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Directed by: Larry Clark Starring: James Ransone, Tiffany Limos, Stephen Jasso, James Bullard. Australia 2002. A film called Ken Park is banned, so popular movie reviewer Margaret Pomeranz hosted an event that handed out DVDs and a screening, she classed this film as "A must watch for all Australians" sadly this event was shut down. This film was also subject to stressed distribution, not many people wanted to release this film, and it hasn't appeared anywhere in the US. Recently a copy appeared in my possession. So let's see what the fuss is about. Opening with a suicide of the title character; Ken Park we are introduced to the four kids who are the main characters of this story. We have Tate; mentally unbalanced and lives with his grandparents. Peaches; she lives with her religious fanatical father. Claude; who’s father is deeply homophobic, and his mother coddles him. Shawn: Sleeps with his girlfriend’s mother. The main plot switches between each of these kids and their happenings, now what follows is what set this film apart. On one side we have a curious piece on modern society and their dealings with how things operate in life, or we have a film that is bland sensationalism. From the sensationalism point of view. Sex is the common theme here, and there’s lots of it that’s downright pornographic – not that there’s much wrong with that, just don’t expect to find this sex really interesting, it’s more like watching your best mate and his girl have sex, it’s a curious sight yet incredibly boring. In terms of “going far” this film goes the full hog, we have one scene of Tate deciding to participate in autoerotic asphyxiation, now this isn’t an implied happening, nope the guy is in full shot banging away to a girl playing tennis, complete with on camera ejaculation. Other shots that are seemingly there to just shock include the returning home of Claude’s drunk father, where we are viewed to a close shot of his penis as he urinates. Why? On the other side, we have a film that is frank and surprisingly accurate with today’s experimental adolescent happenings, but to what degree? Character wise, not much happens, Tate, Peaches and Shawn get their arcs of sorts, but these aren’t fully resolved, the film ends with three of the characters having an idyllic sex scene set to music, before informing us about the fate of Ken Park, who had largely been forgotten by now. The characters are hard to relate to; they are seen with little aspirations in life and are more concerned with achieving a quick high in life over anything else. The result is a film that is awkward, it seems to go somewhere, but drops the ball. The cinematography is well done and that’s the film’s only rare acclaim – otherwise this is no more above a student film trying to make some hollow claim about a personal view that they only get. To note, the director, is around 60, he is going out with Tiffany Limos, despite being about 35 years older than her. RATING: 3 PROS: Well shot, and thought provocative. CONS: Sensationalist and bland. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: http://www.imdb.com/title/tttt0209077/
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Aug 5, 2006 14:20
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| # ¿ Apr 27, 2024 14:02 |
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