Details
Movie Description
The disastrous effects of French colonialism are examined through the paradigm of a young girl's coming of age in French West Africa in Claire Denis' astonishing first film. As France, a woman traveling alone in Cameroon, slips into a dreamy and distant flashback, scenes of a makeshift existence come into focus. France's father, a district governor, and her fragile mother are living a relatively peaceful if somewhat strained existence when a plane carrying a gaggle of French imperialists and their entourage makes an emergency landing near their house. An ex-priest, a white plantation owner and his African concubine, and a newlywed couple are forced to stay with the family. The convergence of this motley crew forces tensions and troubles that were bubbling barely below the surface to silently erupt. Sexual tensions, as well as social and class struggles, explode, with expansive vistas of Cameroon as an astonishing yet innocent backdrop. The heat, the landscape, and the underlying and eroticized tension converge as the noble and austere houseboy, Protee, becomes the focus of France's memories and regrets.
Synopsis
The disastrous effects of French colonialism are examined through the paradigm of a young girl’s coming of age in French West Africa in Claire Denis astonishing first film. As France, a woman traveling alone in Cameroon, slips into a dreamy and distant flashback, scenes of a makeshift existence come into focus. France’s father, a district governor, and her fragile mother are living a relatively peaceful if somewhat strained existence when a plane carrying a gaggle of French imperialists and their entourage makes an emergency landing near their house. An ex-priest, a white plantation owner and his African concubine, and a newlywed couple are forced to stay with the family. The convergence of this motley crew forces tensions and troubles that were bubbling barely below the surface to silently erupt. Sexual tensions, as well as social and class struggles, explode, with expansive vistas of Cameroon as an astonishing yet innocent backdrop. The heat, the landscape, and the underlying and eroticized tension converge as the noble and austere houseboy, Protee, becomes the focus of France’s memories and regrets.
Film Notes
DVD Features:
Region 1
Keep Case
Letterboxed - 1.66
Audio:
Dolby Digital Mono - French
Additional Release Material:
Trailers - 1. Original Theatrical Trailer
This was director Claire Denis's first feature film. He formerly worked as an assistant to German director Wim Wenders, whose production company partially funded CHOCOLAT.
This also was the first independent film supported by producers Gerard Crosnier and Alain Belmondo (actor Jean-Paul Belmondo's brother).
This story is based on Denis's childhood memories.
The subtitles are in yellow for easy legibility.
Industry Reviews
"...Some kind of miniature classic....[Denis] is astonishing...[and] CHOCOLAT is among the best..."
Canby
"...[Denis] treasures the elliptical and the allusive....CHOCOLAT is a film of some subtlety. It has good, even memorable moments to it, and it's beautiful looking..."
Los Angeles Times - Sheila Benson (04/20/1989)
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