Invaderbank
The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.
Keeley Coleman
The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;
Billy Ollie
Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable
jackcwelch23
I have always been fascinated with people who do some of the lurid stuff you read about in the news. The face of a civil society, with smiling faces on billboards, chirpy television show hosts and politicians talking about morals and ethics. This of course, is not the tone of every day peoples lives behind closed doors. We all have unacceptable desires that we seldom share. Trying to marry your own daughter to keep others away from her, strangling yourself while pleasuring yourself and having an affair with a teen aged boy are just a handful of the taboo topics dealt with here very bluntly. While the film has the subtlety of a bag of sledgehammers and basically lacks a plot the performances are strong and the sequence of events is admittedly interesting. Having been a fan of Larry Clarks for years, this was his last movie that was truly daring, wassup rockers and marfa girl being complete wastes of time. Ken park works as it doesn't filter any of its subject matter and as such was doomed to only be seen by a tiny amount of people in its initial run. As time has passed its shocking content has not become easier to handle and it really is a movie you cannot recommend to anyone. I still value having watched it, because it reminds me that were all a little twisted, these people are just on the end of the spectrum.
t_atzmueller
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).
Irina Castillo Alvarez
I really tried to watch this film and see something other than just a vicious display of humanity's spiritual abyss, but for me, that is all there is to this "work of art". I did not see any artistic vision or any intellectual message worth transmitting. All I saw was a porn movie that includes children. I have absolutely no problem with showing shocking material in films, when it contributes to the story or plot or the understanding of the characters or something else. But showing things like that without any kind of artistic or intellectual purpose is just nothing but disgusting to me. Why would anyone want to watch that? It is too far from the reality most people are experiencing (I really do hope so) to feel connected to the characters. It is way too gross to be somewhat enjoyable or entertaining and it is too shallow to actually make to think about the topics in the film. What kind of point are they trying too make? Some people are sick and therefore cruel to (their) children? Is that the point? They think a viewer should be tortured with those images to understand that point? You hear about things like that everyday on the news. If you want to dig into a subject matter of this kind , why not make it in a way that is touching or realistic or both? Why make it an ice cold porn movie that makes you want to rip your eyes out? I usually don't give a "one star" rating, because I know that making a movie is incredibly hard work and I at least appreciate the effort, but I cannot condone this crap in any kind of way.
NFSpoet
Ken Park the movie is a thinker, the type that makes you ponder upon if you take cinema seriously. It follows four teen aged kids, and their unusual sexual experiences. The movie shows drugs, sex and murder openly. The search for more love, privacy, respect, fear and support drives these teens to the brink and even beyond while still being bound by their communal love for skate boarding. The end is particularly well written and inspiring. While the events of the movie might be a little gloomy the ending is a great take from teen spirit and makes you smile. Overall a great watch if you like deep meaning cinema or even if you just want to see loads of nudity!
