Chocolat Blu-Ray

Director: Claire Denis

A young woman named France (Mireille Perrier) returns to Cameroon to visit the old colonial outpost where she grew up during the final days of French rule. When she arrives, she remembers her childhood in Mindif. As the only child in a white family, the Dalens, France forms a strong bond with their "houseboy" Protée (Isaach de Bankolé). France is a quiet and observant child, but still too innocent to fully understand the simmering sexual and racial tensions among the adults around her, and her idyll is shattered when a plane full of strangers makes an emergency landing nearby.Claire Denis' quasi-autobiographical exploration of the colonial power struggle in Cameroon is the first in a series of her films exploring French colonialism and racism in West Africa. Chocolat, which was nominated for the Palme d'Or, is a remarkable directorial debut with all the tension, subtlety, and sophistication that characterizes Claire Denis' films, and it has been brought to life in a dazzling new 4K restoration.

Extras

Newly restored and approved by director Claire Denis

Audio commentary by film scholar and critic Kate Rennebohm

Claire Denis à propos de Chocolat (2023, 18 min): Claire Denis discusses Chocolat and its new restoration

Claire Denis in Conversation (2019, 49 min): the filmmaker looks back on her career

Childhood Memories (Mary Martins, 2018, 4 min): a multi-layered autobiographical animation exploring memories from a childhood trip to Lagos, Nigeria

Original cinema trailer

Trailer for 2023

**FIRST PRINTING ONLY** Illustrated booklet with new essays by Cornelia Ruhe, Catherine Bray, and Kevin Le Gendre, as well as texts about Childhood Memories by director Mary Martins

Review

"Claire Denis' masterful filmmaking is matched by her fantastic control over the narrative. Astonishing" --New York Times

"I love Chocolat by Claire Denis. I've seen it a thousand times! --Wim Wenders (director of Wings of Desire and Paris, Texas)

"Incredibly confident" --Time Out