Isaach de Bankolé

Start with Chocolat (1988), where the Ivorian actor plays Protee, a servant in a French household in colonial Cameroon. His watchful stillness makes the unequal relationships impossible to overlook, even when the film follows a child's memories. It is a revealing introduction to an actor who can command attention without explaining himself through dialogue. This is Claire Denis's film, not the later chocolate-shop romance with the same title.