Review of Kids (1995) by Mario V — 10 Sep 2012

This movie spoke to the inner child in me, a stern warning of the pitfalls that accompany a misguided youth. As for me, it was liken to a sneak peek at the downfall of Icarus. This revelation may have very well saved my life as we all know teenagers are prone to delusions of grandeur, immortality and of course heedlessness.

As I watch this movie the last thing that comes to mind is "kiddie porn" as some would suggest. It is a raw portrayal of the actual goings on in the life of a teenager. Like it or not this is what kids want to do if they are left to there own devices.

It is our primal instinct to have sex, to feel good even when faced with life threatening consequences. The filmmaker does a beautiful job of bringing you up close to the characters without tainting the scenes with "Hollywood realism".

There are no explosions, no chase scenes, no drug deals gone wrong, just pure NYC reality. The actors portray their characters as if they are not acting at all and the movie runs as if it is a documentary.

You may find yourself relating to the characters more than you would expect. You may even find yourself feeling for these kids as it is obvious some of them are not there by choice. I think sometimes life doesn't take you out in a blaze of glory, it will allow you to smolder and die slowly from the wrong choices you make.

This movie is a must see if you grew up in the hip hop, graffiti era.