Director Larry Clark made his directorial debut with Kids in 1995 and sparked a scandal. The footage was disturbing, harsh and uncomfortably realistic. The teenagers’ don’t-give-a-do attitude allows the harsh reality to bounce off them, even though they are surrounded by drugs, sex and abuse.
Kids in the uncut version are available in the Special edition in the media book on DVD and Blu-ray. As Bonus material It contains the US trailer and the TV spots: Houston Street and Girls Talk.
Kids as a special edition media book on DVD + Blu-ray
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That’s why Kids caused a scandal
Even after almost 30 years, Kids is a film that still resonates disturbed and disturbed. It is precisely the documentary-like camerawork, coupled with the amateur actors, that leaves the audience captivated get uncomfortably close to the action – especially in the intimate moments. In addition to hip-hop, skating, alcohol and marijuana, the kids are particularly interested in sex.
There is no shy approach, the teenagers seem absolutely callous, regardless of whether they are having consensual sex or being raped. The fact that underage characters are depicted so drastically and with bare skin caused a scandal. Although most of the actors were over 18 when filming, they still have the childlike, round facial features that complete the illusion of the film.
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Kids shows the everyday life of a group of New York teenagers in a ruthless and authentic way.
More home cinema editions from Kids at a glance
Alternatively, you can buy or rent the film on Amazon Prime *.
Picture-perfect careers and tragedies – that’s what the actors became
For some of the amateur actors, Kids was their entry into the film business, which led to one steep Hollywood career led. Like for Jon Abrahams (Couchgehisper, House of Wax) or leading actress Chloë Sevigny, who later shone in American Psycho, Boys Don’t Cry and The Dead Don’t Die, among others. Rosario Dawson can also look back on numerous films and series, including being the leading actress in the successful series Star Wars: Ahsoka.
The lives of other actors also seemed tragic after filming closely interwoven with the plot of the film to be. In 1999, four years after the film was released, Paul actor Sajan Bhagat died of a drug overdose. A year later, Justin Pierce (Casper) died by suicide. And in 2006, the successful skater Harold Hunter (Harold) also died of an overdose.
That’s what Kids is about
Kids follows the everyday lives of a group of New York teenagers and focuses on two characters. On the one hand, there is Telly (Leo Fitzpatrick), who has made it his hobby to deflower girls. On the other hand, the story of Jenny (Chloë Sevigny) is told, who finds out at the beginning of the film that she has AIDS. She looks for Telly, who infected her, to warn him not to continue having unprotected sex, but he is already on the hunt for the next girl.
Roger Ebert of The Chicago Sun Times summed it up in a review:
What you realize when you think about Telly is that life hasn’t given him anything that interests him except sex, drugs and skateboards. His life is like hell, only briefly interrupted by orgasms.
The young people live in a harsh reality and the camera focuses on it mercilessly; you often want to look away. Larry Clark manages to portray the difficult topics with an authentic desolation that keeps you captivated even after the credits roll.
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