Keith Gordon, "The Chocolate War" (1988).
When I was downtown last weekend, I happened to stroll by the store where I used to purchase many of my new DVDs. I was once in the habit of stopping by there every Tuesday when the new releases were shelved. I'd make it a point to comb through the list on Amazon every week, and pick out a few to buy locally. Eventually I started thinking hard about my finances, and discontinued the regular practice of movie-buying. But last Saturday I realized that the store would be having its annual anniversary sale this week, and I found it too difficult to resist returning for a look yesterday. Everything in the store is priced at a discount, and all new DVDs are cut by 30%. I made a special trip after work and bought a bagload.
One of the films that was released recently had lingered in my mind since I rediscovered it a few years ago. Keith Gordon directed The Chocolate War, and it came out in 1988 (the year I graduated from high school). There aren't many recognizable faces in the cast, and it's probably not a movie that many people remember. It starred Ilan Mitchelll-Smith, who you might remember as Anthony Michael Hall's buddy, and Bill Paxson's little brother, in Weird Science. Mitchell-Smith plays a freshman (named Jerry Remault) at a monk-run private school called "Trinity". He's a bit depressed and confused by the recent passing of his mother, and the difficulty his father is having with the loss. He soon runs afoul of the interim head of the institution who, through unchecked ambition, has initiated a fundraiser that focuses on selling a ridiculous amount of chocolates. At the same time, Renault gets drawn into a conflict of wills with a secret club of teens called "The Vigils".
The second-in-command of The Vigils is a boy named Archie (played by Wallace Langham). This is an articulate and deviously manipulative boy who has formed an unlikely alliance with Brother Leon (the interim head mentioned earlier, who is played by John Glover). The plot tracks Renault's continued attempts to resist participating in the school fundraiser, and Archie's accelerating schemes to break down that resistance.
There are many films from the 80's that examine the plight of the "new kid" as he butts head with the established order. That in alone would not have made me remember The Chocolate War. The acting and dialogue are acceptable, if not notable. Neither is it the quirky direction that ultimately makes the film memorable- athough it's competent and unconventional. Keith Gordon is most known for being Rodney Dangerfield's kid in Back to School. He's done a lot of TV work since, and his highlights include directing two episodes of the largely forgotten mini-series Wild Palms. There are two main reasons why this movie sticks in my mind- the soundtrack and the message.
The score for the film is brilliantly played by Yaz- a short-lived synthpop band from England that got a bit of American exposure in the 80's. Even if you can't recall the songs by name, you have probably heard their hits "Dont Go" and "Only You". Their sound was both spare and emotionally affecting. They had both male and female lead singers, and the minimalist symphonic strains of electronica combined with the haunting quality of the vocals made Yaz a perfect choice for The Chocolate War.
Equally intriguing is Gordon's comparative examination of teenage rebellion. Archie's approach is sophisticated and meticulous. He considers life largely meaningless, and therefore adopts a somewhat nihilistic attitude towards life. He engages the system, and corrupts it from within. Jerry Renault, on the other hand, challenges the authorities by assuming some internally determined sense of the moral high ground. But the devious process of co-option is played out in a surprising way. By the end of the film, all victories and losses are tainted with ambiguity. This was an especially timely realization for the self-centered 80's. Success was measured with rewards likes social status and power, but it was often difficult to determine the actual substance of the spoils. While the book The Chocolate War was based on (by author Robert Cormier) was banned widely and often since its 1974 publication, it wasn't because of an excessive level of sex, extreme language, or violence. The challenges of The Chocolate War have more to do with the relationship between the individual and the power structures of society than anything else.
One of the films that was released recently had lingered in my mind since I rediscovered it a few years ago. Keith Gordon directed The Chocolate War, and it came out in 1988 (the year I graduated from high school). There aren't many recognizable faces in the cast, and it's probably not a movie that many people remember. It starred Ilan Mitchelll-Smith, who you might remember as Anthony Michael Hall's buddy, and Bill Paxson's little brother, in Weird Science. Mitchell-Smith plays a freshman (named Jerry Remault) at a monk-run private school called "Trinity". He's a bit depressed and confused by the recent passing of his mother, and the difficulty his father is having with the loss. He soon runs afoul of the interim head of the institution who, through unchecked ambition, has initiated a fundraiser that focuses on selling a ridiculous amount of chocolates. At the same time, Renault gets drawn into a conflict of wills with a secret club of teens called "The Vigils".
The second-in-command of The Vigils is a boy named Archie (played by Wallace Langham). This is an articulate and deviously manipulative boy who has formed an unlikely alliance with Brother Leon (the interim head mentioned earlier, who is played by John Glover). The plot tracks Renault's continued attempts to resist participating in the school fundraiser, and Archie's accelerating schemes to break down that resistance.
There are many films from the 80's that examine the plight of the "new kid" as he butts head with the established order. That in alone would not have made me remember The Chocolate War. The acting and dialogue are acceptable, if not notable. Neither is it the quirky direction that ultimately makes the film memorable- athough it's competent and unconventional. Keith Gordon is most known for being Rodney Dangerfield's kid in Back to School. He's done a lot of TV work since, and his highlights include directing two episodes of the largely forgotten mini-series Wild Palms. There are two main reasons why this movie sticks in my mind- the soundtrack and the message.
The score for the film is brilliantly played by Yaz- a short-lived synthpop band from England that got a bit of American exposure in the 80's. Even if you can't recall the songs by name, you have probably heard their hits "Dont Go" and "Only You". Their sound was both spare and emotionally affecting. They had both male and female lead singers, and the minimalist symphonic strains of electronica combined with the haunting quality of the vocals made Yaz a perfect choice for The Chocolate War.
Equally intriguing is Gordon's comparative examination of teenage rebellion. Archie's approach is sophisticated and meticulous. He considers life largely meaningless, and therefore adopts a somewhat nihilistic attitude towards life. He engages the system, and corrupts it from within. Jerry Renault, on the other hand, challenges the authorities by assuming some internally determined sense of the moral high ground. But the devious process of co-option is played out in a surprising way. By the end of the film, all victories and losses are tainted with ambiguity. This was an especially timely realization for the self-centered 80's. Success was measured with rewards likes social status and power, but it was often difficult to determine the actual substance of the spoils. While the book The Chocolate War was based on (by author Robert Cormier) was banned widely and often since its 1974 publication, it wasn't because of an excessive level of sex, extreme language, or violence. The challenges of The Chocolate War have more to do with the relationship between the individual and the power structures of society than anything else.
posted by Merge Divide at 5:59 PM
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