joelglevi Review of The Chocolate War

The Chocolate War (1988)

This movie has stayed with me since I first saw it in the 80s

[9/10 · 21 April 2007]

I rarely write reviews here, but I had to put in a good word for The Chocolate War when I saw so few positive comments on the film. Simply put, if you are the right person who had similar experiences growing up, this movie will move you. You will not forget it. It is a low-budget film, and it sometimes shows. Some of the devices used to show the brutality and its emotional effect on the lead character are clumsy. But I have seldom been more affected by a film. Rather than say anything about the plot, I would prefer to discuss the themes that this movie presents so well. It is about the authoritarian impulses that lie deep in the human psyche. It shows how groupthink can destroy individuality and human dignity. It is about cruelty. When the lead character, Jerry, chooses to defy these conditions in his high school he comes face to face with some terrible truths about human behavior. The film's climax, of course, brings him in direct opposition to his classmates, and it might feel contrived, except that this film manages to bring the ugliness of humanity into sharp relief. If you take a chance on this film, you might not like it. Or, it might move you like few other films ever do.