Chocolat (2016 film)

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2016 French film

3 February 2016 (2016-02-03)

Running time

110 minutesCountryFranceLanguageFrenchBudget$21 million^[1]Box office$15.3 million^[2]

Chocolat is a 2016 French drama film directed by Roschdy Zem and starring Omar Sy 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, 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, director of the Nouveau Cirque. 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,^[3] son of a slave from Cuba, a Spanish colony at the time.

References to other films

French: Chaise en bascule, lit. 'The tilting chair', featuring Chocolat and Foottit.

The film shows Foottit and Chocolat being filmed by Louis and Auguste Lumiére. During the credits, the Lumiére film The Tilting Chair [fr] featuring the real clowns is shown.

Cast

Omar Sy as Chocolat
James Thiérrée as George Foottit
Clotilde Hesme as Marie
Olivier Gourmet as Joseph Oller
Frédéric Pierrot as Monsieur Delvaux
Noémie Lvovsky as Madame Delvaux
Alice de Lencquesaing as Camille
Alex Descas as Victor
Olivier Rabourdin as Firmin Gémier
Xavier Beauvois as Jacques Potin
Denis and Bruno Podalydès as Auguste and Louis Lumière
Thibault de Montalembert as Jules Moy
Héléna Soubeyrand as Régina Badet
Christophe Fluder as Marval
Antonin Maurel as Ortis
Mick Holsbeke as Green

Reception

Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reports a 100% approval rating based on 23 reviews, with a weighted average of 7/10.^[4] It grossed $15.2 million at the box office.^[2]

Awards

Award / Pelicula Festival	Category	Nominations	Outcomes
César Awards	Best Actor	Omar Sy	Nominated
	Best Supporting Actor	James Thiérrée	Won
	Best Sound	Brigitte Taillandier, Vincent Guillon and Stéphane Thiébaut	Nominated
	Best Original Music	Gabriel Yared	Nominated
	Best Production Design	Jérémie D. Lignol	Won
Globe de Cristal Awards	Best movie		Won
Globe de Cristal Awards	Best actor	Omar Sy	Won
Lumières Awards	Best Actor	Omar Sy	Nominated
Lumières Awards	Best Actor	James Thiérrée	Nominated

References

^ "Chocolat (2016)". JP's Box-Office.
^ ^a ^b "Chocolat". Box Office Mojo.
^ Michel, Nicolas (29 January 2015). "Cinéma : ce qui est vrai, ce qui est faux dans " Chocolat ", le film de Roschdy Zem" (in French).
^ "Chocolat". Rotten Tomatoes.