services with on-demand film collections; I’m looking at you, Netflix, Hulu, Paramount Plus, Disney+, and HBO Max.
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