Kids - Larry Clark

2015, I decided to explore a little more in movie. During christmas I accidentally stumbled across "new french extremity" (http://www.tasteofcinema.com/2014/15-essential-films-for-an-introduction-to-the-new-french-extremity/), downloaded a bunch of movies. (watched a few already, quite enjoyed them, will post my thoughts later) 

Since Larry Clark's new movie "The Smell of us" is going to be in french and be released in the french market first in like 2 weeks, so why not get to know this director. I finally took time to watch a Larry Clark movie, his first one, Kids. I do found some similarities of those two: like trangrassive. I don't think Kids fits in that category but according to wikipedia the movies which Larry Clark make are quite controversial. (Kids was banned in some countries, since it was accused to be simulated child pornography)

Skins, the first thought after watching Kids are, an under produced version or the original version of the UK TV series Skins. Unlike the US version (yes they tried to make a US version but it faiedl so bad that they candled it like after 2 or 3 episodes), Kids is super honest, no fancy production, complicated plot lines. Kids is simply depicting a phenomenon in the 90s and how kids were like in those days (I have to say there aren't much differences from now) It was about sex and drags and since it was in the mid 90s, AIDS was a big element as it was the new emerging disease which affects almost everyone. It was just a day of those teenagers' lives. 

I would say it is pretty good at addressing the problem. How the boys thought what the girls like and vice versa how Telly loves to fuck virgins, how gullible people can be. As I said it was a honest interpretation of adolescents, it felt so real and natural.   

Larry Clark has a love for the subject adolescents (a lot of his other works are about teenagers too), and always tires to re-define the boundaries between art and pornography, like his short film in the movie Destricted, Impaled, which explores the comfortability of man acting in porn instead of woman, is basically a porn, during 30 minutes you are watching a few casting with actual intercourses. I found it less convincing, however, some other shorts like HOIST (which I absolutely love) and Balkan Erotic Epic are more justifying in this subject. 

After all Kids is a photo from 90s which no photoshop, a movie isn't afraid of telling what people dare not speak of.