01
if....
Why this pick
Like The Chocolate War, it turns a boys' school’s rituals, bullying, and rigid authority into a simmering study of rebellion, with a bold, unsettling escalation.
A FILM WORTH A CLOSER LOOKTHE FEATURE PRESENTATION
MOVIE1988 1h 40m USA
IF THIS ONE STAYED WITH YOU
Movies like
The Chocolate War
Drama
CINEHUNCH / THE NEXT FRAME
Keep the feeling.
SIMILAR PICKS / A PERSONAL CONNECTION
If you loved The Chocolate War, try these.
01
02
O Lucky Man!
Why this pick
Its same sharp institutional contempt and uneasy dark humour broaden school-age defiance into an episodic, cynical confrontation with adult power.
03
Over the Edge
Why this pick
A raw, unsentimental youth revolt: alienated teenagers push back against patronizing authority in a deliberately paced drama with mounting social pressure.
04
The Mudge Boy
Why this pick
For the lonely, quietly resistant adolescent at The Chocolate War’s center, this is another restrained, painful portrait of a boy refusing easy conformity.
05
Kes
Why this pick
Its working-class schoolboy faces casual institutional humiliation with the same unsparing realism, though the film finds a more intimate refuge in his private passion.
Finding the atmosphere, tension and little details that made this one stay with you.
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01 / THE STORY
A little about the film.
The film offers a portrait of the hierarchical structure, both formal and informal, of a Catholic boys' school. New student Jerry Renault (Ilan Mitchell-Smith) must submit to the bizarre rituals of his peers and the expectations of the school's administration by selling chocolates as a fundraiser. A secret student society, The Vigils, assigns Jerry the task of refusing to sell chocolates for one week, an act which draws the ire of the school's clever but cruel and manipulative acting headmaster, Brother Leon (John Glover (actor)). However, Jerry continues refusing to participate in the chocolate sale well after the week is up, and it becomes apparent that he is acting on his own. When he is pressed for a reason as to why he is refusing to sell the chocolates, Jerry never gives an answer, and seems not to even have one.
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02 / FACES IN THE FRAME
The people who bring it to life.
John Glover
Brother Leon
Ilan Mitchell-Smith
Jerry
Wallace Langham
Archie
Doug Hutchison
Obie
Robert Davenport
Brian Cochran
Jenny Wright
Lisa
Bud Cort
Brother Jacques
Brent David Fraser
Emile Janza (as Brent Fraser)