Chocolat

A film set in France at the beginning of the twentieth century. There is a small circus in the provinces. The clown Footit is getting old and his routines no longer work. A Black man is employed at the same circus in the part of a cannibal; he is put in a cage and the audience watches him in fear. Footit finds an idea: a double act. He will be the hard, orderly clown who beats, the other the one who is beaten. The act works. Before long they are in Paris and famous. The man's stage name is Chocolat. The second half is the price of that success. Chocolat earns money, gambles and spends; at the same time he notices that nobody knows his real name. He wants to stop being the man kicked on stage and tries playing Othello in the theatre. The house will not have it. The matter at the centre is this: the audience will love him only in one part, and stepping outside it takes all his standing away. The story is based on a real person; Rafael Padilla was the first Black clown to perform in France. Omar Sy plays Chocolat and James Thierrée plays Footit. Roschdy Zem directed. A strong production for anyone who likes period films and stories about life on stage. Before you watch, know this: the film shows the racist stage practices of the period directly.