As a lover of all that is cool, I’ve decided (and have also been influenced by an acquaintance) to do something I’ve been wanting to do for ages – REVIEW FILMS. But not just any films. I also happen to have a love for all that is old, and so, I’d like to review old(er) films.
I feel that there is always so much hype surrounding newer releases, and the net is dense with info on them, but where are the reminders of the greats that hit screens years ago? And in the name of SUSTAINABILITY, shouldn’t we ‘recycle’ a bit as well? There are some films that were made 10, 20, 30 years ago that simply cannot be topped (which is what makes them great films), and I’d like to start giving them some love and coverage on this here blog as and when I have the time to watch and dissect.
Luckily, I’m going through a particularly solitary phase in my life, so this shouldn’t be a problem.
I’m going to start with the film I watched last night. It’s one that had jaws dropping at its brutal depiction of promiscuous 90’s youth, but for some reason, I never got around to watching it. Aforementioned acquaintance hooked me up with it yesterday, and I couldn’t wait to get home after work, climb into bed and check it out. Drumroll please…
Disclaimer: I am not a professional film critic. I do this for fun and all of my opinions, while mildly based on as much fact as is necessary, are subjective and my own. You are in no way required to agree with them.
KIDS (1995)
watch it twice
I’ve been listening to people talk about this film for the last 15 years of my life (God, I’m old) and yet, I’ve never been altogether compelled to watch it. Perhaps I was waiting for the hype to die down, or perhaps I would not have understood it at the tender age of 10. Either way, it still receives critical acclaim and is often brought up in discussion pertaining to film – all the time. Obviously, there’s a reason for it – that’s what I discovered last night.
We’re all acutely aware of the HIV/AIDS pandemic these days, simply because its become one of the world’s most widely-discussed topics, and rightfully so. However, 15 years ago, this was not the case.
Written by Harmony Korine and directed by Larry Clark, KIDS takes us through a day in the lives of a group of teenagers who hold their very own views of the world. The ‘world’ however, that they’re living in – for whatever reason – is rife with human degeneration, violence, belligerence and lust. Victims of circumstance are our main characters. This gives rise to the film’s entire reason for being – children exposed to adult living too young. It shows in the mixture of serious pursuit of adult experiences and awkward lack of experience. It leaves one feeling uncomfortable, and almost embarrassed about the time in our lives when we started experimenting. However, it’s not just a story about what these children do – it’s also about the consequences. We reach the height of realisation when one of the more innocent characters, Jenny, is diagnosed as HIV positive – even though she is nowhere nearly as promiscuous as her friends. Jenny’s search for her ‘killer’ Telly, takes us on a back and forth between the double-edged sword of the situation: he doesn’t know he is HIV positive and continues to sleep around, and Jenny’s first sexual experience has led her to her grave. I don’t know who to pity more.
Korine did – whether intentionally or not – create a motif that constantly arises in the form of massive contrast between these characters and their environments, perhaps to illustrate the displacement they feel at the loss of their innocence/childhood. In fact, it’s what I enjoyed most after the cinematography and art direction, both of which give the ‘documentary’ feel to this film. It WAS intended to have the pseudo-documentary thing, and I’d say that the objective was met perfectly, due to the fact that simple actions were brought to the forefront of their significance in a way that kept me glued to the screen.
I can’t liken the film to any other, but perhaps one thing I can say is that it left me with the same feeling of dread and fear for our generation/those to come as ‘Requiem for a dream’. This story won’t leave my mind any time soon. Well done to the writer and makers for creating a relevant point of reference for all of us.
Nice Review.Saw this at the cinema when I was 15…..and a skateboarder. ha ha. Wrong age to watch a movie like this. Funny it was in my Friday mail to
.7 thoughts removed indeed.
the six degrees of separation, mr strauss. rock it. yo.
Nicely put lady.
I watched this probably not too long after it was released on dvd (vhs? I can’t even remember. You think you’re old?) and it definitely leaves you kinda struck. You just want to shake these kids by the shoulders and yell “don’t you realise what the hell you’re doing???” Like you say though, they are victims of their circumstances.
I remember that film and the little “virgin surgeons” so well. It will always haunt me. But your review makes me want to watch it again, seeing as I have a more mature perspective now.
Nice one, Bee!
I actually haven’t seen Kids yet, I’ve been meaning to for ages. I saw Larry Clark’s film after Kids though, Ken Park, which I thought was pretty disturbing and pointless.
I missed this in 95′ but caught it in 2000, quite the opposite depiction of teenage life that I was used to in John Hughes films…there was a really brutal fight scene in central park. I remember whincing when that guy got smacked in the face with a skateboard! Shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit!