Chicago Sun-Times by Roger Ebert

Chocolat is one of those rare films with an entirely mature, adult sensibility; it is made with the complexity and subtlety of a great short story.

Chicago Tribune by Michael Wilmington

It's tantalizing, delectable and randy, a movie of melting eroticism and toothsome humor.

The New York Times by Vincent Canby

Miss Denis's mastery of film-making technology, which is something that can be learned, is equaled by her splendid control of narrative, a more elusive talent. She is astonishing. There are no dark corners in the story. Everything that happens is vivid and clear, though subject to the kind of speculation that tantalizes and rewards.

Little White Lies by Sophie Monks Kaufman

It’s astonishing how early on in her career Denis had a handle on her distinct brand of visual composition. Hers is a genius for showing not telling, for laying out surfaces that are rich with implication and for conducting details until there is a heady picture that is minutely observant with a sweep that reaches from heaven to hell.

Los Angeles Times by Kevin Thomas

A work of artistry and craftsmanship at the highest level.

Variety by Lael Loewenstein

The most satisfying epicurean feast since "Big Night."

Miami Herald by Bill Cosford

Chocolat is as beautiful as it is solemn. It's a meditation on memory and on the nature of innocence in the face of great, irresistible change, but its glory is in the quiet development of its several characters. [12 May 1989, p.5]

Boston Globe by Jay Carr

In the crowded landscape of anti-imperial and anti-colonial film, Claire Denis' Chocolat is a standout. Never raising its voice, avoiding the usual didacticism, Denis brings subtlety, sensitivity and an uncommonly clear personal vision to her memories of colonialism in Africa, where she spent her youth. [31 Mar 1989, p.34]

Newsweek by Jack Kroll

Moving like a dream that explodes into reality, Chocolat is blessed with superb acting, especially by its star, the African-born Bankole. His quiet eloquence and suppressed passion express the human cost of an unjust political system. [27 Mar 1989, p.68]

Mr. Showbiz by Kristy Martin

It's so easy to be mesmerized by Chocolat's brilliant indulgences that one abandons reason altogether.

TV Guide Magazine by Frank Lovece

The film burbles with delightful dialogue and a sparkling sense of life.

Rolling Stone by Peter Travers

A sinfully scrumptious bonbon.

Chicago Tribune by Dave Kehr

Director Claire Denis has attempted a meditative mood piece on the intertwined themes of colonialism and forbidden love. It's difficult, in fact, to tell which is the metaphor for which. But while the movie's tone is impeccably muted, and though its horizontally composed images are striking, and its dramatic rhythms are subtle and sure, there is something gnawingly simplistic in the conception. [12 May 1989, p.A]

Los Angeles Times by Sheila Benson

Chocolat is a film of some subtlety. It has good, even memorable moments to it, and it’s beautiful looking. It is very, very, very French, which may or may not be your cup of chocolat. It is also a suffocatingly precious film, enough to try the patience of an oyster, and one that primly refuses to detonate the mounting numbers of erotic situations it sets up.

Chicago Reader by Jonathan Rosenbaum

The episodic flow tends to set up an occasional self-consciousness and air of portent about the film’s apparent lack of pretension.