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It was deeply disturbing. It made for VERY uncomfortable viewing. It will
NOT be an enjoyable movie-going experience, but it is a must-see film. It
affected me so much, I could barely drive home. I thought it was just me,
but several other friends were affected similarly (when one got home her
boyfriend asked "Are you OK, what happened?").
I had heard that many people became disgusted at the film and walked out,
because it is a movie that deals with kids and teenage sex. At the time I
thought, "They must have been Puritanical prudes to be so upset to see that
teenagers think about sex - so what's the big deal?" I'm pretty liberal and
open when it comes to movies (no right-wing Micheal Medven at any rate) so I
was totally surprised to find myself having such a hard time sitting through
this picture. Looking around at the other adults in the audience was without
doubt even more telling and entertaining than the film itself, everyone was
biting their fingernails, clenching their arms, or grimacing - it took real
uncomfortable _work_ to watch this film.
The kids, their language, their environment, and most especially their
attitudes were so abrasive that they grate on you as you sit there. It made
you sad and upset, want to advise, comfort, and scold them all at the same
time. My word, for the first time in my life I felt old, felt like an
"out-of-touch grownup" unhip to the teenage scene. That these kids could
bother me on such a deep "keep it up you'll get punished" level was
completely surprising. The fact that you, as an adult, had to sit there and
endure their scene without being able to give any input was difficult to
experience. It tapped an unhip 'parent' gene I never knew I had.
Toward the end of the film, your compassion and anger both reach their limit
however and you soon find yourself (rather myself) giving up on them. And
for the "high scoring" boy in particular with his proud "third nipple", you
find yourself thinking "I give up, you deserve what you get." That was a
truly scary moment, to realize I had been so worn down as to actually feel
that. I hope (and think) my reaction and experience would be different in
real life where you could add some input into the equation (into the complete
lack of almost any adult contact in their lives), but sitting there as only a
distant observer it was very hard work.
That is quite an achievement for a film to realize with its audience. It was
a very powerful film, even if it was entirely in the negative spectrum of
emotions. The film is must see, though you will not enjoy it. Perhaps a
quarter of our audience walked out. The only thing that helped me reconcile
with my strong reactions and feelings after this film was the thought that
"this can only be a small fraction of a percent of all today's teenagers who
experience this type of horrid empty existence." They made Generation X (of
which I am one) look like Generation June Cleaver. Bring some anti-acid
tablets along... :-)
-Erik
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| Well, I saw the movie down at Harvard Square this past Sunday. I
wanted to get another person view on the movie. For me it was
basically a child pornography movie. Everyone was moving around,
joking, talking, and you can even hear the popcorn crumbling. Then
the movie started and not a sound. Very tense. A very depressing
realistic view on the issue of AIDS. This movie re-inforces that
without the parent taking charge this country is in a uproar. The
director must of been a little weird also. There were shots being
taken that was not necessary to take to get a point across. I got
the message loud and clear. A very frightening thing happening out
there. It was just a shock. They were all so young. Enough of that.
Thanks for your reply, Herman D.
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