''Chocolat'' is a 2016 French

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...

directed by

Roschdy Zem Roschdy Zem (born 27 September 1965) is a French actor and filmmaker of Moroccan descent. He shared the award for Best Actor for his role in the film '' Days of Glory'' at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival. Career Versatile and determined to not ...

and starring

Omar Sy Omar Sy (, ff, 𞤌𞤥𞤢𞤪 𞤅𞤭, Omar Si; born 20 January 1978) is a French actor, best known in France for his sketches with Fred Testot on the '' Service après-vente des émissions'' television show on Canal+ (2005–2012). He gain ...

and James Thiérrée.

Synopsis

The clown Chocolat becomes, in 1886, the first black artist of the French scene.

Plot

In 1897, a black man, the son of former Cuban slave, plays a small role as the cannibal Kananga in the modest circus Delvaux.

George Foottit George Foottit (1864 –1921) was an English clown who found fame on the Paris circus scene. He is famous for being part of the clown duo "Foottit and Chocolat". He was born in Manchester, England on April 24, 1864 and his parents were George ...

, a white clown, is asked by the director to bring up his routine. He gets the idea to have an act with Kananga; a white authoritarian clown and a black scapegoat named Chocolat. They are well received and the word spreads through France, reaching

Joseph Oller Josep Oller i Roca (1839–1922) was a Catalan entrepreneur who lived in Paris for most of his life. He co-founded the famous cabaret Moulin Rouge with Charles Zidler and was the inventor of the parimutuel betting. Biography Born in Terrassa, Jo ...

, director of the

Nouveau Cirque Contemporary circus (also known as new circus, and ''nouveau cirque'' and ''cirque contemporain'' in French-speaking countries) is a genre of performing arts developed in the late 20th century in which a story or theme is conveyed through tradit ...

. He asks Foottit and Chocolat to take their show to his Parisian establishment. The success is immediate, and Chocolat becomes the first famous black clown. The success stirs envy in his previous employer's wife. She denounces him for being in France illegally. Chocolat is arrested and tortured by the police. "A negro always remains a negro," the police commander tells Chocolat when he releases him. While the humiliation in the circus act is staged for humorous effect, the racism Chocolat encounters in France grinds him down. Chocolat is both celebrated as a star and made into a racial caricature. This becomes strikingly apparent when the poster for the show depicts Chocolat as a black stereotype. Faced with the hypocrisy of French society, he gives himself up to gambling, drugs and women. An attempt to end his clown duo to branch into the Shakesperean tragedy '' Othello'' ends with part of the audience booing the premiere. At the end of his life, Chocolat falls into obscurity and dies of consumption.

Historical accuracy

The film is only loosely based on the real life of Rafael Padilla, son of a slave from Cuba, a Spanish colony at the time.

References to other films

The film shows Foottit and Chocolat being filmed by

Louis Louis may refer to: * Louis (coin) * Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name * Louis (surname) * Louis (singer), Serbian singer * HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy See also Derived or associated terms * Lewis ( ...

and Auguste Lumiére. During the credits, the Lumiére film ' featuring the real clowns is shown.

Cast

as Chocolat * James Thiérrée as

* Clotilde Hesme as Marie *

Olivier Gourmet Olivier Gourmet (born 22 July 1963) is a Belgian actor. Gourmet was born in Namur. He won the Best Actor award at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival for his role in '' Le Fils'' by Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne. He also appeared in ''La Promesse ...

Frédéric Pierrot Frédéric Pierrot (born 17 September 1960) is a French actor. He has appeared in more than 120 films and television shows since 1986. He starred in the film '' Tell Me I'm Dreaming'', which was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the ...

as Monsieur Delvaux *

Noémie Lvovsky Noémie Lvovsky (; born 14 December 1964) is a French film director, screenwriter, and actress. Life and career Born in Paris in 1964, Lvovsky is the daughter of Jewish parents who emigrated from Ukraine to flee pogroms. She studied cinema at L ...

as Madame Delvaux *

Alice de Lencquesaing Alice de Lencquesaing (; born 11 August 1991) is a French actress who appeared in Mia Hansen-Løve's 2009 film '' Father of My Children'' with her father Louis-Do de Lencquesaing Louis-Do de Lencquesaing (born 25 December 1963) is a French act ...

as Camille * Alex Descas as Victor *

Olivier Rabourdin Olivier Rabourdin (born 3 March 1959) is a French film actor. He has appeared in more than seventy films since 1985. In 2010 he was nominated for a French César Award in the category of Best Supporting Actor (Meilleur acteur dans un second rôle) ...

Firmin Gémier Firmin Gémier (1869-1933) was a French actor and director. Internationally, he is most famous for originating the role of Père Ubu in Alfred Jarry’s play ''Ubu Roi''. He is known as the principle architect of the popular theatre movement in Fr ...

Xavier Beauvois Xavier Beauvois (; born 20 March 1967) is a French actor, film director and screenwriter. Career His film ''Don't Forget You're Going to Die'' was entered into the 1995 Cannes Film Festival where it won the Jury Prize. His film '' Of Gods an ...

Félix Potin Félix Potin is the name of a French businessman and his eponymous mass-distribution retail business, founded in the mid-nineteenth century. While the business was bought out and then collapsed in the second half of the twentieth century, the b ...

* Denis and

Bruno Podalydès Bruno Podalydès (born 11 March 1961) is a French writer, film director, producer and actor. His brother Denis Podalydès Denis Podalydès (born 22 April 1963) is a French actor and scriptwriter of Greek descent. Podalydès has appeared in more ...

Auguste and Louis Lumière The Lumière brothers (, ; ), Auguste Marie Louis Nicolas Lumière (19 October 1862 – 10 April 1954) and Louis Jean Lumière (5 October 1864 – 6 June 1948), were French manufacturers of photography equipment, best known for their ''Ciném ...

Thibault de Montalembert Thibault Charles Marie Septime de Montalembert (born 10 February 1962) is a French theatre, film and television actor. He is perhaps best known for his roles in the television series '' The Tunnel'' (2013–2018) and '' Call My Agent!'' (2015� ...

as Jules Moy * Héléna Soubeyrand as

Régina Badet Anne Régina Badet (9 October 1876 – 26 October 1949) was a French comedic actress, dancer, and star of the Ópera-Comique de Paris. Career Badet was first dancer with the Grand Théâtre de Bordeaux in 1890. She began with the Opéra-Comiqu ...

* Christophe Fluder as Marval * Antonin Maurel as Ortis * Mick Holsbeke as Green

Reception

Review aggregator

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

reports a 100% approval rating based on 23 reviews, with a

weighted average The weighted arithmetic mean is similar to an ordinary arithmetic mean (the most common type of average), except that instead of each of the data points contributing equally to the final average, some data points contribute more than others. The ...

of 7/10. It grossed $15.2 million at the box office.

Awards

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Chocolat 2016 films 2016 biographical drama films French biographical drama films 2010s French-language films Circus films Films about racism Films based on non-fiction books Films set in Paris Films directed by Roschdy Zem Gaumont Film Company films 2016 drama films Films about clowns Articles containing video clips 2010s French films