This is a textbook example of how NOT to adapt a book to the screen.

Teenager Jerry Renault in high school is having a terrible life. His mother just died, he has no connection with his father and has next to no friends. Then he has a run in with a secret group in the school called the Vigils. They tell him to do something and he refuses. Then his life becomes a nightmare...

At least that's how the book went. The book is harrowing. Strong, powerful and very bleak and desolate and Jerry is put through utter hell and is almost killed in the end in a truly horrifying sequence. A faithful adaptation of the novel was not going to happen--it was considered too extreme and doubtless it would get an X rating (for the violence). So...why bother with a movie version? Well...they did. The story was toned down and changed a LOT and VERY badly cast (especially the part of Janza). It was also shot with a wobbly camera which made me sea sick and (for some reason) Jerry has acne and nobody else does (?????) And, worst of all, they totally changed the ending which completely destroyed the point of the book! The ending is just hopeless--I'd love to know what they thought of when they dreamed it up.

The book is powerful, grim stuff and NOT for kids. It's not easy to read--it's very disturbing--but it has a point. This movie just tones down everything, casts it badly and destroys the book. This seems to have disappeared completely--that's a good thing. Don't bother. I give it a 1.

The Chocolate War is top quality and deals with a range of themes in a private boy's school...power, corruption, the state, conformity. And that's all within the setting of a chocolate fund raiser.

Some reviewers have criticized the ending because it's not faithful to the book, and fair enough. But I liked the ending and as someone wrote, it's akin to if you can't fight city hall, join 'em. That's what Jerry Renault (Ilan Mitchell-Smith) did when he beat up Archie Costello (Wallace "CSI" Langham) in the boxing ring.

The soundtrack is haunting and it was never released commercially, but you can get the songs from other sources.

The acting is top notch and given the small budget (I think only $170,000),Keith Gordon did a masterful job directing this feature.

" The Chocolate War " is a story which takes place in a private Catholic School and concerns itself with the secret goings-on within the religious hierarchy. Among the staff is Brother Leon (John Glover) an inwardly cruel, self-centered, vindictive poor excuse of a teacher. Yearly he holds the students accountable for raising the student activities' funds. In exchange for this suppliant behavior on their part, he allows them to hold court in a clandestine group call 'The Vigils.' The cell is structured from highest to lowest and overseen by a presiding president (Adam Balwin) and his secretary Archie Costello, (Wallace Langham). Both owe their power to Brother Leon who allows their childish behavior to ride roughshod over their lower classmates by assigning them to petty pranks. Enter Jerry Renault (Ilan Mitchell-Smith) a new student with deeply ingrained personal problems. Pressured by brother Leon, the boys are ordered to sell boxes of chocolates. Realizing it's a repetitive, yearly ritual, the entire student body reluctantly agrees to sell the sweets, all except Renault. His reason for refusal is difficult to explain but what begins as a outright refusal, becomes a test of wills, escalating into an true test of power. The decision made by Renault blossoms into a further problem when everyone realizes his decision to not participate could bring the traditional structure to it's knees. The movie itself is very slow to develop and at times downright boring. However there is salvation towards the end and the cast renders a good solution to an otherwise dull drama. Were it not for the poor directing, gloomy environment and shallow script, this would have made an inspiring movie. ***