"Monsieur Chocolat": cruel tale with Omar Sy – The critic!

We must always be wary of moral films, with a strong political character. We fear having a bad time, finding ourselves entrenched in our guilt, being caught in a social vice that does not concern us. We started with this idea during the preview screening, organized by Gaumont, of the film "Chocolat", directed by Roschdy Zem, with Omar Sy and James Thierrée. In theaters on February 3. "Chocolate" is a tale from a true story. A tale, because it is a magical, whimsical journey that starts from a small French province to find its consecration in the capital, city-light: Paris. A true story, because the film returns to the life too long remained in the anonymity of the first black clown of our beautiful country: Chocolat. Playing the cannibals at the beginning of the film for a small village circus, Rafael Padilla, the real name of "Chocolat" which is only a stage name, knows a certain success. But he remains confined to this role of savage of the jungle, making him an exotic attraction for the white public who came to be frightened and moved by the talents of interpretation of the black artist. Meanwhile, "Footit", the white clown of this circus played by Swiss actor James Thiérrée (Charlie Chaplin's grandson), knows a reverse story. The white clown no longer makes you laugh, and he desperately tries to convince the boss of the establishment to let him play a few more scenes solo, convinced that a sudden success will come back to him. He eyes and is slightly jealous of "Chocolat", although he paradoxically carries in affection the former slave who fled his native Cuba. It was then that a new duo was formed: "Footit" and "Chocolat" got along well, very well even: they developed together acts that will delight the spectators present every evening in this circus with the appearance of a popular festival. Inevitably, success knocks on their door, they are poached by the famous Joseph Ollier (creator of the Moulin Rouge and the Olympia). They are now reaching the firmament of notoriety. But every success has its downside, especially since "Chocolat" is dark, in a society where France is still a colonial empire, and where racial debates fascinate the crowds. "Chocolat" will learn the hard way that the elites of the French people still taste difference badly, and wants to make him pay dearly for his sudden accession to fame and wealth, he who does not even have French papers. Gaumont, the film's producer and distributor, had the audacity to support this film with a strong political message, in these troubled times. If Gaumont is therefore audacious, he is also visionary, as this film, very well made and offering a wide range of impressions and feelings, revives the dark sides of our common history by dressing it in a beautiful suit of light.