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NAFF 2010 | Chocolate Underground
By Genie MacLeod
Chocolate Underground
Japan, 2009, 87 min
DIR: Takayuki Hamana
Produced by Production I.G.
In a semi-futuristic Japan, the Good For You party is in power, and their mandate is to create a healthy populous at any cost. Under the direction of Leader Healthy, the party is trying to eradicate the evils of obesity and tooth decay by banning chocolate and all other sugary snacks. This is the premise of the anime film Chocolate Underground, directed by Takayuki Hamana, and produced by Production I.G.
Chocolate Underground, based on the children's novel "Bootleg" by British author Alex Shearer, is the latest cinematic offering from the production company that produced Ghost in the Shell, Sky Crawlers, Patlabor, and Innocence, the first Japanese animation feature to compete for the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival. In this story we meet Huntley and Smudger, two 9th graders determined to defy the government and bring back freedom and happiness by bringing back chocolate. With the help of Mr. Blades, a used-bookstore owner, and the boys' dream girl Louise, whose mother used to sell chocolates but is now force to sell the GFY party's "health food" brand of tasteless vitamin-enriched snacks, Huntley and Smudger go underground, literally and figuratively, to produce and distribute the forbidden fruit - chocolate.
Hamana's film is a tale of adventure, intrigue, enduring friendship, and, for comic relief, teenage love. But the film also has important, if slightly heavy-handed, political messages to convey. Leader Healthy, who seems to be a cross between Big Brother, Chairman Mao, and Richard Simmons, takes a no nonsense stance when it comes to healthy eating: Mysterious contraptions prevent you from turning off your tv during the GFY party's cultish propaganda ads; chocolate-seeking tanks that resemble giant insects tear off rooftops to locate contraband chocolate sources; and anyone found in violation of party policy is sent to the ominous sounding "re-education" camp. Louise's mother laments that the people's "voting won't change anything" - attitude is responsible for the totalitarian leadership they are now stuck with.
With its zany premise and the over-the-top medium of anime, Chocolate Underground is able to make commentaries on the dangers inherent in authoritarianism, political apathy, and even the repression of sensual desires palatable to any audience.
In Japanese with English subtitles
Screenings:
Saturday, May 29, 3:00pm
Sunday, May 30, 2:45pm
Schema Magazine's coverage of NAFF 2010 is sponsored by the Toronto Reel Asian Film Festival
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