Chocolate at the movies

Contemporary Classics

1. Chocolat (2000)
   Director: Lasse Hallström
   Starring: Juliette Binoche, Johnny Depp
   Focus: A mysterious woman brings transformation to a traditional French town through the pleasures of chocolate.
   Why Watch: A sensual, poetic film that uses chocolate as a metaphor for pleasure, rebellion, and transformation.
   …. And don’t forget a new “prequel” of the classic book has just been published!
   Watch: Trailer on YouTube
2. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005)
   Director: Tim Burton
   Starring: Johnny Depp, Freddie Highmore
   Focus: A reimagined version of Roald Dahl’s novel, exploring the eccentric world of Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory.
   Why Watch: Visually imaginative and quirky with a darker edge than the original.
   Watch: Trailer on YouTube
3. Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971)
   Director: Mel Stuart
   Starring: Gene Wilder
   Focus: Classic musical adaptation of Roald Dahl’s story featuring songs and surreal visuals.
   Why Watch: Campy, nostalgic, and deeply influential in pop culture.
   Watch: Trailer on YouTube
4. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2023) – Wonka
   Director: Paul King
   Starring: Timothée Chalamet
   Focus: A whimsical prequel exploring young Willy Wonka’s origins and dreams of opening a chocolate shop.
   Why Watch: A fresh, musical take with rich visuals and an origin story angle.
   Watch: Trailer on YouTube
5. Like Water for Chocolate (1992) – Como Agua Para Chocolate
   Director: Alfonso Arau
   Language: Spanish (Mexico)
   Focus: A young woman’s emotions are transmitted through food, especially chocolate, in a tale of forbidden love.
   Why Watch: Visually rich and emotionally charged; chocolate is used symbolically in recipes that convey unspoken feelings.
   Watch: Trailer on YouTube

International Indie Movies with a Chocolate Twist

1. Romantics Anonymous (2010) – Les Émotifs Anonymes
   Director: Jean‑Pierre Améris
   Focus: A shy chocolatier and the factory owner find love through sweets.
   Why Watch: Charming, heartwarming, and artisan‑chocolate focused. Deserves to be far better known! Available on Amazon, Netflix and Disney
   Watch: Official Trailer on YouTube youtube.com
2. Chef (2014)
   Director & Star: Jon Favreau
   Focus: A chef reinvents himself via a food truck—including a molten chocolate cake moment (OK, it’s a bit of a stretch .. but it’s a GREAT movie!)
   Why Watch: A delicious homage to creativity and flavour.
   Watch: Official Trailer on YouTube
3. Kings of Pastry (2009)
   Directors: Chris Hegedus & D.A. Pennebaker
   Focus: Elite pastry chefs compete for Meilleur Ouvrier de France, with chocolate sculptures central. France’s answer to master chef or Great British Bake off?
   Why Watch: Intense, artistic, and beautifully filmed.
   Watch: Official Trailer on YouTube
4. The Chocolate War (1988)
   Director: Keith Gordon (also Producer: Jonathan D. Krane)
   Based on: Robert Cormier’s novel
   Focus: A student resists selling chocolate bars for a fundraiser; the conflict escalates.
   Why Watch: A nostalgic allegory of conformity, power, and rebellion in a VERY different time
   Watch: Movie Trailer on YouTube
5. Bread and Chocolate (1974) – Pane e cioccolata
   Director: Franco Brusati
   Focus: An Italian immigrant’s satirical, poignant journey of assimilation in Switzerland from the 1970s
   Why Watch: We’re not the first generation to face challenges with immigration! Note: only available in Italian
   Watch: Clip from the film on YouTube
6. Consuming Passions (1988)
   Director: Giles Foster
   Starring: Vanessa Redgrave, Jonathan Pryce, Sammi Davis, Tyler Butterworth, Freddie Jones, Prunella Scales
   Plot/Focus: A black comedy about a chocolate factory where a tragic accident leads to a new luxury chocolate product containing human flesh. When the tainted chocolates become a surprise hit, the factory’s owners go to extreme lengths to keep up with demand, leading to ever more macabre methods of production
   Why Watch: A cult British satire that skewers both corporate greed and consumer culture, with a uniquely dark sense of humour rarely seen in food-themed films.
   Official Trailer: Consuming Passions Official Trailer (YouTube)
7. Merci pour le Chocolat (2000)
   Director: Claude Chabrol
   Starring: Isabelle Huppert, Jacques Dutronc, Anna Mouglalis, Rodolphe Pauly
   Plot/Focus: Mika Muller, head of a Swiss chocolate company, marries a concert pianist. When a young woman claims she was switched at birth with Mika’s stepson, family secrets and suspicions swirl, all while chocolate serves as both comfort and a tool for control
   Why Watch: A psychological thriller with a chilling performance by Isabelle Huppert, this film uses chocolate as a motif for deception, obsession, and hidden motives.
   Official Trailer: Official Film Trailer (YouTube)
8. Peace by Chocolate (2021)
   Director: Jonathan Keijser
   Starring: Hatem Ali, Ayham Abou Ammar, Yara Sabri, Mark Camacho
   Plot/Focus: Based on a true story, this film follows Tareq, a young Syrian refugee whose family relocates to Nova Scotia after their chocolate factory is destroyed. As Tareq struggles between his dream of becoming a doctor and helping his family rebuild their chocolate business, the film explores themes of resilience, identity, and community
   Why Watch: Heartfelt and uplifting, it celebrates the healing power of chocolate and entrepreneurship, while highlighting the immigrant experience in Canada.
   Official Trailer: Peace by Chocolate (2021) | Trailer (YouTube)
9. Lessons in Chocolate (Lezioni di cioccolato) (2007)
   Director: Claudio Cupellini
   Starring: Luca Argentero, Violante Placido, Neri Marcorè
   Plot/Focus: A contractor is forced to take the place of his injured Egyptian worker in a pastry-making course, where he learns the art of chocolate and discovers a new perspective on life and love
   Why Watch: A light-hearted Italian romantic comedy that blends culture clash, personal growth, and the universal appeal of chocolate.
   Official Trailer/Preview: Lessons in Chocolate (Lezioni Di Cioccolato, 2007) (YouTube)

Documentaries and the tougher stuff

1. The Dark Side of Chocolate (2010)
   Directors: Miki Mistrati & U. Roberto Romano
   Producer: Helle Faber
   Focus: Investigative exposé on child labor and trafficking in the cocoa industry in West Africa.
   Why Watch: Essential, hard-hitting film revealing abuses behind mass-market chocolate.
   Watch: Full Documentary on YouTube
2. Bitter Chocolate (2005, CBC Marketplace)
   Producer: CBC Marketplace Team
   Focus: TV report exposing child labor and ethical failings in the cocoa trade. Based off Carol Orffs book of the same name .. and still very much worth a read
   Why Watch: One of the earliest televised reports on chocolate ethics.
   Watch: CBC Segment (search “Bitter Chocolate CBC” on YouTube)
3. Nothing Like Chocolate (2012)
   Director & Producer: Kum-Kum Bhavnani
   Focus: A small ethical chocolate company in Grenada aims to challenge the global chocolate industry.
   Why Watch: It explores ethical sourcing, fair trade, and the realities of cocoa farming.
   Watch: Trailer on YouTube
4. The Chocolate Case (2016) – Tony: The Chocolonely Story
   Director: Benthe Forrer
   Focus: Dutch journalists try to hold chocolate makers accountable, ultimately launching Tony’s Chocolonely.
   Why Watch: Inspiring blend of activism, humor, and the birth of an ethical chocolate brand. Great lesson on the power of marketing .. but Tony’s given that over 50% of your ingredients are sugar, why not tell us where that comes from? And more nuance please on child labour – see HERE
   Watch: Clips on Vimeo
5. Food Chains (2014)
   Director: Sanjay Rawal
   Executive Producers: Eva Longoria & Eric Schlosser
   Focus: The exploitation of agricultural workers in the U.S.,even if not about chocolate, lots of cocoa trade parallels.
   Why Watch: Broadens the view of food ethics and connects with global supply chain issues.
   Watch: Trailer on YouTube
6. Rotten (2018, Netflix) – Episode: “Bitter Chocolate”
   Director: Abigail Harper
   Focus: Corruption, poverty, and power imbalances in the West African cocoa supply chain.
   Why Watch: Sharp and visually compelling insight into systemic exploitation.
   Watch: Episode Info and Trailer
7. The True Cost of Chocolate (2023, DW Documentary)
   Produced by: DW Documentary
   Focus: Examines cocoa’s links to deforestation, climate change, and economic disparity.
   Why Watch: A modern, clear analysis of chocolate’s global impact. And great French practise?
   Watch: Full Documentary on YouTube (in French!)
8. Chocolate Road (2021)
   Director & Co-Producer: Tanya Chuturkova
   Focus: Follows three bean-to-bar makers across cultures and continents – shout out to Mikkel Friis Holm
   Why Watch: Great visuals and hopeful insight into craft chocolate
   Watch: Official Trailer on YouTube
9. The Chocolate War (2022)
   Director: Miki Mistrati
   Starring: Human rights lawyer Terry Collingsworth, with appearances by former child labourers and industry representatives
   Plot/Focus: This observational documentary follows Collingsworth’s five-year legal battle against chocolate giants Nestlé and Cargill, aiming to hold them accountable for child slavery and trafficking in West African cocoa production. The film blends courtroom drama with undercover investigative reporting, exposing the ongoing ethical failures of the chocolate industry
   Why Watch: A powerful, urgent exposé that goes beyond previous documentaries by focusing on the legal fight for justice, offering a sobering look at the true cost of chocolate and the uphill battle for human rights reform.

A couple of gems

1. The Hot Choc‑late Soldiers (1934)
   Director & Producer: Walt Disney
   Focus: A whimsical animated “Silly Symphony” short featuring confectionary soldiers going to war against a cookie castle—complete with triumphant parade and a melting finale. imdb.com+5en.wikipedia.org+5queue.co+5
   Why Watch: A rare and charming chocolate-themed cartoon by Disney, notable for its creative candy-world imagination and visual novelty. archive.org+4youtube.com+4youtube.com+4
   Watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0S8WPKOoE6s
2. Forest Gump
   Director: Robert Zemeckis
   Starring: Tom Hanks
   Focus: A different time in America, with one of the all time most iconic chocolate-related quotes.
   Watch: “Life is like a box of chocolates” Scene on YouTube