Cinema Speaking Lab · B1 · Three Acts

Chocolat · Three Winds

A woman in a red cloak. A child. A bag of cocoa beans. A grey village at the start of Lent. What happens when someone new opens a door — and the wind starts to turn?

Speaking-first · 90 min Lasse Hallström · 2000 Juliette Binoche Watch · Listen · Read · Speak

Three Winds of Chocolat

Based on the film Chocolat by Lasse Hallström (2000), with Juliette Binoche, Judi Dench and Johnny Depp · Adapted for B1 speakers

TargetTeens and adults · B1
Duration90 minutes
FocusSpeaking (65%) · Listening · Reading · Video
ActivitiesDescribe · React · Monologue · Interview · Would-you-rather · Debate · Role play
Key vocabnorth wind · chocolaterie · temptation · gypsy · sermon · embrace · include · to weep
ThemesFreedom & belonging · Judgment vs kindness · The courage to stay
I
Act One · The Wind Brings Two Strangers
The North Wind
Act I

Vianne & Anouk arrive in Lansquenet

≈ 30 min

1.1 Watch the scene Video · 90 sec

Two strangers in red walk into a grey village at the start of Lent. Everyone else is walking to church. Nobody smiles at them yet.

Add video embed here Opening scene · Vianne and Anouk walk into the square of Lansquenet-sous-Tannes
Chocolat · 2000 · Miramax Focus: the wind · the red cloaks · the empty street

After watching, in one sentence: What did you notice first?

1.2 Read the scene Reading · 2 min

Vianne and Anouk in bright red cloaks walking into the empty stone square of Lansquenet
Opening scene · the arrival

One February morning, a sly north wind blew into a small French village called Lansquenet-sous-Tannes. It was the first Sunday of Lent. Everyone was walking to church. Everyone — except two strangers.

A woman in a bright red cloak, and a small girl beside her, also in red. The woman's name was Vianne Rocher. The child was her daughter, Anouk, six years old. From behind a heavy curtain, the mayor — the Comte de Reynaud — watched them cross the square and stop in front of an old, closed shop.

Vianne knocked on the door of an old woman's house: Armande Voizin, seventy-two, with sharp eyes.

"You are not going to church, then?" "No. I don't go." Armande almost smiled. "Come in. The shop is yours."

By evening, everyone in Lansquenet knew. The stranger in the red cloak had come during Lent. She had not gone to church. She was going to sell — chocolate.

The north wind brought two strangers to Lansquenet. And they were not going to leave.

1.3 Listen · village gossip after church Listening · 30 sec + 3 Q

Two village women talk in low voices as they leave the church on Sunday morning. Listen once — then answer. You can listen again if you need.

Two village women · after Sunday mass
≈ 30 seconds · slow · British

Marie: Did you see her? Walking straight past the church, that woman in the red cloak.

Jeanne: During Lent, no less. And with a small child. What kind of mother —

Marie: Armande gave her the key. Just like that. To the old shop across the square.

Jeanne: The Comte was furious, I could see his face. She wants to sell chocolate. Chocolate. During the Great Fast.

Marie: Well. The north wind brought her. Maybe the north wind will take her away again.

1
Where does the conversation happen?
2
Who gave Vianne the key to the shop?
3
What do the women hope will happen?

1.4 Listen & repeat Audio · 3 lines

Three short lines from Act I. Listen — then repeat, matching the rhythm.

Armande · to Vianne"You are not going to church, then?"
Vianne · reply"No. I don't go."
The Comte · Sunday sermon"Temptation has arrived in Lansquenet."

1.5 Speak · 5-second flash Describe from memory

You will see a still from Act I for 5 seconds only. When it disappears — describe as much as you can remember. Do it three times, each time noticing something new.

Try to name the weather · the light · what they wear · what they carry · their posture · what is behind them · what is missing

1.6 Speak · describe in detail 3–4 sentences each

Now with the picture open. Describe each layer of the scene — as if you are painting it for someone on the phone who cannot see.

Vianne and Anouk arrive
1
Describe the weather and the colours of the square.grey · cold · empty · wind
2
Describe the two strangers — how they walk, what they wear, what they carry.red cloaks · small bag · quiet steps
3
Describe the Comte behind the curtain — his face, his posture, what he is thinking.watching · judging · deciding
Useful phrases In the picture I can see… / The wind is… / The woman is wearing… / The Comte looks as if he… / You can tell that…

1.7 Speak · react to Armande 4 questions

Armande's first response to Vianne was: "You are not going to church, then? Come in. The shop is yours." — she gave a stranger a key on the first day.

1
Would you give a total stranger the key to your shop on the first day? Why or why not?
2
What did Armande see in Vianne that the rest of the village did not?
3
"I don't go to church." — was that a brave sentence to say out loud in this village? Explain.
4
Think of a moment when someone opened a door for you when everyone else had it closed. Tell that story in 3 sentences.
Sentence starters Honestly, I would / wouldn't… / What Armande saw was… / It was brave because… / I remember once when…

1.8 Two-minute monologue Timed · retell

Retell Act I in your own words — as if you are a villager telling a friend from the next town. Aim for two full minutes without stopping. Don't worry about mistakes.

"You will never guess what happened in Lansquenet this Sunday…"
2:00
Keep going — hit these beats the wind · two strangers in red · not to church · Armande gives the key · the Comte at the window · the word "temptation"

1.9 Quick check 4 · true / false

Vianne and Anouk arrived on the first Sunday of Lent.
The two strangers wore bright yellow hoods.
Armande Voizin gave Vianne the key to the shop the same day.
The Comte wrote in his Sunday sermon: "Temptation has arrived in Lansquenet."
Bridge · From novel to screen

Chocolat began as a novel

Chocolat began as a novel by the English writer Joanne Harris in 1999. She remembered her grandmother's small sweet shop in a strict old village and wanted to write about the moment someone new arrives — with a different smell, a different smile, a different god — and the village has to decide: are we going to fight this, or are we going to try one small taste?

One year later, in 2000, the Swedish director Lasse Hallström turned the novel into a film with Juliette Binoche, Judi Dench and Johnny Depp. Five Academy Award nominations — but the real power of the film is a very simple question: what are you afraid to taste?

II
Act Two · A Woman Who Sees Straight Into People
The Chocolaterie
Act II

The Chocolaterie · temptation opens its door

≈ 38 min

2.1 Watch the scene Video · 2 min

Vianne opens the shop. She has a very quiet trick: when someone stands too long at the window, she opens the door — and asks one question. "What is your favourite?"

Add video embed here The shop opens · the copper bowl · the first customer · "everyone has a favourite"
Chocolat · 2000 · Miramax Focus: how Vianne looks at people before she chooses their chocolate

2.2 Read the scene Reading · 3 min

The chocolaterie · copper bowl and candlelight
The Chocolaterie · opening morning

By the end of the week, the shop was ready. Behind the counter — a huge copper bowl, warm and heavy, full of dark melted chocolate. Above the door, in fresh gold letters: CHOCOLATERIE.

When someone stood too long at the window, Vianne opened the door and asked one question: "Excuse me, madame — what is your favourite?" She looked at them once, very carefully, the way a doctor listens for a heartbeat. Then she chose one chocolate — sometimes with chilli, sometimes with rose. She placed it in their hand. Nine times out of ten, she was right.

Josephine Muscat came at night. She wore long sleeves in warm weather. She had a purple mark under one eye. Vianne poured her a small cup of hot chocolate with cream.

"He hits you, doesn't he?" "You don't have to answer. But if you ever want to leave — my door is open."

Josephine did not say yes, and she did not say no. But she drank the chocolate slowly. And when she left, she stood a little straighter.

One grey morning, the village woke up to a new sound — oars against wooden boats. The river gypsies had arrived. On the deck stood a tall man with red hair and a silver earring. His name was Roux. The Comte was furious and told every shopkeeper to close their doors. But Vianne walked down to the river with a basket of chocolate and a jug of coffee.

She saw straight into people. And she wasn't afraid of what she saw.

2.3 Listen · Vianne opens the shop Listening · 40 sec + 3 Q

Vianne is speaking to her very first customer, Madame Clairmont, who has walked past the window three times. Listen carefully — she talks about her chocolate and about the person.

Vianne · to Madame Clairmont · first morning
≈ 40 seconds · warm · British

Vianne: Come in, madame. It's cold outside, and you've been standing at that window for a long time. No, no — you don't have to buy anything. Just one small taste. On the house.

Now — let me look at you. Hmm. You are a woman who likes strong tea. Who reads the same book every winter. Who sits closer to the fire than to the window. Try this one. Bitter chocolate — with a little chilli. Trust me.

Everyone has a favourite, madame. They just don't always know it yet.

1
What does Vianne offer the customer first?
2
Which chocolate does Vianne choose for her?
3
What does Vianne say about everyone?

2.4 Listen & repeat Audio · 4 lines

Vianne · in the shop"Everyone has a favourite. They just don't always know it yet."
Vianne · offering"Try this one. Trust me."
Vianne · to Josephine"He hits you, doesn't he?"
Roux · Vianne"Aren't you afraid of us, madame?" — "Should I be?"

2.5 Interview Vianne Pair · student = journalist

You are a young reporter from a Paris newspaper. You have travelled to Lansquenet to write about "the strange woman with the chocolate shop". Your partner is Vianne. Ask all six questions in your own words — then swap.

Notebook · six questions

Madame Rocher, why this village? Why not Paris? Why not Lyon?
People say you can guess anyone's favourite chocolate in one look. What are you actually looking at?
The Comte wrote in his sermon that you are "temptation". What do you want to say to him?
Josephine started visiting late at night. Was that a coincidence — or did you know she would come?
You walked down to the river alone. Were you not afraid of the gypsies?
If I asked you to guess my favourite chocolate — what would you choose, and why?

Swap after all six. Then compare: which question was hardest to answer? Which was hardest to ask?

2.6 Would you rather… Speak · pick + defend

Pick one option in each pair. Then defend your choice in 2–3 sentences. There is no correct answer.

Would you rather…
A. Be Vianne, and know that half the village whispers about you every day.
B. Be Madame Clairmont, safe and respectable — and never eat one square of chocolate again.
Would you rather…
A. Ask a stranger the one question they are hiding from, like Vianne did with Josephine.
B. Let them tell you when they are ready, even if they never are.
Would you rather…
A. Walk down to the river alone with a basket of chocolate, like Vianne.
B. Keep your door shut, like the Comte ordered.
Sentence starters I'd rather A because… / Honestly, B — because I'm not brave enough to… / What scares me about A is… / What tempts me about B is…

2.7 Chain-questions · about Josephine Speak · one → next

Answer each question in one full sentence. The next question builds on your answer. Do not skip.

1
Why did Josephine come at night and not in the morning like the other women?
2
Vianne asked "He hits you, doesn't he?" as her first real question. Was that the right question on the first meeting?
3
Josephine didn't answer yes or no — but she drank the chocolate slowly. What did the silence mean?
4
The whole village knew Serge hit her. Nobody said a word for years. Why?
5
What is the difference between the woman who walked in and the woman who walked out ten minutes later?

2.8 Josephine's silent walk Speak · inner voice

Josephine at night
Josephine · her third night at the window
In the film, Josephine walks across the square in silence three times before she opens the door. She does not say a word. You are her inner voice. Speak the thoughts that walk with her — for one full minute.
1:00
What might she be thinking? the mark under her eye · her husband waiting at the bar · what she will say if he sees her · the smell of chocolate through the door · the woman she used to be before she married Serge · the sentence she has never spoken out loud

2.9 Role play · in the shop Pair · 2 rounds

Partner A · Vianne

A customer stands too long at your window. Open the door. Invite them in for one small taste. Guess their favourite — with chilli, with rose, with orange. Place it in their hand. Use: "Everyone has a favourite. They just don't know it yet." · "Try this one. Trust me." · "On the house — no obligation."

Partner B · a careful villager

You have never eaten chocolate. You say you don't want any. Underneath — you are curious. Let her guess wrong once, then right. Use: "Just a small piece then, madame…" · "How did you know?" · "My mother would kill me if she saw this."

Play it twice. First — the villager stays polite. Second — the villager confesses one real thing. Compare how the room changes.

2.10 Mini debate Speak · pick a side

The Comte protects the village · vs · Vianne frees the village

Side A · The Comte is right

A village needs shared rules and a shared faith. Once you invite strangers with different manners, the strong ones — like Josephine's husband — lose their grip. The Comte is not cruel; he is holding a hundred years of village life together.

Side B · Vianne is right

The Comte's order is quiet cruelty. Josephine is hit and no one speaks. The gypsies are not the danger — the silence is. Vianne breaks the silence with one cup of chocolate at a time.

2.11 Quick check 4 · true / false

Vianne always asked customers what their favourite chocolate was.
Josephine had a purple mark under one eye.
Roux was the leader of the river gypsies and had red hair.
Vianne closed her shop when the river people arrived.
Bridge · The village chooses a side

A festival is announced

By the fifth week, Lansquenet was quietly split in two. Josephine had left her husband and moved into the small room above the chocolaterie. Armande's grandson was learning to laugh again in Vianne's kitchen. On the other side of the square, the Comte's face grew whiter.

Then Vianne did something no one in Lansquenet had done for a hundred years. She stuck a bright orange poster on the door: "Grand Festival du Chocolat · Easter Sunday · Everyone welcome — including the river people." The Comte saw it from his window. Easter Sunday was his day. And she had put chocolate in front of it.

III
Act Three · The Wind Changes
The Chocolate Festival
Act III

The Festival · Easter in Lansquenet

≈ 34 min

3.1 Before you watch · what will happen? Speak · guess

Easter festival table in the square
Easter Sunday · what will happen when the bells stop?
?
Who will be at the table? Who won't be there — and why?
?
What do you think will happen when the church bells stop ringing?
?
Will the Comte come? If yes — will he taste anything? If no — where will he be?

3.2 Watch the scene Video · 3 min

The night before Easter, someone comes down to the river with a can of oil. The next night — a very tired Comte finds an unlocked door.

Add video embed here The fire on the river · the Comte in the shop · Père Henri's Easter homily
Chocolat · 2000 · Miramax Focus: the moment the Comte tastes chocolate for the first time

3.3 Read the scene Reading · 3 min

The Comte alone in the shop at night
The Comte · the night before Easter

The night before Easter, someone set fire to Roux's boats. Three of them burned. Roux stood on the bank in silence and looked at the water.

That same night, very late, someone tried the door of the chocolaterie. It opened — Vianne had forgotten to lock it. The Comte stepped inside with a small kitchen knife. He walked to the window display, where a huge dark chocolate figure of Vianne's own design stood ready for the festival. He raised the knife. And then he stopped. He was crying. He had not eaten anything for two days of prayer. His hands were shaking.

He put down the knife. He picked up one small square. He put it in his mouth. He closed his eyes. Something inside the Comte — something locked for a very long time — broke open. He sat down on the floor of the shop and he wept like a child. He did not stop until the tray was empty.

Vianne found him in the morning, asleep among the empty silver plates. She did not wake him. She covered him with her red cloak.

In the little grey church, the young priest Père Henri looked at the Comte's sermon on the wooden stand. Then at the empty pew where the Comte should have been. Then at Vianne standing in the open doorway in her red cloak. Père Henri folded the sermon and put it in his pocket. For the first time, he spoke his own words:

"I don't think we can judge each other by what we don't do — by what we deny ourselves, what we resist, who we exclude. I think we've got to measure goodness by what we embrace, what we create — and who we include."

Outside, the north wind stopped. A softer wind, warmer, smelling of the south, began to blow across the square. Vianne felt it on her face. This time, she looked at Anouk, and at Roux — and she did not pack her bag. She stayed.

Measure goodness by what we embrace — and who we include.

3.4 Listen · Père Henri's Easter homily Listening · 45 sec + 3 Q

On Easter Sunday, the young priest speaks his own words instead of the sermon the Comte wrote. Listen for what he keeps and what he lets go.

Père Henri · Easter homily · the pulpit
≈ 45 seconds · soft · British male

I'm not sure what the theme of my homily today ought to be. Do I want to speak of the miracle of Our Lord's divine transformation? Not really, no. I don't want to talk about His divinity. I'd rather talk about His humanity.

I mean, you know, how He lived His life, here on Earth. His kindness, His tolerance… Listen, here's what I think. I think that we can't go around measuring our goodness by what we don't do — by what we deny ourselves, what we resist, and who we exclude.

I think we've got to measure goodness by what we embrace, what we create, and who we include.

1
Père Henri says he does not want to talk about…
2
According to the homily, we should not measure goodness by…
3
What are the three words Père Henri uses to define goodness?

3.5 Listen & repeat Audio · 3 lines

Père Henri · Easter"I don't think we can judge each other by what we resist, or who we exclude."
Père Henri · Easter"We've got to measure goodness by what we embrace, what we create — and who we include."
Narration · closing"The north wind stopped. A softer wind began to blow. And she stayed."

3.6 React · Père Henri's line Speak · your view

"Measure goodness by what we embrace, what we create — and who we include."

1
Do you agree with Père Henri? Or is there some goodness in what we resist and refuse?
2
Give one real-life example of "measuring goodness by who we include" — from a workplace, a family, a country.
3
The Comte's sermon was about temptation. Père Henri's homily was about inclusion. Which sermon does your world need more of, right now?
4
Vianne stayed instead of packing her bag. Was that the harder choice, or the easier one? Why?
Sentence starters I agree, because… / Actually, I think there is also… / One example in my own life is… / My world needs more… because…

3.7 The Comte's apology · write & speak 3 min write · 1 min speak

The morning after Easter, the Comte sits at his desk. He wants to write a note to Vianne — but he does not know how to begin. Write the first three sentences of that note (3 minutes). Then say them out loud in his voice, as if you are sealing the envelope.

Note from the Comte de Reynaud to Madame Rocher

"Madame Rocher, / I owe you… / And yet…"
Try to include — the red cloak · the empty silver plates · two days without food · the knife he put down · the taste that broke something · one honest thing he has never said before

3.8 Role play · after the festival Pair · 2 rounds

Partner A · Vianne (evening, empty table)

Everyone has gone home. The last candle is burning. The Comte is standing at the edge of the square, watching you clean up. You know what he did — and what he ate. You want to say one true thing. Use: "Monsieur le Comte — please. Sit down." · "You don't have to pretend with me." · "There's still some chocolate. If you want it."

Partner B · the Comte

You are ashamed. You are also — for the first time in years — hungry. You do not know how to be soft. But you have to say something to the woman who covered you with her red cloak while you were sleeping. Use: "Madame Rocher — about last night…" · "I owe you an apology I don't know how to make." · "You could have left me on the floor."

Play it twice. First — the Comte is stiff and formal. Second — the Comte finally sits down. Compare which version feels closer to real change.

3.9 Mini debate Speak · pick a side

The Chocolate Festival · was it a triumph — or a scandal?

Side A · A triumph

On Easter Sunday, a village that had forgotten how to be kind sat down and ate together — the priest, the widow, the outsider, the river people. The Comte was carried, not defeated. That is what Easter is supposed to mean. Kindness won.

Side B · A scandal

Vianne put chocolate in front of Easter. The mayor humiliated himself in a shop window. The priest abandoned the sermon he was given. A hundred years of tradition — broken by a woman who does not even live there. Some things a village needs to keep.

3.10 Final monologue · Why did the wind change? Timed · 2:00

The three arcs of the film — arrival, shop, festival — all end with the wind changing direction. Take two minutes: Why did the wind change? Whose wind was it — Vianne's, the village's, or your own?

"The wind changed direction because…"
2:00
Hit these beats one act at a time · what Vianne carried in her bag · what Josephine drank · what the Comte tasted · what Père Henri put in his pocket · what you would have done

3.11 Writing · optional Homework · 180–220 words

Personal reflection

Write about a moment when a wind changed direction in your own life — a decision to stay or leave, to include someone or shut them out. What "wind" were you following before? What made you turn? What did you lose, and what did you find?
Structure — 1. The wind you had been following. 2. The small moment when something turned. 3. The decision you actually made. 4. Who or what you kept — and who or what you let go.

3.12 Quick check 4 · true / false

Someone set fire to the river boats the night before Easter.
The Comte walked into the shop with a small knife and ended up weeping on the floor.
Père Henri read the exact sermon the Comte had written for him.
The north wind stopped and a softer wind from the south began to blow.

★ 30-second elevator recap Speak · you sell the film

You have thirty seconds to make a friend watch Chocolat tonight. No spoilers about the ending — just enough to hook them. Talk fast. Talk warm. Talk like you saw it last night.

"You have to watch this film. It's called Chocolat, and…"
0:30
Include who arrives · what she opens · why the mayor is furious · one image you can't shake · the one line you want them to hear

Three Winds · One Woman Who Stayed

In the north wind, she arrived — and refused to shrink to fit the village.
In the chocolaterie, she saw straight into people — and taught them to see themselves.
At the festival, she gave the village permission to be kind again.
The wind changed direction. So did the village. So did she.
— Chocolat · Lasse Hallström · 2000 · adapted —