Life Sucks - Have Some Chocolat

Whatever you do, don’t talk to me about the economy right now. Or politics. Or even whatever insane thing is going around on social media. As my mother always tells me, I can’t do anything about it so there’s no point worrying… But in order not to worry, I have to know and think about it as little as possible.

One little problem with that, though: I like movies, and every movie coming out these days seems to be either suuuuper political or suuuuper bland, neither of which is really going to give me the peace and entertainment I'm looking for. So instead, I decided to look for something older to watch, something feel-good, maybe even something Easter-themed for the sake of the season…which is how I came across Chocolat.

I’d seen the poster for Chocolat countless times before, but I was surprised to learn that it wasn't just a sexy Johnny Depp movie, but somehow Easter-related. It was a confusing enough idea that I knew I had to watch it despite my feelings of general revulsion towards Depp—and I’m so glad I did.

I don’t want to mislead you: Chocolat is not as apolitical as I would have liked. If anything, it’s extremely political—the steamy Depp romance is just an over-advertised subplot that I imagine worked quite well back in 2000. The real story centers on Vianne (Juliette Binoche), a boho girlboss single mom (my favourite character archetype ever since Mamma Mia), who arrives in a borderline christofascist French town just before Lent to…open a chocolate store. Not necessarily the most culturally sensitive choice, but Vianne doesn’t care, and soon she’s fighting with the mayor for the town’s very soul.

The mayor is the clear villain in the story. He wants to control the town’s residents and, arguably as a result of how much he wants to control them, he only makes their lives worse. Because of him, a woman has no choice but to stay with her abusive husband, and that same husband tries to murder a group of Romani people just to keep them from “corrupting” the town. Hell, the mayor even makes his own life worse by refusing to admit his wife left him, instead trying to hide his “shame.” He’s so ruled by his strict religious principles that he can’t imagine living any other way—“purity” is the only thing that matters, even if it’s only achieved through punishment and joylessness.

It’s not hard to see the similarities between Chocolat’s world and our current political situation. It's depressing to realize that conservatism and its terrifying desire for conformity has been a problem for at least my entire life. But the thing is, despite how reminiscent the film was of our present day culture, it didn’t leave me feeling hopeless, quite the opposite. It reminded me that no matter how hopeless I am, no matter how much my mom tells me not to worry about things I can't change, I still have power.

Because in the end, Vianne wins. And not through some grand gesture of resistance, but through chocolate.

See, the thing is, we’re all helpless on the big scale. I can’t do anything about the stock market, I can’t unelect the people in charge (even though I really want to) and I can't really imagine myself joining a rebel uprising either. But I can have a meal with a neighbor. I can smile at a stranger. I can share the tiny joys of life. They might seem like small gestures, but a small gesture is all it takes to remind us how good life can be, how easily we can make the world better by being kind to those around us.

At the end of the day, there’s nothing more powerful than finding solidarity with your community, and that's what Chocolat is all about. Alone, we can’t do much, but as a group, we can stop a lot of evil. Chocolat reminds me of bringing food to a new mom, volunteering at a local library, letting a friend crash on the couch for a couple of weeks… Basically, it reminds me of all the little ways we can directly and visibly support each other. And honestly? I needed that reminder, if only to finally overcome my sense of hopelessness.

Life sucks right now. Or, well, maybe I shouldn’t assume that about you. I hope your life is great! But if you, like me, are starting to get suffocated by the existential dread of it all, Easter is as good a chance as any to be “reborn.” Find a moment to sit down and enjoy some chocolate with your Chocolat. With any luck, you’ll find the same hope and inspiration as I did watching it. Even if you don't, just try to be a little bit kinder today - if only because it would make this stranger happier if you did.