Claire Denis's Chocolat

Discuss some of the ways in which Claire Denis’s Chocolat uses familiar techniques in cinema to comment upon the relationship between the French Colonials and the native African inhabitants of French Cameroon. i

The theme’s of colonisation and neocolonialism that are the driving force behind Claire Denis’s masterpiece Chocolat, can be highly attributed to her own personal experiences whilst spending her childhood in colonial Africa. Albeit a child, Denis’s complete immersion into colonial life at this point, has had great influence on her later works, with her characters consistently being confronted by prejudice and cultural and social alienation. Denis particularly excels at demonstrating the relationship and difference in status between the French Colonials and
Aimée is irrevocably attracted to Protée and to an extent this makes her vulnerable to him. However, Denis shows through the shared gaze of Protée and Aimée, in the scene where he fastens up her dress,for a split moment, he is her equal. Denis’s use of little dialogue hammers home the importance of this gaze,proving that even for a little while, the pure chemistry between the two of them alludes to the possibility that something romantic could occur between them, as by returning her gaze, proves Aimée does see Protée as something more than just her property. However, Chocolat is far from a softhearted romance, where love conquers all boundaries. We see this in the scene when Aimée attempts to show her affection for Protée by stretching out for his leg. In this scene she is positioned crouching underneath the curtain, after she reaches out for him, he carefully crouches down towards her and then abruptly pulls her up to his level. This is Protée’s way of reminding her that she is above him and due to racial boundaries their relationship can never