Chocolat (1988)

A young French woman returns to the vast silence of West Africa to contemplate her childhood days in a colonial outpost in Cameroon. Her strongest memories are of the family's houseboy, ... See full summary »

Director:

Claire Denis

Writers:

Claire Denis, Jean-Pol Fargeau

Stars:

Isaach De Bankolé, Giulia Boschi, François Cluzet

1 win & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Isaach De Bankolé	...	Protée
Giulia Boschi	...	Aimée Dalens
François Cluzet	...	Marc Dalens
Jean-Claude Adelin	...	Luc
Laurent Arnal	...	Machinard
Jean Bediebe	...	Prosper
Jean-Quentin Châtelain	...	Courbassol
Emmanuelle Chaulet	...	Mireille Machinard
Kenneth Cranham	...	Boothby
Jacques Denis	...	Joseph Delpich
Cécile Ducasse	...	France enfant / France, as a girl
Clementine Essono	...	Marie-Jeanne
Didier Flamand	...	Capt. Védrine
Essindi Mindja	...	Blaise
Donatus Ngala

Storyline

A young French woman returns to the vast silence of West Africa to contemplate her childhood days in a colonial outpost in Cameroon. Her strongest memories are of the family's houseboy, Protee - a man of great nobility, intelligence and beauty - and the intricate nature of relationships in a racist society.

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Plot Keywords:

male nudity | male rear nudity | cameroon | africa | f rated | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

PG-13

Details

Country:

France West Germany Cameroon

Language:

French English Hausa

Release Date:

May 1989 (USA)

Also Known As:

Chocolate

Filming Locations:

Cameroon

Box Office

Gross USA:

$2,317,091

Company Credits

Production Co:

Caroline Productions,Cerito Films,Cinémanuel

Technical Specs

Runtime:

105 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

Featured in Siskel & Ebert: Jacknife/The Adventures of Baron Munchausen/Skin Deep/Chocolat (1989)

User Reviews

For use in high school classes

My 3rd-year French classes always enjoyed this film very much. In a multi-cultural, inner-city high school, the film provided many subjects for discussion (in French in class, but I know a lot of discussion went on in English after class). The most obvious is the relationship between Protée and Aimée compared to the one between Protée and France.

I always mentioned that I felt this film had one of the "sexiest" scenes I had ever seen in a movie. One year, a 17-year-old African-American shouted, "Yes!" when he figured out the scene: the one where Protée is helping Aimée lace up her evening dress, all the while both are examining the reflection of the other in the mirror. Directors use the "mirror technique" when then want to focus on the inner conflict on the part of one or more character in a scene: this is a perfect example of the technique, and it is "sexy".

Most students had trouble understanding the end of the film. One suggested that one theme of the movie was "Africanism", and that no matter how much one loved Africa or Africans, one cannot "become" African (like the driver tried to do): one must BE African.