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Kids
1995 91 min United States of America NC-17 18+
★6.4
Drama, Crime
Director: Larry Clark
Trailers
Description
A group of bored, disaffected New York City teenagers spend a day skating, smoking, drinking, partying, deflowering virgins, and getting into fights.
Budget:
$1.5M
US Gross:
$7.41M
Worldwide:
$20.41M
Starring
Leo Fitzpatrick
Actor
Justin Pierce
Actor
Chloë Sevigny
Actor
Awards
Cannes Film Festival 1995
— Palme d'Or
Key opinion
Kids is a polarizing piece of "dirty realism" that serves as either a visceral, honest cautionary tale or a sensationalist, exploitative provocation. Its raw depiction of 1990s youth culture continues to spark intense debate regarding whether the film provides a meaningful social critique or relies on shock value for its own sake.
| Production | The film succeeds in creating an authentic, immersive "dirty realism" atmosphere that captures the visceral grit of mid-90s NYC street life. | |
| Screenplay | The script effectively captures the raw, nonsensical, and abrasive quality of teenage vernacular, lending the characters a sense of hyper-realism. | |
| Acting | The performances are grounded and believable, with many critics highlighting the effectiveness of using non-professional, authentic street youth. | |
| Pacing | The narrative structure and pacing create a relentless, suffocating sense of momentum that mirrors the characters' lack of direction and consequences. | |
| Theme | Viewers are sharply divided on whether the film serves as a necessary, sobering cautionary tale or merely as a form of exploitative, purposeless "shock" cinema. | |
| Emotion | Reactions to the emotional impact are split; some find the characters' downward spiral deeply tragic and reflective of societal failure, while others feel no empathy for the protagonists, viewing them as inherently repulsive. |