In 2016, the Hadhad family arrived at the Halifax Stanfield International Airport as refugees from a war-torn Syria. The family would settle in Antigonish, NS, a town approximately two hours northeast of Halifax, and, using their experience as chocolatiers, started a chocolate shop in a front lawn shed and eventually opened a factory. Their story made headlines around the country, even gaining the attention of Prime Minister Trudeau, and is now the inspiration for a heartwarming film about community and acceptance, Peace by Chocolate.
Director Jonathan Keijser focuses his film on Issam (Hatem Ali) and Tareq (Ayham Abou Ammar), father and son. As newcomers into Canada, Tareq adapts to the lingo and snow fairly easily. He has aspirations of completing his medical school education, which comes into conflict with Issam's desire to pick up where he left off as a chocolatier. Issam, used to being the de facto patriarch of the family, finds himself heavily dependent on Tareq to translate and manage the business side of the shop.
As a result of the disconnect between father and son, Tareq makes decisions throughout the film that are absolutely maddening. Problems are unnecessarily created by him for his father and their family, and while at first this makes for a frustrating viewing experience, there is a point in the film where this crystallizes as being intentional. Tareq's decisions are frustrating, because the character himself is frustrated. The choices he makes are fundamentally unsound, and Tareq is aware of this, but they are made in an effort for Tareq to find his own way. The tension between Issam and Tareq is played brilliantly, with both Ammar and the late Ali delivering great performances.
In addition to the internal familial conflict, the Hadhads also contend with some resentment from the community. While only Kelly (Alika Autran), owner of the local cafe and chocolate shop, is highlighted in this capacity, there is an overarching implication in the film that she is not the only one wary of her new neighbours. Peace by Chocolate doesn't explore racial tensions too deeply, which is a welcome change in a story like this, although this approach leaves the audience without any resolution to the issue — which, perhaps, is true to life.
As with most true stories, there are a lot of events to stuff into a suitable runtime. And while Keijser does well in choosing which issues to concentrate the film's attention on, the film moves at such a quick pace that there aren't many down moments to process the emotional beats with enough consideration.
The film ends with footage of the real-life Tareq and Issam in Nova Scotia, showing the makeshift chocolate shop on their front lawn and the factory they currently run. The clips ground the story well, reminding the audience that, for every dramatic and humorous moment in the film, there were real people struggling to create a new home in a foreign environment.
Peace by Chocolate is a timely film. The civil war in Syria remains ongoing, with many families still seeking refuge, and, in more recent news, the war in Ukraine has displaced many individuals as well. Probably the best thing that the movie does is contend with the idea that, although refugees are immensely grateful to their new home country, their decision to leave was not one of choice but of survival. Peace by Chocolate is an important film highlighting the best and worst of humanity, and what is possible when we open up our doors, hearts and stomachs to our neighbours.
(Vortex Media)Director Jonathan Keijser focuses his film on Issam (Hatem Ali) and Tareq (Ayham Abou Ammar), father and son. As newcomers into Canada, Tareq adapts to the lingo and snow fairly easily. He has aspirations of completing his medical school education, which comes into conflict with Issam's desire to pick up where he left off as a chocolatier. Issam, used to being the de facto patriarch of the family, finds himself heavily dependent on Tareq to translate and manage the business side of the shop.
As a result of the disconnect between father and son, Tareq makes decisions throughout the film that are absolutely maddening. Problems are unnecessarily created by him for his father and their family, and while at first this makes for a frustrating viewing experience, there is a point in the film where this crystallizes as being intentional. Tareq's decisions are frustrating, because the character himself is frustrated. The choices he makes are fundamentally unsound, and Tareq is aware of this, but they are made in an effort for Tareq to find his own way. The tension between Issam and Tareq is played brilliantly, with both Ammar and the late Ali delivering great performances.
In addition to the internal familial conflict, the Hadhads also contend with some resentment from the community. While only Kelly (Alika Autran), owner of the local cafe and chocolate shop, is highlighted in this capacity, there is an overarching implication in the film that she is not the only one wary of her new neighbours. Peace by Chocolate doesn't explore racial tensions too deeply, which is a welcome change in a story like this, although this approach leaves the audience without any resolution to the issue — which, perhaps, is true to life.
As with most true stories, there are a lot of events to stuff into a suitable runtime. And while Keijser does well in choosing which issues to concentrate the film's attention on, the film moves at such a quick pace that there aren't many down moments to process the emotional beats with enough consideration.
The film ends with footage of the real-life Tareq and Issam in Nova Scotia, showing the makeshift chocolate shop on their front lawn and the factory they currently run. The clips ground the story well, reminding the audience that, for every dramatic and humorous moment in the film, there were real people struggling to create a new home in a foreign environment.
Peace by Chocolate is a timely film. The civil war in Syria remains ongoing, with many families still seeking refuge, and, in more recent news, the war in Ukraine has displaced many individuals as well. Probably the best thing that the movie does is contend with the idea that, although refugees are immensely grateful to their new home country, their decision to leave was not one of choice but of survival. Peace by Chocolate is an important film highlighting the best and worst of humanity, and what is possible when we open up our doors, hearts and stomachs to our neighbours.
