Chocolat (2016) User Reviews (14)

the funny-sad story of France's first black circus entertainer

[CineMuseFilms · 7/10 · 2 July 2017]

Films about racism come in a variety of genres and styles. Most are essays in conflict and hardship so it is unusual to find one that is based on circus clowns and laughter. The traditional circus was a mirror of the race and class structures of society and audience response reflected social values. This theme overarches the delightful French film Chocolat (2016) that is based on the true story of the first black-skinned circus entertainer in 19th century Paris.

A brief note on the history of clowns might help to see the deeper layers of this film. Dating to Greek and Roman theatre, the popularity of the clown's low-class buffoonery reflects the human need to occasionally step outside of the norms of society. Their costumes and personality codes vary widely from the European harlequin jester or comical fool to the American down-and-out hobo caricature. Traditional circus clowns perform slapstick comedy in pairs: the white-faced clown is the instigator of gags, the red-faced (or Auguste) clown is the victim or fall-guy. With centuries of tradition behind them, it was a cultural shock for French circus audiences to see a black-faced Auguste clown for the first time and terrifying to know that it was not black makeup.

It is 1886 and the tired-looking Circus Delvaux is auditioning for acts to restore its fortunes. White clown George Foottit (James Thiérrée) is struggling to find work until he teams up with a former Cuban-negro slave with the stage name of Chocolat (Omar Sy). They quickly become a sensational duo, and the Delvaux circus prospers as crowds flock to see George kick, slap, and humiliate Chocolat. As their fame grows, Chocolat becomes the star celebrity and flaunts his success with flamboyant clothes, expensive car, gambling and substance abuse. Over time, Chocolat grows resentful of the racist taunts and abandons George for a career as a Shakespearean actor. Despite a credible performance as Othello, French audiences cannot accept a black person in serious theatre. With growing gambling debts and ill health, Chocolat ends his career in sadness and despair.

There are so many engaging layers in this film. Both co-stars are brilliant in their roles and the detailed period sets exude authenticity. The behind-the-tent circus life is full of unusual and interesting humanity living in convoys of small caravans that move entertainers from town to town. From the perspective of the modern screen-reliant world, it is charming to see the physicality and humour of the lost art of circus slapstick comedy. While today's social conscience finds the blunt racism of a past era repulsive, this film reminds us of the ever-presence of race as a social divider. The appearance of black skin no longer shocks anyone but black talent is still the 'Auguste' in contemporary cinema.

This multi-layered film has a nuanced mix of humorous entertainment, historical insight and contemporary relevance. While funny faces, staring eyes, and goofy slapstick struggles to draw loud laughter today, the dark message of Chocolat lies in its portrait of racism masked as humour.

Interesting but not very captivating

[IndustriousAngel · 7/10 · 31 October 2016]

The story about an early black clown makes for an interesting tale; the circus setting is always a welcome deviation from our rational world, and there's even some nice acting and good sets here. Somehow it still doesn't add up to an A movie for me, although I'll recommend it at least for a single viewing.

The producers and director showed some balls in keeping this from being either a feelgood movie or a politically correct pamphlet; instead they go for a rather realistic and character-driven angle. The downside to this bold decision is that the movie is not very captivating, simply because the main character is - like most men - a mixed bag at best and a cautionary example of what money can do to people. In fact, this cautionary tale of a man whose very financial success leads to his moral decline is much more in the center of the movie than the racial themes which are dealt with mainly in a five minute detour.

Should have been better

[noutchka · 6/10 · 6 February 2016]

I just saw this movie in the theater in France and I had very high hopes for it. Although there were many positive aspects to this film, the main ones being the wonderful Omar Sy and James Thierree, I believe the film should have had more magic. However, movie tries to do to many things at the same time - a biopic, a historical film, an activist film, a friendship film.. - and the result is messy. I would have liked to see more of the relationship between the two main protagonists. Why did they become friends ? What were there struggles ? How did they work on their acts ? It is true that the movie gives some glimpses of those things, but never quite enough. This is a problem because I did not feel emotionally involved in scenes such as the one in which Chocolat and Footit find out they are going to Paris to pursue their career. I should have been. Even more so during the last scene of the movie. Only by then I was looking at my watch because the movie had been dragging a little too long. That being said, it is a worth seeing for its main actors. I give it 7/10 because of them.

Rise and fall of an artist

[searchanddestroy-1 · 22 December 2016]

I am the first to be surprised by this movie which I expected to be a comedy. It's usual that, in France, and not only in France, Black actors are used mainly in comedies, as buffoons, and I don't bear this. Omar Sy has been involved in many of this kind of stuff, unfortunately. But here, he is absolutely outstanding, poignant, convincing. He is a true actor, deserving an Academy Award for his performance. I think no one else could have played this role. The role of a totally forgotten Black artist who lived in the first years of the twentieth century, who raised for a very short fame before dying in poverty. In other words, we find here a pure American scheme: rise and fall. This kind of topic is used for gangsters films, or dramas involving artists, business men, politicians. I crave for these stories. But if you live the Wikipédia document, you'll notice that many lines have been forgotten about the true facts concerning the Chocolat's life. This film should have been longer or made through a short TV series, with four episodes.

A beautiful but sad drama which deserves to be widely known.

Melodramatic retelling of the life of a forgotten artist

[JPfanatic93 · 7/10 · 30 April 2016]

Monsieur Chocolat is one of those typical period dramas that tells a story of days of human degradation gone by more for the sake of the present day than for the desire to accurately reflect the times depicted. Though the director and writers proclaimed their intention of re-introducing a once famous French artist who by the dawn of the 21st Century had slipped into obscurity for a contemporary audience, the issues of race, though certainly a factor of Chocolat's life, are addressed far more strongly than they most likely were back in the days. Of course, Chocolat's entire career was based around his otherness and influenced more by the ignorant cultural notions of white audiences than they were by reality, but that didn't stop him from becoming one of the top theatrical artists of his day. And he was known to be proud of that achievement, even though much of his acts involved getting his arse kicked by a white clown.

But the blatant, painful melodrama of his life suggested by Monsieur Chocolat is more of an attempt to remind modern audiences of the insanity and humiliation on which his career was based rather than on actually reported events. Not to mention Chocolat's private demons involving women, booze, drugs and gambling, which add further obstacles to his career beyond simply attempting to add diversity to his stage acts. Basically, by adding all these other troubles, the writers make it clear that Chocolat is an artist like any other, dealing with the same pitfalls of fame that other artists experienced. It makes for rather generic situations beyond the ever degrading scenes of racial subjugation and does little to push Monsieur Chocolat above the myriad of similar films involving struggling performers of any ilk.

The performances, less so. Omar Sy may actually have hit a career high note in this one, delivering what certainly can be called his most convincing performance since Intouchables. He moves from merry clown entertaining women and children to broken, down-on-his-luck artist plagued by rampant racism seemingly effortlessly. Not to mention he and his co-star James Thierrée are equally matched, with the latter playing a perfect counterpart as the stage obsessed but otherwise grumpy and serious clown Footit, a total opposite to the light hearted Chocolat in many other respects beyond race. The duo makes for a strikingly different pair of personalities you could hardly imagine sharing the circus, though the ultimate break-up feels an inevitable event from the get-go. The circumstances involving their separation were not as 'black and white' as this film suggests though. Again, Monsieur Chocolat feels the need for distorting the truth to underscore the malign racism of the era. That message is well received, but the historical character of Chocolat is not aided by hammering home the message so harshly. However, thanks to this film, he is also not forgotten, so the makers succeeded in that regard as well.

A poignant tragedy about the rise and fall of an incredibly gifted individual.

[AlexFalzon · 6/10 · 16 June 2017]

Outside of a couple of small roles in Hollywood blockbusters X-Men: Days of Future Past and Jurassic World, I'd only ever seen Omar Sy in Intouchables, which was excellent, and in which he was excellent. He is also excellent in Chocolat (not to be confused with the 2000 film Chocolat, which is unrelated. Entirely.).

Based on a true story (quite loosely, according to my very limited amount of research), Chocolat tells the story of a black man (Chocolat) who serves as a circus' "cannibal" before agreeing to partner with a famous, though struggling, clown named Foottit, in doing so becoming the first black clown to head an act in France. Their partnership quickly garners the attention and adoration of the country, and they're recruited into Paris' Nouveau Cirque, where their fame only continues to grow.

The performances by Sy and his counterpart James Thiérrée (playing George Foottit) are captivating as the two men show us a relationship where both parties care deeply for each other even as they resent their mutual reliance. While we do get a taste for Foottit's own struggles outside of the circus, the majority of the film focuses on Chocolat's adjustment to the big city and the people who live in it. While he is ecstatic about how much money he is making and loves the spotlight, he lets fame go to his head, develops a gambling problem (when he's not wasting all of his money on trivial purchases), and endures the racism that comes from all directions, even from his most devoted fans. Eventually he decides on a bold change of career.

Where the film let me down was in its disjointedness; the film leaps ahead many times, as biopics are wont to do. However, each time we leap ahead, the film leaves behind an element of the story, never to be seen again. We are left to assume, I suppose, that the problems still present at the culmination of one time-period have been settled by the time the next begins. This is a film without any sense of resolution, which, while adding to its tragic nature, also left me feeling unsatisfied as the credits began to roll. What happened to all of the other characters we met along the way? Why make such a big deal out of them if they mattered so little to the story?

Outside of the performances, which, again, were stellar, I also very much enjoyed the music, editing and cinematography. The film was put together very well in all technical aspects, even utilising some archive footage right at the end which was very touching.

I'm not sure that it's a film I'd recommend to the everyday movie- goer, due to its confusing storyline-abandonments and its general deviation from historical fact, but it is one that I'd recommend to fans of Omar Sy (and James Thiérrée, who, by the way, is the grandson of Charlie Chaplin, and this adds another element of entertainment to his physical antics). Chocolat is a poignant tragedy about the rise and fall of an incredibly gifted individual and the partner with whom he shared fame.

alexfalzon.com - for more reviews.

A superb and tragic tale of France's first black clown

[robert-temple-1 · 10/10 · 9 January 2017]

This is a terrific film, with superb performances and direction, based upon the amazing but tragic true life story of Rafael Padilla, known as 'Chocolat', a black colonial slave who escaped to France as a child and became famous there as a circus clown. The director is Roschdy Zem, a well known actor in France who has only directed four films. He directs this film with such thorough professionalism that one could readily believe that he had really directed forty rather than four. The two lead actors are Omar Sy (that being a Senegalese surname, but he was born in France), who plays Chocolat, and James Thiérrée, who plays the older clown who discovers him, trains him, and becomes his partner, known as Footit. I must point out immediately that this is the same James Thiérrée who is such a genius stage performer, who tours the world with astounding surrealistic circus acts, and is perhaps the most highly regarded person of his kind in the world. He is the grandson of Charlie Chaplin and looks exactly like him (I mean Chaplin in real life, not 'the Little Tramp'). I first saw James and his sister Aurélie (another well known solo performer now) perform onstage when they were tiny children, appearing with their parents, Victoria Chaplin and Jean-Baptiste Thiérrée. Of all the Chaplin children, Victoria is the one who carried on the pure Chaplin talents for mime and acrobatics with the utmost genius, and her son has even surpassed her. Victoria's most astonishing feat in her own touring circus act was to fold herself up so that she could be shut into a moderately-sized suitcase! They really are an amazing family (and in Victoria's case, easy perhaps to take on holiday in the baggage rack). But Victoria and her husband are very, very private. They do not mix in the Paris world of celebs at all, and when I first had to contact her about something, two Paris celebs who 'knew everybody' and I thought could help me find her told me 'No one knows them.' James however seems to have an infinite number of friends who cluster around him enthusiastically, smothering him with admiration and bonhomie. He shows no signs of being surly or grumpy in his person, so it is all the more remarkable how wholly convincing he is in this film as Footit, a man who was always depressing and surly. In other words, James is a superb actor as well as everything else that he is. Omar Sy is magnificent as Chocolat, as he effortlessly glides between pathos and wild slapstick comedy. He too is a leading talent in France. So the film works, and comes together extremely well. Because James and Omar Sy are naturally practised and skilled at what they are doing, their circus acts are incredible. James not only plays someone who is, but himself is, a thorough circus pro who can do anything and everything, and has done so in public since at least the age of five or six. He can do clowning, acrobatics, high wire, trapeeze, mime, you name it. And he writes and plans and directs all his own shows with his small troupe. He is what is called THE REAL THING, and so is this film.

Okay, I'm a Philistine. I went because it's Charlie Chaplin's grandson.

[Nozz · 9/10 · 30 May 2016]

We should care about performers for what they do, not for who they are and certainly not for who their family is, but I couldn't help it. I went to see CHOCOLAT because the actor playing second lead is Charlie Chaplin's grandson. And even if I'd been expecting Charlie Chaplin's reincarnation, I wouldn't have been disappointed. As the movie introduces his character, he does a tour-de-force of solo clowning that's jaw-dropping. Later on, the movie focuses rather more on the title character as he and the second lead make a revolutionary pairing of the white clown and the Auguste in the same act. We don't quite get an explanation of what the traditional white clown and the traditional Auguste are, but we do get a vivid, picturesque depiction of 19th- century France and a pretty strong story line.

Best french movie

[sparklingmermaid · 10/10 · 25 June 2016]

I watch this movie in the last week in a cinema festival in my city called "Festival of Cinema Francês Varilux". The reasons who motivated me to see this movie was the circus theme, which pleases quite my particular taste, and I not regretted it one bit having assisted. The story based on real events was very well represented by their respective actors, and shows a clear way the difficulties and prejudices suffering black people in society in general during the nineteenth century. It's exciting and makes us us to reflect about the life of the clown Chocolat. I really enjoyed, is engaging and exciting. Script, scenery and costumes simply perfect. You feel in time the film is over, the places makes you travel centuries in the past. It seems that every detail has been thought out thoroughly, just impeccable.

Enthralling

[julieaforster · 10/10 · 21 March 2017]

Monsieur Chocolat takes you on a black man and his clown mentor's journey at the turn of the 20th Century.

Visually sumptuous, the film invites you to suspend your 21st-century habits and venture back into a time when everything was slower. Everything was tougher too though, depending on the cards you had been dealt in life.

If you allow yourself to enter this sometimes magical and sometimes scary world, you will be seduced by the rhythm and pace of the story as it unfolds and moved by the resilience of the human spirit.

The hard and soft edges of humanity stay with you long after you leave the cinema.

(out of) Business

[kosmasp · 8/10 · 22 December 2020]

Certain things may seem ... strange to say the least. Like how people of color were treated. Not just in America mind you. And this movie showcases just that. Omar Sy is very well known for another comedy, but as with that other movie, there are underlying social and ethical questions here.

I personally never was too much of a fan of laughing at other peoples pain. That is if we are talking about real pain. Or dignity - if someone trips it is embarassing, because most will laugh as a first reaction instead of worry if something happened or what made the person trip. In comedy that is used to their advantage - as is the case here, where we laugh with the silliness but also the "pain" of the characters displayed.

But what we see on the surface is just that: it is on the surface! Because there is a lot more to be seen here. As a character piece this is quite incredible and really well thought of and played. It is not just fun and games though as you can imagine ... and all that in the face of that or similar things actually being true (as in they happened) ...

fascinating

[Kirpianuscus · 28 October 2019]

First impression - one of many biographical films about well ignored cultural personalities. A sort of rehabilitation.

At the second view - the strange feeling about the resemblance of James Thierree and his grandfather.

Not the last - the fascination. About the performance of Omar Sy. About so familiar slices of racism and for the seductive way to tell a story about glory and about succes, about its high price and about acceptance, about love and fall . And, sure, about friendship.

Sure, it is not fundamental different by many other films about same theme. Its virtue- to be a film "with soul". And well acted. And wise mix of humor and bitterness.

Excellent

[eyeintrees · 10/10 · 8 November 2017]

James Thierrée took the show for me followed neck and neck by Omar Sy. What a tribute of excellent acting! I found the movie totally fascinating, having no idea about these lives and events and how they were both, in their own way, totally ground breaking performers.

Unlike one review, I reveled in the depth of the story. I found the solid mix of racial issues, the rise of their fame and brilliance, the whole patina that made up parts of this time in their lives made for excellent viewing for anyone with something of a thinking mind.

Just a wonderful movie with standout brilliant acting. I was surprised and enthralled.

The cauldron of our antecedents finds a voice and a vision.

[dapadayachee · 10/10 · 24 February 2017]

'Chocolat' A review by Deena Padayachee. directed by Roschdy Zem and starring Omar Sy and James Thiérrée. This film is a devastating indictment of the imperial caste system in imperial France. You see this tall black man walk into a circus ring hand in hand with a monkey - to the derisory hoots of the conquerors. That's the kind of thing many black people had to do to survive in those trying times when we were the descendants of the conquered and our children had little hope. These broken semi slaves were often forced to run a horrifying gauntlet and they experienced the most excruciating pain and indignity just to be allowed to draw breath. Chocolat's father saw his son watch him the old man was forced to to behave like an animal and accept crumbs from the Master's table. The 'chocolate' man later became one half of black and white circus act at the beginning of the 20th century. He is usually the clown who is booted, slapped and punched by the white actor. A shroud of humiliation and mockery beset him every waking minute. Perpetual stress and depression was part of his permanent tomb as a plaything in the heart of the French empire. Virtually his only source of happiness emanated from the beautiful white women who were willing to enter his ebony world and love him. At one point he is told, "For white people, a successful black man is a great insult." Trying to work and survive in the land of 'liberty, equality and fraternity', it was inevitable that his very presence was seen as an affront by many French. In what appeared to be a contrived stratagem, Chocolat is arrested and tortured for 'not having an ID document'. This atrocity predated the Apartheid dompass system. A dark skin instantly criminalised one in the eyes of many light skinned people. The imperial legal system was there to terrorise, torture, undermine, sabotage and murder black people who dared to utilise their gifts and become the peers of white people. This film is an exceptional exposition of the terrible trials and tribulations of the conquered caste in the era before the world wars between the empires - wars that helped to free, to an extent, the conquered world. From childhood I used to wonder why so many non white people behaved so badly when they had the choice to behave decently. A tragedy of infinite proportions is the fact that millions of descendants of the conquered will never know that this film exists. When I saw the film, most of the audience was white. Ours is still very much a conquered, colonised world. But many do not know that.