By Matt Soergel
Florida Times-Union

Chocolat is a gentle fable that likes its characters so much that even the bad guys aren't really bad -- just misunderstood.

Directed by Lasse Hallstrom (The Cider House Rules, What's Eating Gilbert Grape?), it's a Miramax movie with some art-house tendencies, though it's clearly designed to appeal to wide audiences (it's set in France, but everyone, even its French star, speaks English).

It works. This fairy tale -- it begins, of course, "Once upon a time" -- will appeal to many. Though pretty insubstantial and a bit obvious, it's sincere, sweet, a little melancholy and eminently watchable.

The absolutely gorgeous Juliette Binoche (The English Patient) stars as a strange woman named Vianne, who comes to a quiet French town in the late '50s, causing quite a storm as she and her daughter blow in on the north wind.

Both wear red capes, like Little Red Riding Hood. Her daughter has an imaginary kangaroo companion. Vianne doesn't go to church, wears red high heels and low-cut blouses, and serves up sinfully delicious chocolates, laced with chili powders, in a shop she sets up downtown.

There's something a little bit magical going on there: Take a bite of her chocolate, and strange, liberating things start happening to your mind, your senses.

Some townspeople look on with suspicion, especially the stern Comte De Reynaud (Alfred Molina), the town's religious-minded mayor, who would rather see everything stay the same as it's always been.

But it's 1959, and it's clear things are changing, slightly. After all, there's a new priest in town, a gentle young man who sings Hound Dog -- to himself, of course. (Still he's no match for the mayor, who insists on rewriting all his sermons.)

Chocolat serves up a big supporting cast, most notably Judi Dench as a free-speaking older woman who welcomes Vianne gruffly. Carrie-Anne Moss (The Matrix) is her uptight daughter. Lena Olin is an abused wife driven almost insane by her husband (Peter Stormare).

Then there's Johnny Depp, who shows up as an Irish river rat passing through town with his guitar and ponytail. He's got a sly charm that works overtime here as he brings a little life to the stodgy town. Depp, a tremendously gifted actor, always makes it look easy. Here it's just effortless.