Ken Park (2002, Review)
Director: Larry Clark
Cast: Amanda Plummer, Julio Oscar Mechoso, James Ransone
Russian Export / Color / NTSC All Region / Anamorphic Widescreen / English Dolby Digital 5.1 / Director’s Cut / Purchase: DiabolikDVD.com
Director Larry Clark is not known for shying away from the explicit and frank lives of teenagers. From the first time I saw kids I would never forget it and be shocked by it every time I watched it. Since being blown away by kids, I have longed to see his much maligned, yet highly regarded Ken Park. It has never been released in the U.S. and has been banned in countries like Australia for its depictions of “teens” (NOTE: All of the actors and actresses having sex on screen were 18+) having sex outside of the realm of porn. It is now available on an NTSC all region DVD from Russia.
Aside from the actual sex going on, Ken Park is a stark and very frank look at the lives of 5 kids that lead to murder, suicide and self realization. Shawn is miles away from his mother but is having an affair with her friend who happens to be his girlfriend’s mom. Claude lives with his alcoholic, abusive father and naive doormat of a mother. Tate is being raised by his grandparents who he despises and lastly, we have Peaches, the only female of the group. She is being raised by her fanatically Christian father who recently lost his wife who looks just like Peaches. These situations lend themselves to becoming lit fuses that could blow up at any time. Of course with Larry Clark driving the bus, they surely will.
But wait, I said there was 5 kids, didn’t I? The titular (I love that word) character is shown in a short prelude to the other vignettes shooting himself in the head in the middle of a skateboard park. What caused him to commit the ultimate act of release? The answer sandwiches the stories of the other teens and we find at the end why Ken decides in the final solution and the other kids are looking for the same answers elsewhere.
Why did Larry Clark have to be so explicit? Why couldn’t he simulate the sex acts? Is he just trying to shock us? That’s some of the questions I found while reading about this movie. I really don’t understand why people are so afraid of the truth. People have sex. Teens have sex. Everyone is fucking! He is portraying real life. The more it looks like a well written, artistically shot documentary, the better. As long as he’s being frank and open about everything else (the violence, the language, the fucked up situations), why not be frank and open about everything? Is he a perv who just likes to shoot young actors and actresses who are playing teens in real sexual situations? Only he knows the answer to that. All I know is that Ken Park is a fantastic, touching and powerful film that most people just aren’t going to “get”.
Wanna see this one,in the same way I went out and wasted 20 bucks on “The Brown Bunny” just to see Chloe Sevigny choke on Vince Gallo’s prosciutto pole.I’ll have to pick it up one of these days.
Dub
I have been wanting to watch this one for awhile. Larry Clark is a very cool director in my book.
Great review.
Interesting review of a movie I constantly wonder if I will ever get to see. I have heard so much about this movie, and after all these years, it still has yet to reach the light of day. Here’s hoping it gets the audience it deserves at some point.
i have owned this movie for over a year and i still consider it a party favorite. every time i watch it i catch something i didnt before and love it all the more. so if you havent seen it go and get yourself a multi-region and go buy it. it is well worth the money.
That’s the beauty of this new DVD, you don’t have to have to multi-region player. It’s NTSC All Region!
not quite as disturbing as KIDS or BULLY, but extremely risque’ nonetheless.