Nothing Like Chocolate (Kum-Kum Bhavnani, 2011): USA

Reviewed by Krista Marquez, Santa Barbara Film Festival.

It is true: nothing tastes better than ethically made, organic chocolate from the temperate climates of Grenada.  In the Caribbean Sea lies this island which is growing and producing their own chocolate.  Nothing Like Chocolate, a film by Kum-Kum Bhavani (The Shape of Water, 2006)  is the story of Grenada Chocolate Company and how it came to be today. Mott Green shares with us his experiences among the natives he becomes close with and his belief in the power of chocolate.

In the film, we learn where chocolate comes from and how its made.  Kum-Kum Bhavani juxtaposes the conventionality of chocolate processing with Mott Green’s and Doug Brown’s ethically made, alternative, quality chocolate.  We are also introduced to cacao farmers in Grenada and learn about their struggles with the chocolate market.

Sole surviving and dedicated leader of Grenada Chocolate Company, Mott Green, runs a small, shareholder-owned chocolate cooperative using antique factory equipment and ethical labor; he hires local help and buys fresh cacao from his neighbors and friends at a relatively high price.  Alternatively, Bhavani exposes the truth behind the greed of corporate chocolate market and its affect on the world’s cacao farmers and laborers.

Bhavani and Green work beautifully together in this film, shedding light on child-slave labor-free chocolate.  This documentary shows the reality of the wrongful corporate marketer in one perspective, but leads you to contemplate other unjust realities of our world.  Your heart will grow and your life will change forever after watching this beautiful and emotional film.