Chocolat Sparknotes

In Claire Denis’ film, Chocolat, the relationship between the colonized and colonizers is focused to show each side’s point of view. This relationship is seen between Aimee, a young French mother, and Protee, a servant of Aimee’s family, who has set a boundary regarding the concept of race. The film is set in a limited, isolated area, the quarters where Aimee’s family and Protee resides, in order to utilize the surroundings to create a racial boundary and to focus on the character’s behavior and emotions. By creating a racial boundary, it limits one’s potential through status in power, empathy and ethnic exclusion. Chocolat is an emotional film with historical context that captures brilliant and effective scenes and reveals the powerful understatement

and understanding of both races.
At 43:40, Aimee is seen smoking a cigarette in her room out of frustration.

She turns her head and the camera’s perspective turns to Protee, who is organizing Aimee’s clothes. Aimee walks over to her sewing machine and bans Protee from entering her room and demands him to bring water for her bath. Aimee sets the racial boundary between herself and Protee by making demands in an authoritative tone to show that she is in charge of him; it is important to note that Aimee does not realize Protee is aware of his limitations because of his social status. She continues to act out of impulse without any concern towards his feelings. He cannot argue or ask why she banned him from entering the room for no reason because he knows he is unable to take action with his current status. He is powerless, just as the indigenous people were when they were forced out of their own land because they did not have enough power to fend against the French, who settled in

Cameroon.
In 44:52, the scene changes to Protee climbing a wooden ladder, holding a silver bucket filled with water to fill the huge, red tank for Aimee’s shower; the camera’s perspective does not show Aimee bathing as she is hidden behind the brick walls. Here, the brick wall acts as a natural boundary between Protee, who is in public, and Aimee, who is in private; the zone is set as Aimee is allowed in the isolated quarters while Protee is not allowed inside. As soon as Protee climbs back down, the soapy water is immediately poured out of the drain and the camera, which acts as Protee’s eyes, quickly switches perspective to show the water dampening the dirt. Protee drops the silver buckets and kicks them out of frustration. Water is a precious source of life for the indigenous people in Africa. Aimee, who represents the colonizers, wastes a good amount of water that could be used as a drinking source or farming by the indigenous people. This angers Protee, the colonized, who saw the large amount of water being wasted. As a colonizer, Aimee has no understanding that water is an important source of life for the indigenous people.
At 45:40, Protee is seen washing his body in broad daylight to show his dark skin.

In the background the audience can view both France and Aimee walking back to their quarter. Protee washes himself with one bucket of cold water and the perspective includes Protee, Aimee and France to show that they can all see each other. Protee silently cries in shame and elbows the wall without anyone noticing his pain except for the audience. In contrast to the private bath, this can represent the racial boundary between the indigenous people and the French. Earlier, the camera’s perspective did not show Aimee bathing, but it does Protee bathing in public. There is an invisible line that divides them, the French live in the isolated quarters while the indigenous people have a designated area in public that can be viewed by others, to shame them and look down upon them. To add on, other characteristics such as skin color, as seen when the camera shows Protee’s bare skin, plays a significant role that acts as a dividing racial line. Although skin color is not actually “white and black”, it is an ideology that has been embedded into the human mind as a way to set ethical

differences.
By incorporating the use of strong emotions rather than the use of verbal words, Denis adds a stronger message to the historical context of how the indigenous people were treated, felt and viewed. Denis shows Aimee and Protee both facing challenges of their own, but also shows a one-sided ethical exclusion towards the indigenous people. By using natural boundaries as a metaphor for historical context, the film addresses the unsaid understatement of an invisible boundary between the two races. The film provides a fascinating, yet a powerful social enlightenment to the viewers regarding the relationship between the colonized and colonizers.