The village is pretty much as it’s seen on screen, although the glum statue of the mayor’s forebear was added for the production.īut if you’re in the UK, you can still enjoy some of the film’s Gallic charm. The enticingly quaint riverside village of village of ‘Lansquenet’ is Flavigny-sur-Ozerain, about 30 miles northwest of Dijon in Burgundy, France. The film sidesteps any notions of anti-clericalism by turning her nemesis from the novel’s priest into the puritanical Mayor Reynaud ( Alfred Molina). She’s brought into conflict with local tradition when she begins to awaken villagers’ passions by flagrantly opening a chocolaterie during the fast of Lent. Lasse Hallström’s adaptation of the Joanne Harris novel has the mysterious red-cloaked Vianne Rocher ( Juliette Binoche) and her daughter Anouk ( Victoire Thivisol) blowing into town with the north wind.
