1344 Chocolat

[Finch]

Claire Denis immediately revealed her command of cinematic form with her debut feature, drawn from her own experience of growing up in French colonial Africa. After many years of living in France, a white woman (Mireille Perrier) returns to the town in Cameroon where she spent her childhood. There, she reflects on her past, including her relationship with Protée (Isaach de Bankolé), a Black servant with whom she formed a friendship while not fully grasping the divides that governed their worlds. Already displaying many of Denis’s artistic signatures—including an immersive sense of place; an elliptical approach to storytelling; and an interest in complex dynamics of race, sex, and power—Chocolat is an evocatively impressionistic yet piercingly precise examination of the psychology of colonialism.

DIRECTOR-APPROVED BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES
New 4K digital restoration, supervised and approved by director Claire Denis and director of photography Robert Alazraki, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack
New interview with Denis
Interview with actor Isaac de Bankolé from 2011
Newsreel footage from the film’s Cannes premiere
Trailers
New English subtitle translation
PLUS: An essay by critic Jennifer Wilson

New cover by Michael Boland

[Lowry_Sam]

a little surprised this is blu-ray only.

[hearthesilence]

I can't wait to read the Amazon reviewer who complains this wasn't the "real" Chocolat movie they were looking for.

[Saturnome]

I can't wait to read the Amazon reviewer who complains this wasn't the "real" Chocolat movie they were looking for.

I had a conversation a few years ago where I was recommending the Claire Denis film and the person ended up watching the unrelated 2016 film.

[Rupert Pupkin]

It's strange that "Chocolat" does not have a UHD release.
I have seen the restored copy and even though you can sometimes notice 2 different sources, the color grading looks just fine to me without the greenish-blueish-yellowish "trademark" of some restorations, with some film grain texture.

[Matt]

The BFI Blu-ray edition of this same restoration, with more extras, came out a full two-and-a-half years ago. What have we been waiting for all this time?

[CSM126]

The BFI Blu-ray edition of this same restoration, with more extras, came out a full two-and-a-half years ago. What have we been waiting for all this time?

A staffer to trip over it and say “oh hey, this anything?”

[Captain Paranoia]

I can't wait to read the Amazon reviewer who complains this wasn't the "real" Chocolat movie they were looking for.

I had a conversation a few years ago where I was recommending the Claire Denis film and the person ended up watching the unrelated 2016 film.

Amusing to note, is that the unrelated 2016 film features in a supporting role Alex Descas; one of Denis's most frequent collaborators (who only started working with Denis starting with S'en fout la mort, her follow-up to Chocolat.)

And the 2000 one starring Binoche brings it full circle with her having worked with Denis on multiple occasions as well.

[ryannichols7]

The BFI Blu-ray edition of this same restoration, with more extras, came out a full two-and-a-half years ago. What have we been waiting for all this time?

A staffer to trip over it and say “oh hey, this anything?”

this is where I'm at. the Mike Leigh release, as bare as it is, at least has a newer restoration - the Denis literally has no reason to pick this up over the BFI even though Criterion usually give us at least some reason to double dip. even a low hanging fruit one like being a 4K or having a Barry Jenkins interview praising it feels like something they would've done. instead, a wholly superfluous release and especially at a time when other films by the director are in need, it feels like a total waste. after years of this being rumored/speculated, you really wonder why they even bothered! a "here, damn" of a release

[Peter McM]

I can't wait to read the Amazon reviewer who complains this wasn't the "real" Chocolat movie they were looking for.

I had a conversation a few years ago where I was recommending the Claire Denis film and the person ended up watching the unrelated 2016 film.

It's the Haggis vs. Cronenberg *Crash* confusion all over again.