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Ubidia
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Berklee Valencia
Music Analysis of the Movie “Chocolat” (2000)
Director: Lasee Hallstrom
Composer: Rachel Portman
Bernarda Ubidia
Scoring for Film, Television and VideoGames
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The movie Chocolat directed by Lasse Hallström begins on a particularly windy
day, when a red-hooded woman and her little daughter arrived to a small town in France
to open a “Chocolaterie”, a chocolate store. Here they found discomfort and disapproval
from some people in the village, influenced by the conservative mayor of the town. But
at the end, the sweetness of her chocolate and her vibrant personality end up conquering
the hearts of the community and giving a new light to the village. “Once upon a time,
there was a quiet little village in the French countryside, whose people believed in
tranquilité” (Hallström, Chocolat) are the very first words little Anouk narrates at the
beginning of this beautiful story; but, even before that, this story begins with music. The
very first notes set a tone to what you are about to watch, and create excitement towards
the rest of the film.
Music and film have a complementary relationship that goes back to between
mid-1890s and early 1900s, when music hall orchestras accompanied films seen as part
of variety shows. Then on 1905 films moved on to theatres of their own, marking the
beginning of music in film (Reay, 6) and ever since they have worked together creating
an audiovisual experience we continue to enjoy. Music is used in many ways in film, to
accentuate emotions, to enhance the dramatic narrative, or even as a main character. As
George Burt presents it “Music has the power to open the frame of reference to a story
and to reveal its inner life in a way that could not have been as fully articulated in any
other way.” (4) In this particular movie music plays a giant role on how we perceive the
story. Written by academy award winner, composer Rachel Portman, born in Sussex,
England and known for her work in film scores such as Emma and The Cider House
Rules, the music of the movie Chocolat has an identity of its own without losing the
witty, romantic and thematically sharp way of writing that characterizes this brilliant
composer. Her sound tells a story, it’s magical, almost childish, and characterized
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mainly by the beautiful play between woodwinds and strings. Nominated to an academy
award, the tone of this movie is set by its music, the use of a particular choice of
instrumentation takes the audience to an almost fairy tale like situation, and the
relationship between music and characters gives sense to the whole story.
The opening credits of the film, were music starts, make a substantial comment
on the tone this movie is going to have (Burt, 4). In the case of this movie, it can be
described as if it were a chocolate. The recipe has a particular touch of French music,
with a splash of fantasy, written in a story-telling way, while showing the main theme
of the movie which will be recurrent throughout the whole film, and tempting the
audience, like chocolate. The music of this film is theme-based, meaning that each cue
resembles a theme related to one of the characters or actions that are going on. Each
character´s theme can be closely related to the different archetypes presented by Carl
Jung. The first one, my personal favorite, is Vianne, a mixture between the mother and
the witch, being a nurturing and protecting character as well as the curious, seductive,
emotional woman (Jung, 81-114) , which is represented by a beautiful theme that goes
with her personality.
Cond Reynaud’s theme, characterized by its formality and his anguish, relates to
the archetype of the father a stern, powerful, authoritative figure “from whom the
decisive convictions, prohibitions, and wise counsel emanate” (Jung, 214) The wind,
and the chocolate very tempting and mysterious, always expectant, it´s like the wise old
man an archetype of the spirit “who symbolizes the pre-existent meaning hidden in the
chaos of life” (Jung, 35). And finally Roux, representing the trickster a cosmic being of
divine-animal nature on one hand superior to man due to his knowledge and qualities,
and on the other hand inferior because of his impulses and unconsciousness, (Jung,
264), is represented by beautiful adaptations of catchy well known songs.
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Each of these themes play a role in the movie almost as important as every
character they represent, and every variation of a theme is created to respond the same
way the characters are responding. This connection between characters and themes
involves the audience deeper inside the movie creating a better and more emotional
connection to the film, and creating a personal relationship from the person to the film
based on their “Referral System” (Moreno, 217-220).
1. Music Overall
From the beginning to the end, it’s important to take into account how music
develops on a large scale, its chronology, and its relationship with what happens in the
movie. Chocolat is a comedic fable about how a person, a relationship or a whole
village can change only by trying the small pleasures of life. It’s a story about
temptation, repression and the powers of the senses; a charming tale about the
unleashing of a war that takes place in a small population because of the growing
passion and fear developed in the habitants due to the opening of a chocolate store. All
these, accompanied by music. It starts with a piano setting a color, then a beautiful
melody, and the cue ends with the sounds of the loud and dissonant church bells stating
the power and importance of the church in the movie. Music develops along with the
story line and its emotional rollercoaster begin with expectation, followed by anger,
resentment, fun, temptation, memories, romance, a critical and dark climax to end with
happy music playing in the final scene, in a way of a “happily ever after”.
Music on the movie Chocolat has a very specific tone, the movie is set in a little
village in France, and therefore it has a French influenced sound. Popular French music
shares some characteristics with the film score form Chocolat; it has some similarity
with the French Musette, a type of music distinguished by being playful, fast and
sensual, all characteristics found in Chocolat´s film score that help the tone of the movie
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to remain as a romantic comedy, In some cues, even the accordion, that is very typical
of the Musette, is used. The melodies display a specific manner of playing that is very
similar to the Musette in its tempo and development, this type of music has become
very characteristic of France worldwide. Apart from that, some cues feature the high
energy of the Can Can and the sexiness of Cabaret music is present in most of the
themes and their variations. It also relates to the French Chanson on the homophony
that characterizes it. Music in this movie shows many contrasts but remains inside the
same line that connects the movie plot, and the characters. It also sets an almost magical
tone by keeping similar instrumentation between cues and the peculiar use of the guitar.
These characteristics allow the music to have even more leadership in the movie being
as important as the story line since it is as if the music was telling the story through its
melody lines.
The spotting of this movie is very well done. Not every scene has music, and some
cues are so short some might wonder why they are even there, but the constant reminder
of the musical tone of the movie helps the audience to involve deeper in the movie and
share the character´s feelings and sensations. There is one cue that particularly calls my
attention; near the end of the movie, the ashes of Vianne´s mom fall down the stairs and
break into pieces, I expected music to begin right away but that cue takes a while to
begin. I don’t know if this had a particular intention but I found that it creates an impact
on the viewer, a certain anguish and tension that gives more impact to that scene. Like
this example, many cues are spotted exactly where they are needed. It’s very important
not to underestimate where music stars in a scene and how long it plays, for it can make
a big difference in the perception of the audience and it can manipulate, how the
audience responds to the plot. The movie Chocolat has a beautiful balance between
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forcing emotions in the viewer without being obvious and always keeping the elegance
and the good taste this movie´s music has.
The relationship between the film score and the source music in this movie is
magnificent. “Source music is introduces into a scene either visually or by
reference…these sounds are visually initiated.”(Burt, 70) Source music is presented
throughout the movie, except for Roux´s themes, consisting of French jazz playing on
radios in the cafeteria, beauty salon, etc. As mentioned before, the score of the movie
has a French vibe, but it’s completely different from the French source music coming
from the radios, it has its own identity, different instrumentation and the sound itself it’s
different. Source music in this movie made me think about how post production
decisions affect the movie and the craft of film making. Source music comes mostly
from a radio, that’s why it has a very old radio sound in comparison to the clarity sound
of the score. Source music helps the viewer identify approximately the time where the
history is supposed to be happening. The importance of the sound itself affects the
perception of the movie as much as the music itself. The art of filmmaking is full of
decisions that might seem small but are crucial for the movie and this affects the
perception of the movie as a whole.
2. Theme based Score
As said before, I summarized the score of the movie in 4 main themes, Vianne,
the Cond, Chocolat/Wind and Roux, which appear all over the movie with different
theme variations. Apart from these there are also cues throughout the movie that don’t
relate to any character and exist mainly to support the emotions in the scene, without
losing the tone of the movie.
Vianne, the main character of the movie, is a beautiful woman, calm, determined
and a loving mother, but also wild, free and seductive, she represents a new role for
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woman. As Vianne, her theme shares the same characteristics. This cue, written in D
minor, doesn’t have a completely minor sound because of the cheerful rhythm chosen
for the harmony. Its melodic motion progresses little by little tempting the audience and
always leaving you asking for more. It starts with the harmony, playing the rhythm and
a couple bars later, the melody comes in, it´s a line that repeats over and over again but
each time taking it a step further, playing with the instrumentation, assigning different
instruments on each appearance of the melody, it’s a theme you could listen for hours. It
inspires love, and courage. The basic movement of the melody develops in step tones
and mostly, except for passing tones, stays inside the harmony while the harmony
maintains a constant rhythm almost throughout the whole cue.
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Another important cue, nemesis of Vianne´s music, is the one for Cond
Reynauld. This character is the major of the village, in charge of keeping the
“tranquilite”, tranquility. The Cond is a very powerful and influential man who doesn’t
like change. He is a very formal man, conservative and fond of tradition, but on top of
everything, against Vianne, and all she represents. The Cond´s theme goes perfectly
with his personality, characterized by the formal bassoon and the use of French horn,
the theme is dark and heavy. There are many different ways this theme develops
throughout the movie but its intensity grows mainly buy the growth of the strings and
the tempo in which it´s played. The variations of this theme can be found by it or
disguised inside other cues but most of the times played in E minor.
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I call this next cue the “Chocolate/wind” cue; because it doesn’t represent a
character but a mood and a memory on Vianne´s life. The chocolate is very important
for her, she is descendant from a French father who married a Mexican woman from the
Maya tribe, and therefore, her recipes and traditions are 2000 years old. The Mayan
tribe would move from one place to another with the call of the wind, and so did Vianne
with her daughter. This cue is exotic, tempting like the chocolate, it’s used for the
moments when people would sin and try Vianne´s chocolate, when the chocolate would
call people to forget the rules. This theme is also used to bring back memories, to recall
from the past the story of grand mere and grandpere (grandparents) or when the wind
would remind the main character that it’s time to move. Again its tonality is D minor
since it’s a cue that relates to Vianne, but this time it keeps a minor tone, neither sad,
nor melancholic, but rather disturbing. The Mayan music is known for the use of the
pentatonic scale, not meaning the whole cue is only using pentatonic scale, but that it
resembles the particular sound this scale has. The main characteristic is the flute, when
this cue is played, the flute has a very particular airy sound, which relates to the ancient
flutes from Latin America such as Ocarinas and Lacadón, at time the flute would have
the melody, other times the violins take it but mostly it´s shared between woodwinds.
(Yurchenco, 15). The movement of the strings is presented in this cue as in all others
since it’s a characteristic of this score
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One of the things that attract me about this score was the selection of music for
the character “Roux”. Played by Johnny Depp, Roux is a river rat, a pirate that floats his
way into the city through the river with his group. Roux and Vianne hold a short
romantic relationship in the movie, but his role is mainly to create controversy and more
chaos in the village, he is not welcome and the town begins a “boycott immorality”
meaning he or his friends can’t work, sell, buy or walk around the village without being
mistreated. Vianne, a fighter for other people´s rights, is against this and becomes
friendly with the “pirates”. Roux music is a gypsy jazz. Some of the most well known
gypsy jazz standards of all times are played in this movie, including “Minor Swing” by
Django Reinhardt or “Caravan” by Duke Ellington, produced and arranged by Bob Last
and Malcolm Ross, and recorded by Johnny Depp himself and Malcolm Ross. Although
many changes were made, it still conserves the heavy use of ornaments in the phrasing,
and thick chord voicing’s with emphasis on bass notes that characterize this type of
music leaving aside the percussion. The most interesting thing about Roux’s theme was
the passing from source music to score. The character plays the guitar in the movie and
his music begins as source music that he is playing, until it eventually becomes part of
the score when it continues sounding after he stopped playing and the next scene is
happening. At the end we hear this cue again right before the end credits in the town
party scene where the conflicts are solved and everyone is happy.
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Score
MINOR SWING
CHOCOLAT VERSION
Moderato {q = 100}
& 44
. œ œ œ œ œœ œœ
œ œ œ
œ. œ œ œ œ œ
? 44 œ œ
œ œ œ
œ
Acoustic Guitar
Bass Guitar
3
Ac.Gtr.
Bass
5
Ac.Gtr.
?
Bass
7
Ac.Gtr.
Bass
œ
œ
œ
œ
! . # œœœ œœœ ... œœœ œœœ ... n # œœœ œœœ
# œ œ. œ œ. n œ œ
œ œ œ
œ œ
œ
œ
!. œ #œ œ œ. œ. œ. œ. œ
œ œ. œ œ. œ œ
œ
œ
œ
œ
œ
& #œ œ œ. œ œ.
œ œ œ. œ œ.
?
. œ œ œ œ œœ œœ
œ œ œ
œ. œ œ œ œ œ
œ
œ
œ œ œ
œ
Ó
. œ œ œ œ œœ œœ
œ œ œ
. œœœ œ œ
? œ œ œ
œ œ œ
œ
&
& ! ® œœœ œœœ œœœ
Django Reinhardt
Bob Last and Malcolm Ross
œ œ. œ
œ
œ
œ
©
œ
œ
œ
œ
œ
œ. œ œ. œ
œ
œ œ. œ œ.
œ
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There are some other cues in the movie that are not exactly the ones exposed
before and are cue for specific scenes that are not played again in other time. These
themes relate to the ones of the characters in the rhythms used and the melodic contour.
One of the most popular is called “Passage of Time” in E minor tonality and a lot of
similarities to the main themes. It’s very catchy and has a new melody that hasn’t heard
before in the movie that develops into Cond Reynauld´s theme and later on to Vianne´s
theme. Most of these cues stay inside the range of the four main themes and share with
them instrumentation, rhythm patterns and style.
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3. Musical Development
One of the main characteristics of the “Portman´s Melodies” as Matilde Olearte
presents is that it has acquired a unique category, as an incidentally symphonic music,
with a unique melody supported in the use of woodwinds and strings. Most melodies
fluctuate from winds towards strings, which may be orchestral strings or guitar. (3) A
perfect example for this is the music for the main titles; this cue begins with a piano and
it´s melody starts with a flute that plays the first round and delivers the melody to the
strings that comfort it with the rest of the instrumentation. Later on strings will play
rhythmic patterns while woodwinds take over the melody and eventually give it back to
the strings. It’s like a very subtle conversation between the instrumentation that
continuously calls the attention of the listener without pulling away from the plot.
Instrumentation in film scoring is not chosen by chance or taste only.
Instruments generate different ways of perception for the viewer, which depends on a
cultural collective conscience. I would like to analyze some of the most important
instrumental decisions made in the movie starting by the use of the Flute. The flute is
one of the oldest instruments ever invented by man, originated in New Guinea by
primitive man who found how to make noise by blowing on a broken piece of bamboo
(Sachs, 45) and it became popular in almost every culture around the world. The
modern flute has a beautiful and clear sound, but the ancestors of the flute differ from
modern sound by the amount of air in the tone. The Flute is used in many cues
throughout the movie, but in the Chocolate/Wind theme and Vianne´s theme is crucial;
Vianne´s mom came from the ancient Maya culture in Mexico, and the temptation
sound as well as the chocolate traditions come from her, this is why this specific airy
sound of flute was chosen, unconsciously it reminds the viewer of an ancient flute, of
the sound of a Mexican tribe. The Maya culture left a legacy of instruments known to
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the modern world like the Ocarina, a wind instrument usually made of clay with five
holes in it that has a remotely similar sound to a flute. In contrast to this, the flute used
for Vianne´s theme has a more common modern European sound, the melodies are
similar in their structure and in some cues both themes overlap but always keeping apart
one sound from another.
The use of bassoon and French horn characterize Cond Reynaud’s theme. In the
Orchestra, the bassoon is a “slightly conical double-reed instrument, the tube of which
is bent back on itself like a hairpin.” (Sachs, 316) and the woodwind equivalent of the
cello in the string family playing in a low range during the cue. The French horn is
sober and teaming with the types of melodies chosen relates to an old cultural sound.
The French horn comes from the hunting horn is the 1600 and, as it says on its name,
comes from France. It’s a great choice to represent the personality of the character being
conservative, and fond of the French tradition.
The Guitar is one of the most popular instruments of the modern times and,
psychologically, it can take the audience into many directions depending on how it’s
played. The acoustic guitar in Europe however, seems to resemble of the gypsy sound.
It is in Spain that the ancestor of the guitar originated, called Vihuela, and thus the
instrument is very well known and use in the country, especially for Flamenco.
However, it was no surprise that the use of this instrument migrated at the beginning to
other Latin countries, such as Italy, and then to the rest of Europe. (Turnbull, 6) As the
character of Roux, the instrument that represents him is characterized by its gypsy
nature. The use of the guitar for Roux´s theme has a big impact on the audience because
of the rhythms it plays and its particular sound. This instrument´s history relates to the
one of the character. The movie doesn’t state where Roux is from, and it’s very hard to
track the exact origin of the Guitar, There is archaeological evidence of this instrument
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in Turkey but there are many cultures that developed string instrument that can take us
to the modern guitar. Roux travels from one place to another. The guitar is known for
being the partner of the troubadours around history, travelling from one place to another
with their music.
Music expresses emotions that can’t be expressed with words, its art that reaches
to the soul and the perfect complement to any other way of art. The reason that guides
us to participate in a musical activity, either to compose, play, or listen, is for the
capacity of music to create real and pure emotions in us. These emotions are capable of
breaking the monotony of the everyday to bring us back to life. (Sloboda, 9) I
recommend the movie Chocolat to anyone looking to paint with another color the tones
of the heart, let it be filled with joyfulness and freedom. Doing this analysis has made
me realize that a film scorer´s duty is to create a feeling in the audience that can’t be
created any other way, and every note written has a purpose and a destiny.
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Works Cited
Burt, George. The art of film music: special emphasis on Hugo Friedhofer, Alex North,
David Raksin, Leonard Rosenman. Boston: Northeastern University Press, 1994.
Print.
Chocolat. Dir. Lasse Hallström. Perf. Alfred Molina, Carrie-Anne Moss, Johnny
Depp. Miramax Home Entertainment :, 2000. DVD.
Ellington, Duke. Caravan. TIM, The International Music Co. AG, n.d. CD.
Jung, C. G.. The archetypes and the collective unconscious. New York: Pantheon
Books, 1959. Print.
Moreno, Josefa Lacarcel. "Psicología de la música y emoción musical." Educatio 20-21:
213-226. Web.
Olarte Martínez, M. M. (2005). Música de cine compuesta por mujeres. La
utopía del universo femenino. En Reflexiones en torno a la música y la imagen
desde la Musicología española (601-612). Salamanca: Plaza Universitaria
Ediciones.
Portman, Rachel. Vianne Theme. Sony Classical, 2000. CD
Portman, Rachel. Cond Theme Variation. Sony Classical, 2000. CD
Portman, Rachel. Chocolat/ Wind Theme. Sony Classical, 2000. CD
Portman, Rachel. Passage of Time. Sony Classical, 2000. CD
Reay, Pauline. Music in film: soundtracks and synergy. London: Wallflower, 2004.
Print
Reinhardt, Django. Minor Swing. History, 2000. CD
Sachs, Curt. The history of musical instruments. New York: W.W. Norton, 1940. Print.
Sloboda,J.A (1985): “Léesprit musician: La Psycologie cognitive de la musique”.
Liege-Bruxelles. Pierre Mardaga Editeur.
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Turnbull, Harvey. The guitar, from the Renaissance to the present day. New York: C.
Scribner's Sons, 1974. Print.
Yurchenco, Henrietta. "Survivals of Pre-Hispanic Music in New Mexico." Journal of
the International Folk Music Council 15: 15. Print
0
Berklee Valencia
Music Analysis of the Movie “Chocolat” (2000)
Director: Lasee Hallstrom
Composer: Rachel Portman
Bernarda Ubidia
Scoring for Film, Television and VideoGames
Ubidia
1
The movie Chocolat directed by Lasse Hallström begins on a particularly windy
day, when a red-hooded woman and her little daughter arrived to a small town in France
to open a “Chocolaterie”, a chocolate store. Here they found discomfort and disapproval
from some people in the village, influenced by the conservative mayor of the town. But
at the end, the sweetness of her chocolate and her vibrant personality end up conquering
the hearts of the community and giving a new light to the village. “Once upon a time,
there was a quiet little village in the French countryside, whose people believed in
tranquilité” (Hallström, Chocolat) are the very first words little Anouk narrates at the
beginning of this beautiful story; but, even before that, this story begins with music. The
very first notes set a tone to what you are about to watch, and create excitement towards
the rest of the film.
Music and film have a complementary relationship that goes back to between
mid-1890s and early 1900s, when music hall orchestras accompanied films seen as part
of variety shows. Then on 1905 films moved on to theatres of their own, marking the
beginning of music in film (Reay, 6) and ever since they have worked together creating
an audiovisual experience we continue to enjoy. Music is used in many ways in film, to
accentuate emotions, to enhance the dramatic narrative, or even as a main character. As
George Burt presents it “Music has the power to open the frame of reference to a story
and to reveal its inner life in a way that could not have been as fully articulated in any
other way.” (4) In this particular movie music plays a giant role on how we perceive the
story. Written by academy award winner, composer Rachel Portman, born in Sussex,
England and known for her work in film scores such as Emma and The Cider House
Rules, the music of the movie Chocolat has an identity of its own without losing the
witty, romantic and thematically sharp way of writing that characterizes this brilliant
composer. Her sound tells a story, it’s magical, almost childish, and characterized
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2
mainly by the beautiful play between woodwinds and strings. Nominated to an academy
award, the tone of this movie is set by its music, the use of a particular choice of
instrumentation takes the audience to an almost fairy tale like situation, and the
relationship between music and characters gives sense to the whole story.
The opening credits of the film, were music starts, make a substantial comment
on the tone this movie is going to have (Burt, 4). In the case of this movie, it can be
described as if it were a chocolate. The recipe has a particular touch of French music,
with a splash of fantasy, written in a story-telling way, while showing the main theme
of the movie which will be recurrent throughout the whole film, and tempting the
audience, like chocolate. The music of this film is theme-based, meaning that each cue
resembles a theme related to one of the characters or actions that are going on. Each
character´s theme can be closely related to the different archetypes presented by Carl
Jung. The first one, my personal favorite, is Vianne, a mixture between the mother and
the witch, being a nurturing and protecting character as well as the curious, seductive,
emotional woman (Jung, 81-114) , which is represented by a beautiful theme that goes
with her personality.
Cond Reynaud’s theme, characterized by its formality and his anguish, relates to
the archetype of the father a stern, powerful, authoritative figure “from whom the
decisive convictions, prohibitions, and wise counsel emanate” (Jung, 214) The wind,
and the chocolate very tempting and mysterious, always expectant, it´s like the wise old
man an archetype of the spirit “who symbolizes the pre-existent meaning hidden in the
chaos of life” (Jung, 35). And finally Roux, representing the trickster a cosmic being of
divine-animal nature on one hand superior to man due to his knowledge and qualities,
and on the other hand inferior because of his impulses and unconsciousness, (Jung,
264), is represented by beautiful adaptations of catchy well known songs.
Ubidia
3
Each of these themes play a role in the movie almost as important as every
character they represent, and every variation of a theme is created to respond the same
way the characters are responding. This connection between characters and themes
involves the audience deeper inside the movie creating a better and more emotional
connection to the film, and creating a personal relationship from the person to the film
based on their “Referral System” (Moreno, 217-220).
1. Music Overall
From the beginning to the end, it’s important to take into account how music
develops on a large scale, its chronology, and its relationship with what happens in the
movie. Chocolat is a comedic fable about how a person, a relationship or a whole
village can change only by trying the small pleasures of life. It’s a story about
temptation, repression and the powers of the senses; a charming tale about the
unleashing of a war that takes place in a small population because of the growing
passion and fear developed in the habitants due to the opening of a chocolate store. All
these, accompanied by music. It starts with a piano setting a color, then a beautiful
melody, and the cue ends with the sounds of the loud and dissonant church bells stating
the power and importance of the church in the movie. Music develops along with the
story line and its emotional rollercoaster begin with expectation, followed by anger,
resentment, fun, temptation, memories, romance, a critical and dark climax to end with
happy music playing in the final scene, in a way of a “happily ever after”.
Music on the movie Chocolat has a very specific tone, the movie is set in a little
village in France, and therefore it has a French influenced sound. Popular French music
shares some characteristics with the film score form Chocolat; it has some similarity
with the French Musette, a type of music distinguished by being playful, fast and
sensual, all characteristics found in Chocolat´s film score that help the tone of the movie
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4
to remain as a romantic comedy, In some cues, even the accordion, that is very typical
of the Musette, is used. The melodies display a specific manner of playing that is very
similar to the Musette in its tempo and development, this type of music has become
very characteristic of France worldwide. Apart from that, some cues feature the high
energy of the Can Can and the sexiness of Cabaret music is present in most of the
themes and their variations. It also relates to the French Chanson on the homophony
that characterizes it. Music in this movie shows many contrasts but remains inside the
same line that connects the movie plot, and the characters. It also sets an almost magical
tone by keeping similar instrumentation between cues and the peculiar use of the guitar.
These characteristics allow the music to have even more leadership in the movie being
as important as the story line since it is as if the music was telling the story through its
melody lines.
The spotting of this movie is very well done. Not every scene has music, and some
cues are so short some might wonder why they are even there, but the constant reminder
of the musical tone of the movie helps the audience to involve deeper in the movie and
share the character´s feelings and sensations. There is one cue that particularly calls my
attention; near the end of the movie, the ashes of Vianne´s mom fall down the stairs and
break into pieces, I expected music to begin right away but that cue takes a while to
begin. I don’t know if this had a particular intention but I found that it creates an impact
on the viewer, a certain anguish and tension that gives more impact to that scene. Like
this example, many cues are spotted exactly where they are needed. It’s very important
not to underestimate where music stars in a scene and how long it plays, for it can make
a big difference in the perception of the audience and it can manipulate, how the
audience responds to the plot. The movie Chocolat has a beautiful balance between
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forcing emotions in the viewer without being obvious and always keeping the elegance
and the good taste this movie´s music has.
The relationship between the film score and the source music in this movie is
magnificent. “Source music is introduces into a scene either visually or by
reference…these sounds are visually initiated.”(Burt, 70) Source music is presented
throughout the movie, except for Roux´s themes, consisting of French jazz playing on
radios in the cafeteria, beauty salon, etc. As mentioned before, the score of the movie
has a French vibe, but it’s completely different from the French source music coming
from the radios, it has its own identity, different instrumentation and the sound itself it’s
different. Source music in this movie made me think about how post production
decisions affect the movie and the craft of film making. Source music comes mostly
from a radio, that’s why it has a very old radio sound in comparison to the clarity sound
of the score. Source music helps the viewer identify approximately the time where the
history is supposed to be happening. The importance of the sound itself affects the
perception of the movie as much as the music itself. The art of filmmaking is full of
decisions that might seem small but are crucial for the movie and this affects the
perception of the movie as a whole.
2. Theme based Score
As said before, I summarized the score of the movie in 4 main themes, Vianne,
the Cond, Chocolat/Wind and Roux, which appear all over the movie with different
theme variations. Apart from these there are also cues throughout the movie that don’t
relate to any character and exist mainly to support the emotions in the scene, without
losing the tone of the movie.
Vianne, the main character of the movie, is a beautiful woman, calm, determined
and a loving mother, but also wild, free and seductive, she represents a new role for
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woman. As Vianne, her theme shares the same characteristics. This cue, written in D
minor, doesn’t have a completely minor sound because of the cheerful rhythm chosen
for the harmony. Its melodic motion progresses little by little tempting the audience and
always leaving you asking for more. It starts with the harmony, playing the rhythm and
a couple bars later, the melody comes in, it´s a line that repeats over and over again but
each time taking it a step further, playing with the instrumentation, assigning different
instruments on each appearance of the melody, it’s a theme you could listen for hours. It
inspires love, and courage. The basic movement of the melody develops in step tones
and mostly, except for passing tones, stays inside the harmony while the harmony
maintains a constant rhythm almost throughout the whole cue.
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Another important cue, nemesis of Vianne´s music, is the one for Cond
Reynauld. This character is the major of the village, in charge of keeping the
“tranquilite”, tranquility. The Cond is a very powerful and influential man who doesn’t
like change. He is a very formal man, conservative and fond of tradition, but on top of
everything, against Vianne, and all she represents. The Cond´s theme goes perfectly
with his personality, characterized by the formal bassoon and the use of French horn,
the theme is dark and heavy. There are many different ways this theme develops
throughout the movie but its intensity grows mainly buy the growth of the strings and
the tempo in which it´s played. The variations of this theme can be found by it or
disguised inside other cues but most of the times played in E minor.
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I call this next cue the “Chocolate/wind” cue; because it doesn’t represent a
character but a mood and a memory on Vianne´s life. The chocolate is very important
for her, she is descendant from a French father who married a Mexican woman from the
Maya tribe, and therefore, her recipes and traditions are 2000 years old. The Mayan
tribe would move from one place to another with the call of the wind, and so did Vianne
with her daughter. This cue is exotic, tempting like the chocolate, it’s used for the
moments when people would sin and try Vianne´s chocolate, when the chocolate would
call people to forget the rules. This theme is also used to bring back memories, to recall
from the past the story of grand mere and grandpere (grandparents) or when the wind
would remind the main character that it’s time to move. Again its tonality is D minor
since it’s a cue that relates to Vianne, but this time it keeps a minor tone, neither sad,
nor melancholic, but rather disturbing. The Mayan music is known for the use of the
pentatonic scale, not meaning the whole cue is only using pentatonic scale, but that it
resembles the particular sound this scale has. The main characteristic is the flute, when
this cue is played, the flute has a very particular airy sound, which relates to the ancient
flutes from Latin America such as Ocarinas and Lacadón, at time the flute would have
the melody, other times the violins take it but mostly it´s shared between woodwinds.
(Yurchenco, 15). The movement of the strings is presented in this cue as in all others
since it’s a characteristic of this score
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One of the things that attract me about this score was the selection of music for
the character “Roux”. Played by Johnny Depp, Roux is a river rat, a pirate that floats his
way into the city through the river with his group. Roux and Vianne hold a short
romantic relationship in the movie, but his role is mainly to create controversy and more
chaos in the village, he is not welcome and the town begins a “boycott immorality”
meaning he or his friends can’t work, sell, buy or walk around the village without being
mistreated. Vianne, a fighter for other people´s rights, is against this and becomes
friendly with the “pirates”. Roux music is a gypsy jazz. Some of the most well known
gypsy jazz standards of all times are played in this movie, including “Minor Swing” by
Django Reinhardt or “Caravan” by Duke Ellington, produced and arranged by Bob Last
and Malcolm Ross, and recorded by Johnny Depp himself and Malcolm Ross. Although
many changes were made, it still conserves the heavy use of ornaments in the phrasing,
and thick chord voicing’s with emphasis on bass notes that characterize this type of
music leaving aside the percussion. The most interesting thing about Roux’s theme was
the passing from source music to score. The character plays the guitar in the movie and
his music begins as source music that he is playing, until it eventually becomes part of
the score when it continues sounding after he stopped playing and the next scene is
happening. At the end we hear this cue again right before the end credits in the town
party scene where the conflicts are solved and everyone is happy.
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Score
MINOR SWING
CHOCOLAT VERSION
Moderato {q = 100}
& 44
. œ œ œ œ œœ œœ
œ œ œ
œ. œ œ œ œ œ
? 44 œ œ
œ œ œ
œ
Acoustic Guitar
Bass Guitar
3
Ac.Gtr.
Bass
5
Ac.Gtr.
?
Bass
7
Ac.Gtr.
Bass
œ
œ
œ
œ
! . # œœœ œœœ ... œœœ œœœ ... n # œœœ œœœ
# œ œ. œ œ. n œ œ
œ œ œ
œ œ
œ
œ
!. œ #œ œ œ. œ. œ. œ. œ
œ œ. œ œ. œ œ
œ
œ
œ
œ
œ
& #œ œ œ. œ œ.
œ œ œ. œ œ.
?
. œ œ œ œ œœ œœ
œ œ œ
œ. œ œ œ œ œ
œ
œ
œ œ œ
œ
Ó
. œ œ œ œ œœ œœ
œ œ œ
. œœœ œ œ
? œ œ œ
œ œ œ
œ
&
& ! ® œœœ œœœ œœœ
Django Reinhardt
Bob Last and Malcolm Ross
œ œ. œ
œ
œ
œ
©
œ
œ
œ
œ
œ
œ. œ œ. œ
œ
œ œ. œ œ.
œ
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There are some other cues in the movie that are not exactly the ones exposed
before and are cue for specific scenes that are not played again in other time. These
themes relate to the ones of the characters in the rhythms used and the melodic contour.
One of the most popular is called “Passage of Time” in E minor tonality and a lot of
similarities to the main themes. It’s very catchy and has a new melody that hasn’t heard
before in the movie that develops into Cond Reynauld´s theme and later on to Vianne´s
theme. Most of these cues stay inside the range of the four main themes and share with
them instrumentation, rhythm patterns and style.
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3. Musical Development
One of the main characteristics of the “Portman´s Melodies” as Matilde Olearte
presents is that it has acquired a unique category, as an incidentally symphonic music,
with a unique melody supported in the use of woodwinds and strings. Most melodies
fluctuate from winds towards strings, which may be orchestral strings or guitar. (3) A
perfect example for this is the music for the main titles; this cue begins with a piano and
it´s melody starts with a flute that plays the first round and delivers the melody to the
strings that comfort it with the rest of the instrumentation. Later on strings will play
rhythmic patterns while woodwinds take over the melody and eventually give it back to
the strings. It’s like a very subtle conversation between the instrumentation that
continuously calls the attention of the listener without pulling away from the plot.
Instrumentation in film scoring is not chosen by chance or taste only.
Instruments generate different ways of perception for the viewer, which depends on a
cultural collective conscience. I would like to analyze some of the most important
instrumental decisions made in the movie starting by the use of the Flute. The flute is
one of the oldest instruments ever invented by man, originated in New Guinea by
primitive man who found how to make noise by blowing on a broken piece of bamboo
(Sachs, 45) and it became popular in almost every culture around the world. The
modern flute has a beautiful and clear sound, but the ancestors of the flute differ from
modern sound by the amount of air in the tone. The Flute is used in many cues
throughout the movie, but in the Chocolate/Wind theme and Vianne´s theme is crucial;
Vianne´s mom came from the ancient Maya culture in Mexico, and the temptation
sound as well as the chocolate traditions come from her, this is why this specific airy
sound of flute was chosen, unconsciously it reminds the viewer of an ancient flute, of
the sound of a Mexican tribe. The Maya culture left a legacy of instruments known to
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the modern world like the Ocarina, a wind instrument usually made of clay with five
holes in it that has a remotely similar sound to a flute. In contrast to this, the flute used
for Vianne´s theme has a more common modern European sound, the melodies are
similar in their structure and in some cues both themes overlap but always keeping apart
one sound from another.
The use of bassoon and French horn characterize Cond Reynaud’s theme. In the
Orchestra, the bassoon is a “slightly conical double-reed instrument, the tube of which
is bent back on itself like a hairpin.” (Sachs, 316) and the woodwind equivalent of the
cello in the string family playing in a low range during the cue. The French horn is
sober and teaming with the types of melodies chosen relates to an old cultural sound.
The French horn comes from the hunting horn is the 1600 and, as it says on its name,
comes from France. It’s a great choice to represent the personality of the character being
conservative, and fond of the French tradition.
The Guitar is one of the most popular instruments of the modern times and,
psychologically, it can take the audience into many directions depending on how it’s
played. The acoustic guitar in Europe however, seems to resemble of the gypsy sound.
It is in Spain that the ancestor of the guitar originated, called Vihuela, and thus the
instrument is very well known and use in the country, especially for Flamenco.
However, it was no surprise that the use of this instrument migrated at the beginning to
other Latin countries, such as Italy, and then to the rest of Europe. (Turnbull, 6) As the
character of Roux, the instrument that represents him is characterized by its gypsy
nature. The use of the guitar for Roux´s theme has a big impact on the audience because
of the rhythms it plays and its particular sound. This instrument´s history relates to the
one of the character. The movie doesn’t state where Roux is from, and it’s very hard to
track the exact origin of the Guitar, There is archaeological evidence of this instrument
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in Turkey but there are many cultures that developed string instrument that can take us
to the modern guitar. Roux travels from one place to another. The guitar is known for
being the partner of the troubadours around history, travelling from one place to another
with their music.
Music expresses emotions that can’t be expressed with words, its art that reaches
to the soul and the perfect complement to any other way of art. The reason that guides
us to participate in a musical activity, either to compose, play, or listen, is for the
capacity of music to create real and pure emotions in us. These emotions are capable of
breaking the monotony of the everyday to bring us back to life. (Sloboda, 9) I
recommend the movie Chocolat to anyone looking to paint with another color the tones
of the heart, let it be filled with joyfulness and freedom. Doing this analysis has made
me realize that a film scorer´s duty is to create a feeling in the audience that can’t be
created any other way, and every note written has a purpose and a destiny.
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Works Cited
Burt, George. The art of film music: special emphasis on Hugo Friedhofer, Alex North,
David Raksin, Leonard Rosenman. Boston: Northeastern University Press, 1994.
Print.
Chocolat. Dir. Lasse Hallström. Perf. Alfred Molina, Carrie-Anne Moss, Johnny
Depp. Miramax Home Entertainment :, 2000. DVD.
Ellington, Duke. Caravan. TIM, The International Music Co. AG, n.d. CD.
Jung, C. G.. The archetypes and the collective unconscious. New York: Pantheon
Books, 1959. Print.
Moreno, Josefa Lacarcel. "Psicología de la música y emoción musical." Educatio 20-21:
213-226. Web.
Olarte Martínez, M. M. (2005). Música de cine compuesta por mujeres. La
utopía del universo femenino. En Reflexiones en torno a la música y la imagen
desde la Musicología española (601-612). Salamanca: Plaza Universitaria
Ediciones.
Portman, Rachel. Vianne Theme. Sony Classical, 2000. CD
Portman, Rachel. Cond Theme Variation. Sony Classical, 2000. CD
Portman, Rachel. Chocolat/ Wind Theme. Sony Classical, 2000. CD
Portman, Rachel. Passage of Time. Sony Classical, 2000. CD
Reay, Pauline. Music in film: soundtracks and synergy. London: Wallflower, 2004.
Reinhardt, Django. Minor Swing. History, 2000. CD
Sachs, Curt. The history of musical instruments. New York: W.W. Norton, 1940. Print.
Sloboda,J.A (1985): “Léesprit musician: La Psycologie cognitive de la musique”.
Liege-Bruxelles. Pierre Mardaga Editeur.
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Turnbull, Harvey. The guitar, from the Renaissance to the present day. New York: C.
Scribner's Sons, 1974. Print.
Yurchenco, Henrietta. "Survivals of Pre-Hispanic Music in New Mexico." Journal of
the International Folk Music Council 15: 15. Print
