Chocolat

Chocolat

Directed by Claire Denis
France / 1988 / Narrative
105 minutes / English, French, Hausa

Claire Denis draws on her own childhood experiences growing up in colonial French Africa for her multilayered, languorously absorbing feature debut, which explores many of the themes that would recur throughout her work. Returning to the town where she grew up in Cameroon after many years living in France, a white woman (Mireille Perrier) reflects on her relationship with Protée (Isaach De Bankolé), a Black servant with whom she formed a friendship while not fully grasping the racial divides that governed their worlds. This new restoration arrives in time for the film’s 35th anniversary.

Intro and discussion by Joshua Ray, film critic for KMOV and Co-Founder and Contributing Editor of The Take-Up.