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Kids is a film about fucking. It’s not about making love, nor is it about the biological process known as sex. It is about fucking. Kids is a ‘fly on the wall’ style film about a group of Now York teenagers who spend their lives drinking alcohol, smoking dope, and (yup, you’ve guessed it!), engaging in the f-word process.
The main character is Telly, a seventeen year old ‘virgin surgeon’ who spends his vocation picking up as many virgins as possible. This is Telly’s quest, his road to fulfillment. The film follows Telly and his friend Casper in the form of a blurred documentary which is rough at the edges and lacks conventional notions of plot and storyline, as the narrative runs through a complex web of juvenile slurry and shaky camera shots.
Kids is the first film to be directed by Carry Clark and written by Harmony Karine, who came up with the project when he was still seventeen. It is inspired by the life which he himself experienced. Telly is pursued by Jennie, the girl he infected with HIV. However, it becomes clear that Jennie is not merely the victim, but also an active participant in the same social set which seeks satisfaction and a ‘meaning’ to life through a series of quick highs.
Kids deals with exploitation, but it is interesting to note that the film may itself be guilty of the same vices it portrays. How far can an artist push cultural boundaries before he/she abandons all ethical and moral responsibility for their art? The film has an 18 certificate, however many of its actors are far younger. Can the film maker be said to be exploiting the young actors in the same way that the lead character exploits his conquests? Even if the actors were ‘streetwise’ and could easily relate to their characters, is it right that they should perform like dancing bears to an audience largely ignorant of the complexities and social codes of the life which is being portrayed? It is this question which bears consequences for cultural products of all forms. There is a thin line between education, art and voyeurism.
The film briefly touches a spiritual note during a later scene which shows the aftermath of a particularly heavy party. The older teens lie around an apartment in an alcohol/dope induced slumber, whilst three younger boys lie awake, one of whom wears a crucifix. The figure on the cross is described as “cool — he is the saviour”. A glimpse of light is experienced.
Meanwhile, Jennie has at last found Telly, who is embarking on another conquest. However, she has taken a tablet and is soon comatose. Casper, who is high on drugs and drink, effectively rapes her whilst she remains unconscious. The children in Kids begin on a road to fulfillment, but they fail to find their goal, and some of them are dying. The hope expressed by the boy with the crucifix is put to death but also resurrected by Casper, who when he comes round and realises what he has done, exclaims:
“CHRIST, what happened?!!”
— a question which has yet to be answered.
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Last modified: 25th November 2005