Chocolat seems more like a fairy tale than a modern popcorn flick. There are moments when a breeze swirls by characters, playful music soars over the soundtrack and we feel transported not only to the 1950s French village in which the plot unfolds, but to an old-fashioned form of storytelling that seems almost innovative in the era of modern film. Chocolat is chock full of sweetness and mystique, an odd combination that may leave a strange aftertaste for some. But Director Lasse Hallstrom blends the elements so skillfully that it's difficult to exit the movie unsatisfied.

The film, recently nominated for five Academy Awards including best picture, stars nominee Juliette Binoche as Vianne Rocher, a mysterious stranger who finds a home in the French town of Lansquenet-sous-Tunnes in 1959. Against the will of the mayor (Alfred Molina), she opens up a chocolate shop with her young daughter on the property of Amande Viozin (Dame Judi Dench).

Vianne and her shop quickly become the center of attention as her recipes appear to work magic (even helping a couple's endangered sex life). Although she has befriended Amande, her honesty and refusal to reform to the village's strict norms results in much harassment and pressure to leave.

Worsening matters is Vianne's relationship with a banished pirate (the appropriately cast Johnny Depp) and her interference in the relationship between Amande, her grandson and her daughter (Carrie-Anne Moss, in a role quite a far cry from her work in The Matrix). Vianne becomes the likeable outcast and must decide whether to throw in the towel or somehow win the town over.

As with his earlier work such as What's Eating Gilbert Grape? and The Cider House Rules, Hallstrom shows that he has a knack for telling enjoyable, straightforward stories with irresistible characters. Much of that talent lies in his casting choices. Binoche proved with The English Patient that she could help carry a movie with her sweetness. She's also great at using her face to convey just about anything. Here, she reveals Vianne's wants, fears and pleasures with the mere movement of an eyebrow. She makes us want to know more about Vianne and her past, which is one reason the film is so engrossing.

Supporting actress nominee Dench gives her great support as Amande. Dench's Oscar-winning turn as Queen Elizabeth in Shakespeare in Love was commanding and witty, but as Amande we see a new side of crankiness and vulnerability. Her first words to Vianne are, "who the hell are you?" but we know right from the start that her sass and bluntness are a cover-up of something deeper.

Hallstrom's real-life wife, acclaimed actress Lena Olin, has a great role as the unstable Josephine, a battered wife. No one better than Olin could play a character as calm, sweet and wacko and make it seem realistic. Alfred Molina is quite amusing as the befuddled mayor, and Johnny Depp is­­well, Johnny Depp, sporting some sort of accent. Just when I think he can't play a more different or stranger character, he outdoes himself.

While the cast is a great element, the heart of the film is its theme of societal norms and inclusion. Vianne is more honest than anyone else in the village, yet initially she is considered immoral and undesirable because of it. She brings the village great chocolate, but also a glimpse of an extremely different lifestyle worth examination.

With this film we get to see what happens when people stretch their norms and risk widening their comfort zones. The way the characters do this is disturbing, charming and funny. Chocolat may have a deceivingly sweet bite, but there's more inside Hallstrom's chocolate box than just candy.