I do admit, I had rooted for "Ken Park" prior to having seen it. Mainly because Larry Clarks nihilistic "Kids" is still one of my favourite movies. In "Kids" Clark (with more than a little help from Harmony Korine) caught the essence of a nihilistic, hedonist youth-culture, that was almost a little too close to home if you watched "Kids" for the first time and where in a similar age-range as the main-figures. Prior to viewing "Ken Park" I had very little knowledge of the story, but presumed that it would be in a similar vein as "Kids". I was not altogether wrong, but felt vaguely confused when I discovered the film in the adult-section of my local videostore.Now, do not get me wrong on this: I'm neither prude nor opposed to pornography. I've worked in adult-videostore in my young years and probably seen most this side of legality from this genre. Nor am I opposed to using elements of porn in mainstream movies, if those elements serve a point or further the main-story. However, at no point of "Ken Park" did I ever get the feeling it did any of that sort. I watched 'real' Porn and felt less of a voyeur than when I watched "Ken Park". I do not wish to accuse Clark of anything, but my impression was that of a "wily old goat" who transferred his own fantasies unto celluloid.If we take all the "infamous" sex-scenes out, we're really left with very little that Clark hasn't already shown us in "Kids". There are no real new insights or realisations. Sure, we all get the point: there are some messed up aspects in the society that "Ken Park" shows us, that will leave many of us (who are from a healthier environment) feel grateful not be have any part of. The viewer understands that the lives portrayed here are a mess, but there seems to be no real intent in exploring why that is. Nor does the film offer any solutions (perhaps because Clark thinks there is none?) That's not to say that "Ken Park" is technically a bad film. I'd give it 6/10 but as far as the exploration of angst-ridden, depressive lives of teenagers in Americana goes, "Kids" or Harmony Korines "Gummo" are by far the better films (and don't even have the need for explicit, seedy and un-simulated sex).

I came on 'Ken Park' through a present photo exhibition in Amsterdam, showing the pictures of one of this film's editors: Larry Clark.Larry Clark (born 1943) made a photo-career by picturing teenagers in every scene of their young lives. In showing this, Clark also includes sex, drugs & rock 'n roll, right up to showing full genitals. His most famous book is 'Teenage Lust', edited in the early 1980-s. Causing quite a stir at the time, for showing teenage life in details one usually keeps silent about.In spite of Clark's frankness on the subject, he cannot be accused of making porn. Clark pictures his teenagers in the way these teenagers see themselves. Looking through their eyes, his photos radiate eagerness to discover maturity, eagerness to try new things out, eagerness to acquire new experiences. And, above all, eagerness to catch the present without worrying about the future.Larry Clark's film 'Ken Park' just extends this theme. Maybe he narrows his limits a little: his film shows teenagers from well-to-do families, that are in some way dysfunctional. No poverty & slums in 'Ken Park', only desolation due to unhappy circumstances at home. Circumstances these teenagers are caught in, because they are not strong enough yet to influence them.

Ken Park is Larry Clark's second collaboration with Harmony Korine, following the success of Kids in 1995. Although it does not match the continuing social relevance of Clark's controversial debut, Ken Park does merit viewing. Returning to themes that can be found in his earlier photography work like Tulsa, Clark presents an extremely unsettling image of a skateboarding subculture struggling to overcome the monotony of their existences. By exploring the lives of a group of troubled teenagers and their dysfunctional backgrounds, Clark offers an insider's look into a community troubled by sexual abuse. Beginning with a suicide in the middle of a skate park, it then charts the lives of four different people who knew the individual who killed himself. Whilst there are moments of dark comedy to alleviate the bleak mood, this is mostly a painful study of fractured human relationships and bad parenting.Struggling to acquire distributors for the film, Ken Park has permanently situated Clark outside of the mainstream film community. As before with Kids, Clark's intentions have been deemed suspect because of the film's explicit nature. In addition to this unfortunate assumption, Ken Park is sometimes wrongly labelled as 'pornographic' and although there is, admittedly, a voyeuristic aspect to the director's style, this cinema vérité approach is necessary when considering the context of his work. Clark is offering viewers a chance to see the unseen side of teenage life and gain an insight into the roots of moral corruption prior to adulthood. Many viewers are often bothered by Clark's lack of overt condemnation towards the decadent lifestyles of the characters in his films, but I feel this misses the point, as it is not for the director to be some kind of moral crusader; it is for him to execute his artistic vision. Providing viewers are aware of the challenging nature of Ken Park's content and are willing to watch it with an open mind, they might end up finding a highly perceptive vision of alienated American youth.

This film bored me to death. In a word, it's crap. It's a film that tries to be controversial by delving into the lives of a few teenagers. I'd love to know how many average looking boys really get to have sex with their girlfriend's hot mum. Unconvincing to say the least. I found the film very slow to get into, and was a bit confused at the start as to where the film was leading. I suppose the only character in the film worth watching was Tate, the others bored me (sorry for the repetition). Larry Clar has obviously tried to use a number of ways to 'shock' his audience but I would say he's ultimately failed. The slow deliverance and stereotypical teenage sex, drugs and rock and roll life style made me want to fall asleep.