I read one review about this film that talked about how EVERYTHING about our modern world is sick. Well, apart from hyperbole like this, there are SOME aspects of modern life that may be sick--though whether or not this film makes this point or not is up to you to interpret.
The film shows life in the suburbs for a young boy. However, instead of hearing him or the people around him talk, you hear the narrator--who you assume is the boy years later when he's an adult. This narrator talks much like a combination of a Native-American Indian and Conan the Barbarian! He talks and talks about how sick this world is and how he longs to be free. During all this, the kid appears to have some behavioral issues and doctors prescribe medications to make him "normal". However, this kid doesn't really take the pills and uses them to drug his mother and make his escape. Then, once freed, he spends his time eating the family dog and organizing the other kids in his crusade for freedom and a life as feral children.
The film is interesting and I liked its style. Plus, any debate concerning society's over-prescribing of psychotropic medication for children is welcome. However, the child's eating the dog, drugging (and perhaps killing) the mother, using a baseball bat with abandon on others makes this film a bit disturbing. On one hand it could be seen as a plea for allowing kids to be kids and not medicating them, but on the other, the child appears insane and probably would have best been put in a straight-jacket--blurring the film's message. I guess the message is up to you to interpret, though I just hope you aren't left with the notion that ALL of modern life is evil. There are some who do feel that way and frankly, they scare me!
The film shows life in the suburbs for a young boy. However, instead of hearing him or the people around him talk, you hear the narrator--who you assume is the boy years later when he's an adult. This narrator talks much like a combination of a Native-American Indian and Conan the Barbarian! He talks and talks about how sick this world is and how he longs to be free. During all this, the kid appears to have some behavioral issues and doctors prescribe medications to make him "normal". However, this kid doesn't really take the pills and uses them to drug his mother and make his escape. Then, once freed, he spends his time eating the family dog and organizing the other kids in his crusade for freedom and a life as feral children.
The film is interesting and I liked its style. Plus, any debate concerning society's over-prescribing of psychotropic medication for children is welcome. However, the child's eating the dog, drugging (and perhaps killing) the mother, using a baseball bat with abandon on others makes this film a bit disturbing. On one hand it could be seen as a plea for allowing kids to be kids and not medicating them, but on the other, the child appears insane and probably would have best been put in a straight-jacket--blurring the film's message. I guess the message is up to you to interpret, though I just hope you aren't left with the notion that ALL of modern life is evil. There are some who do feel that way and frankly, they scare me!
