The Most Shocking film ever made

[Unknown User]

Posted: 3/28/04 at 3:16pm

Hello, just wanted to say I just viewed the most shocking film ever made

KEN PARK

from the writers and directors of the movie KIDS, GUMMO and JULIAN DONKEY BOY

This film has been banned or censored in several different countries throughout Europe, and it's not surprising.

This film is about 4 teens in a small neighborhood and their intimate lives. It really is just a typical teen angst film but then some, or most, of the scenes or sequences that evolve are almost too pornographic to post here!

the most insane thing about this movie is that the filming is so nonchalant. It's not supposed to be a turn on or sexy, it's just presented to you matter of factly. even the sucides and murder scenes.

has anyone seen this film? Any comments? Or comments on controversial films?

I have seen many different Indie films; The Dreamers, StoryTelling, Happiness, Y Tu Mama, Gummo, Romance, Sex Y Lucia...but this one takes the prize.

you can pm me if you'd like to know more about this film and it's nature.

[racerchiquita76m]

Posted: 3/28/04 at 3:48pm

Do you ever watch David Lynch films? Lost Highway...very creepy. I thought 13 was fairly shocking (which, of course, it tried to be) I love indie films. So much better than the bubble gum in your typical movie theatre.

[~*Triple Star On Broadway*~]

Posted: 3/28/04 at 4:03pm

Hmmm, do you think its available in Canada?

[Unknown User]

Posted: 3/28/04 at 4:10pm

seen some lynch stuff, and it wasn't so much shocking, but weird and mind blowing.

having seen 13, but that's more of a mainstream film with Holly Hunter. KEN PARK is an independant film, that borders on pornography.

KEN PARK is being sold on ebay, it hasn't been realeased in the States yet. Updated On: 3/28/04 at 04:10 PM

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 3/29/04 at 8:06am

I watched about 10 minutes of KIDS and turned it off. There was nothing in it I could care about or find any interest in. I doubt I would like Ken Park either. If I want porn, I'll watch porn. With teen angst, a little goes a long way. I also hated Ghost World.That girl was so annoying, I didn't care what happened to her. It is possible to be a teen without that much angst. Save it for college. That's what most people do.

I did like The Dreamers, however. I thought it was quite fascinating. I wouldn't mind watching it again.

[KJisgroovy]

Posted: 3/29/04 at 3:04pm

While Ken Park can be rough... to say it's the most shocking film ever made might be a little bit of a stretch maybe... especially when you consider the works of Gaspar Noe um, and I thought Julien Donkey Boy was a bit more shocking and unsettling... in a genuine sense... I liked Happiness and Storytelling much better as movies 'cause they seem to have a stronger sense of composition and purpose about themselves... that said if you like watching the "shocking" and unsettling independant... check out Gaspar Noe's stuff...as I mentioned earlier... I Stand Alone and Irreversible... both are utterly awful in subject matter and in the case of Irrevesible almost unwatchable-because of it's unflinching graphic nature and it's horrific content- but i think Gaspar Noe is maybe more of a Filmmaker while think Larry Clark is just an observer and sometimes shockmaster...so I'm done rambling...sigh

Kevin

[Unknown User]

Posted: 3/29/04 at 3:07pm

The problem with Ken Park is that for all the shock...it's rather boring....I sped through parts of it.....

[popcultureboy]

Posted: 3/29/04 at 3:43pm

But the real question, Voiceanth, is did you freeze frame other parts of it?

It's a shame that Larry Clark has decided to go for no story and just shock value after the incendiary brilliance of Bully, though even that film was mildly tarnished by some questionable nude scenes. And I second the Irreversible comment on here. As tough as that film is to watch, it's a film everyone should see because it actually says something through the horror and violence it portrays.

[Unknown User]

Posted: 3/29/04 at 4:05pm

i saw irreversible too and wasnt too shocked.

i think the most shocking thing of all is that these actors portray teenagers younger than 18, yet are actually having intercourse and fellacio on camera.

or the fact that a drunken father tries to perform oral sex on his son can be disturbing.

when it comes to adults going crazy and killing each other it's a little more tolerable, but the innocense of children make it worse.

Yes Gummo was revolting and intriguing, but it didn't dare cross the bounndaries that KEN PARK did.

I acutally found KEM PARK to be pretty normal. The storyline for Kids, Gummo and Julian Donkey boy were shocking to begin with, but the storyline for KEN PARK is just 4 teens and their everyday lives, with pornography, incest, fellatio, masturbation and urination mixed in, that's why I found it so shocking.

ofcourse Larry Clark and Harmony Korine produce such cutting edge, challengin and controversial material, I should have known from the beginning.

[Unknown User]

Posted: 3/29/04 at 4:33pm

No freeze framing....I mean even those parts were...well..too adolescent to even be interesting...

I remember being bothered the most about the dog with one leg...that was awful....and just plain cruel to even show...

Bully is a great little film...sick and twisted but a great little film..

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 3/29/04 at 4:46pm

I just read a lot about Irreversible and learned it is one movie I will never see. I just can't watch something that horrific. Maybe it's fascinating to some and others find it pedestrian, but it really upsets me. I keep wondering how far society's fascination with violence is going to go. Think about how far it has come in just the last 50 years and try to imagine how far it will go over the next 50 years. It's really a scary thought.

[Borstalboy]

Posted: 3/29/04 at 5:07pm

Larry Clark is a total poseur, I'm amazed people are still financing his films. "Bully" and "Kids" were sensationalistic, "edgy" versions of the reactionary youth-run-wild pictures of the fifties. Soulless excercises in cheap nihilism. All it is is an excuse to show alot of underfed young actors out of their clothes. I love shocking movies...I actually liked "Irreversible" and "The Piano Teacher", but Larry Clark does NOT do it for me.

[Jane2]

Posted: 3/29/04 at 5:52pm

When David Lynch's first real release came out, Eraserhead, it was quite shocking, believe me! But that was in 1977, so for that time, it was shocking. Since then, we've really become inured to so much that Eraserhead seems mild. I still strongly recommend it to Lynch fans. Lost Highway and his other commercial stuff are Disney cartoons in comparison.

I think the most shocking film is Requiem for a Dream. Even after multiple viewings (if I'm feeling up to taking it) I'm sitting there in disbelief and shock at the end. The last 20 minutes or so is a KILLER.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 3/29/04 at 6:44pm

I saw Eraserhead in 1988 and I didn't find it so much shocking as just plain weird. There was no discernible plot, but it was just so interesting. My mother and I laughed so hard at that film. The dead grandma in the kitchen, the flailing roasted chicken, the girl with the giant cheeks. Like all Lynch films, it was surreal and absurd, yet completely mesmerizing.

"In Heaven, everything is fine...."

[Jane2]

Posted: 3/29/04 at 6:47pm

How bout that baby???? Yeah, maybe not so shocking as so weird that you don't know what you just saw! Back then I watched it over and over again. It's still pretty unique and not that dated considering.

[nystateomind04]

Posted: 3/29/04 at 7:42pm

someone mentioned the movie storytelling, i hated that movie, there was not one character to care about or identify with in any way whatsoever, i could go into more detail about it, but i dont care to remember that movie. ironically, the storytelling is about as ineffective as ive ever seen, and i dont think that the writors/directors/producers intended that when they gave it that title. i did try to justify it, to come up with some reason why it was even made, but couldnt.

[Unknown User]

Posted: 3/30/04 at 9:19am

Let's talk about Storytelling, shall we:

the reason it does not work is because it is missing a 30 minute section to the film:

I have no idea if this is true but the story did get a lot of press:

There was a "third story" - that starred "Dawson's Creek" Hearthrob James van der Beek. He filmed ALL of his scenes and was expecting to be in the film.

Selma Blair did an interview in Entertaintment Weekly discussing this before the movie was released and when the movie was being filmed James van der Beek and Heather Matarazzo were listed as the stars -

James's character was a wildy popular high school football star and either gay or bisexual. There was also apparently a pretty explicit gay sex scene with James.

Everything involving his character was cut out and it was implied that when people over at the WB saw the film and this scene (where James is, shall we say, the "passive" one)they freaked out and all hell broke loose!

The entire storyline was then, out of nowhere, cut from the film! Updated On: 3/30/04 at 09:19 AM

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 3/30/04 at 9:33am

No!

[Unknown User]

Posted: 3/30/04 at 12:56pm

Voiceanth! are you sure it as storytelling? becuase he's the in the film rules of attraction and was supposed to have a gay scene which was edited out. now the film is in talks to release the unedited dvd version...?

as far as shocking goes, we all have our different opinions about what is the most shocking. I think the most shocking violence on screen came from Amercian History X when he killed the black man in the beginning of the film.

Irreversible, you all must be talking about the bashing in the head of the guy with a fire extinguisher. That didn't bother me. The violence in film doesn't bother me as much becuase it isn't real. But when you have actors, portraying 16 year olds actually having intercourse and felatio on camera that is shocking, it almost feels like child pornography, isn't that in the least bit disturbing

and i agree, Bully was in a class of it's own. Before KEN PARK, Bully was on the top of my list as shocking. It broke many boundaries but it seemed a little easier to handle since they were playing 18 or older.

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 3/30/04 at 4:06pm

I saw COME UNDONE and THE MAN I LOVE, both were rather weird. Shock value and all, but yes, I did freeze frame and zoom in on some parts. Thank God for DVD. I think if done right THE MAN I LOVE would be an awesome play. Not a musical, just a play. The main character (I don't remember his name) is a great character for the stage.

[Unknown User]

Posted: 3/30/04 at 4:08pm

Yes, I'm sure...It was the only raeson I wanted to the see the film (LOL)..run a search on google with Van der Beeks's name and storytelling and see what comes up!

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 3/30/04 at 7:21pm

You think Come Undone is weird, try O Fantasma. I saw the European release and one scene would be considered porn in the US, so I'm sure it was edited for American screens. It's a truly bizarre and rather pointless film.

[Unknown User]

Posted: 3/31/04 at 12:35am

I thought Kids was pretty shocking until I saw Gummo. I just can't understand the point of showing cruelty to animals. I mean I know they're trying to be shocking and show how kids are so disaffected these days but I can't help wonder if "kids" seeing this film will think it's cool to do that to an animal. I have to draw the line of what I won't watch at cruelty to animals. I thought Happiness was a great film and not that shocking. Another type of "shocking" would have to include John Waters' early films, esp. Pink Flamingos. I don't think any of us were ready for that in 1973.

[Unknown User]

Posted: 3/31/04 at 12:05pm

i'm a foregin fanatic! I rent ANYTHING!!

I've seen gummo, kids, o fantasmo (this actually was very shocking as well), i have not seen the man i love or pink flamingos. but i still think that KEN PARK threw me for a loop.
You're right in saying that the overall material wasn't that shocking, it just was the sex scenes that took me by surprise. larry clark does have that uncanny ability to make it seem like you're spying on your younger siblings while having sex...

[Maggie]

Posted: 3/31/04 at 2:08pm

I'm with you Graight, cruelty to animals is completely sickening.