Ken Park

Larry Clark is a contested director, Ken Park one of the films that cemented his reputation. It offers a glimpse into the world of some skater kids. Unlike Van Sant's Paranoid Park, Clark tends to pick out and bring together some juicier stories, which some would call exploitative. So be warned.

A young kid drives out to the skater park, takes out a gun, and kills himself. It's merely an introduction for a group of friends that like to hang out together. They knew the kid but weren't that closely connected. The youngsters aren't all that shocked by the suicide, as they all have problems of their own.

Clark doesn't shun controversy, resulting in some pretty graphic scenes (both sexual content and violence). If you want to take this as a realistic drama then it's probably a bit much, as a more tailored film narrative it makes plenty of sense though. It's not quite as good or enticing as I remembered it to be, but still a very worthy film.