Black Tea

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1:36

Black Tea

2025

1h 51m

Drama

Romance

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

33%

Tomatometer

18 Reviews

Popcornmeter

Fewer than 50 Ratings

After saying no on her wedding day, Aya leaves the Ivory Coast for a new life in the buzzing "Chocolate City" in Guangzhou, China. In this district where the African diaspora meets the Chinese culture, she gets hired in a tea boutique owned by Cai, a Chinese man. In the secrecy of the back shop, Cai decides to initiate Aya to the tea ceremony. Through the teaching of this ancient art, their relationship slowly turns into tender love. But for their burgeoning passion to lean on trust, they must let go of their burdens and face their past.

Dwight Brown

DwightBrownInk.com

05/22/2025

2/4

Even master auteurs have an off day. A premise that doesn’t pan out. A vision others can’t see. But somehow film buffs find some kind of gold in whatever they do.

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Robert Daniels

RogerEbert.com

02/24/2024

There are few sights more shocking than a talented veteran filmmaker totally whiffing: That rare surprise occurred with director Abderrahmane Sissako’s jumbled and misjudged romance “Black Tea.”

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Rachel Pronger

IndieWire

02/23/2024

B-

For all its comforting warmth, Sissako’s film ultimately lacks the deeper complexity of its namesake, even if watching it is often as soothing as sipping a freshly brewed cup.

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Padaí Ó Maolchalann

In Review Online

06/06/2025

Turn to Black Tea for distraction, comfort, or answers of any kind, and be left wanting. There are no answers here, only the disappointing question of how a filmmaker as accomplished as Abderrahmane Sissako made a film as bad as this.

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Nairon Santos de Morais

Loud and Clear Reviews

05/13/2025

3.5/5

Abderrahmane Sissako shows he knows what he’s doing with this Wong Kar-Wai pastiche and creates a beautiful aesthetic exercise that envelops you in its warm images.

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Sarah Vincent

Boston Movie News

05/12/2025

At its best, it is a story about (heteronormative) love and seamless belonging where differences only enhance life, not divide it. At its worst, dangerous behavior is like a wolf in Benetton clothing

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Alain E

@AlainE 4d

A very unusual movie, superbly photographed. I didn’t know until now that in Guangzhou (previously known as Canton) a city with some 18 million people, there is an established community of West Africans measuring about ten thousand. The movie is about an African woman who works for a Chinese man who sells tea leaves. There is some attraction between them, but it doesn’t seem to go anywhere. The man has a daughter who lives away, the product of a relationship with a different black woman. He is also married and estranged from his Chinese wife, with whom he shares a son. In other words he has been busy and unable to decide what to do. The movie is slow and not much is happening, but it is a visual treat. On Cineverse.

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Abderrahmane Sissako

Director

Nina Melo

Aya

Han Chang

Cai

Wu Ke-Xi

Ying

Michael Chang

Li-Ben

Isabelle Kabano

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Black Tea: Trailer 1

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Synopsis

After saying no on her wedding day, Aya leaves the Ivory Coast for a new life in the buzzing "Chocolate City" in Guangzhou, China. In this district where the African diaspora meets the Chinese culture, she gets hired in a tea boutique owned by Cai, a Chinese man. In the secrecy of the back shop, Cai decides to initiate Aya to the tea ceremony. Through the teaching of this ancient art, their relationship slowly turns into tender love. But for their burgeoning passion to lean on trust, they must let go of their burdens and face their past.

Director: Abderrahmane Sissako
Screenwriter: Abderrahmane Sissako, Kessen Tall
Distributor: Cohen Media Group
Genre: Drama, Romance
Original Language: Chinese
Release Date (Theaters): May 9, 2025, Limited
Release Date (DVD): Jul 15, 2025
Runtime: 1h 51m
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.85:1)

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