KIDS
This controversial and shocking film from Larry Clark and Harmony Korine is fundamentally about self-destruction, and from the opening scenes it holds nothing back. The male protagonist, Telly (Leo Fitzpatrick), sets out to deflower as many virgins as he can and uses all the tricks in the book to do this. Once he has taken one girl’s maidenhead he moves on to the next girl, and this is all the more shocking because this boy is only 16 and doesn’t use protection.
It is only when one of his conquests (Jennie) winds up testing positive for HIV that the film’s originality is there for us all to see. It is not unusual to find a film about teenage rebellion and self-destruction but this film is not just about that; this film is also a dramatic depiction of the spread of the HIV virus.
Jennie’s race across New York to find Telly is wonderfully juxtaposed with Telly’s fight to bed his next ‘victim.’ By the time Jennie catches up with Telly, she is high on Ecstasy and finds him asleep naked next to a naked girl. She retires to the living room of the flat and falls asleep. It is once she is asleep that one of Telly’s friends takes advantage of her and rapes her only to unwittingly become another carrier.
The film was lambasted by the so-called ‘moral majority’ upon its release. Why, I don’t know. Kids are like this: they swear and cuss out their parents. I know this because I fucking did it! Kids of this age are often promiscuous, and while they know the dangers of unprotected sex, they often think that they are invincible and honestly believe that it will always happen to someone else. I agree that this is a hard film to watch. The sex scenes are understandably unpleasant as most of the characters are supposed to be under the age of 16. But what the ‘moral majority’ has to realise is that this is real life. If they actually looked beyond their shock for more than 30 seconds they would see a film that actually has a very important message.
This film is well staged. It has a very good, almost intelligent script, and the direction and acting are also above par. “Kids” is a disturbing slice of real-life, and whilst it may be hard to swallow, I think that it may have more of a positive impact than a million safe sex commercials. These are not perfect children; you would not want to take them home to meet your parents, but they are real. Perhaps this is why the ‘moral majority’ hated this film so much on its release, and the Daily Mail, the newspaper of choice of this ‘moral majority,’ supported by bigoted, authoritarian dickheads, hated this movie with a passion and fought, successfully at first, to get its video release banned over here. But common sense prevailed and the film is now available for all to see, provided you are not a kid! I must say though, in favour of the ‘moral majority,’ that without them I might have missed some of the best films to have come out in recent years. Ironically, they actually help to advertise the very films that they purport to hate.
Avoiding this film because it is uncomfortable is daft. I will admit that I will not be watching it as often as I watch other films, but I am glad that I have seen it. A definite must for any film fan!
A bit of movie trivia: In keeping with the film’s feeling of self-destruction, an English born star of this film, Justin Pierce, was found hanging in a Las Vegas hotel room in July 2000. He was just 25, and he left 2 notes.