Ken Park (2002)

Directors:

Larry Clark
Edward Lachman

Writers:

Larry Clark (stories)
Harmony Korine (screenplay)

Release Date:

31 January 2003 (Austria)

Genre:

Adult | Drama

Tagline:

Who are you?

Plot:

It's about several Californian skateboarder's life and relationships with and without their parents.

Plot Keywords:

Teenager | Skateboarder | California | Alcoholic Father | Sex

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Adam Chubbuck	...	Ken Park
James Bullard	...	Shawn
Seth Gray	...	Shawn's Brother
Eddie Daniels	...	Shawn's Mother
Zara McDowell	...	Zoe
Maeve Quinlan	...	Rhonda
Stephen Jasso	...	Claude
Wade Williams	...	Claude's Father (as Wade Andrew Williams)
Tiffany Limos	...	Peaches
Julio Oscar Mechoso	...	Peaches' Father (as Julio Oscar Mochoso)
James Ransone	...	Tate
Patricia Place	...	Tate's Grandmother
Amanda Plummer	...	Claude's Mother
Mike Apaletegui	...	Curtis
Harrison Young	...	Tate's Grandfather

Runtime:

96 min | Argentina:98 min (Buenos Aires International Festival of Independent Cinema) | Sweden:97 min

Country:

USA | Netherlands | France

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby SR

Certification:

Canada:R (Alberta) | Iceland:16 | Hungary:18 | France:-16 (video) | France:-16 | France:-18 (court decision) | Singapore:(Banned) | Argentina:18 | Australia:Refused Classification | Brazil:18 | Canada:18+ (Quebec) | Finland:K-18 | Germany:18 | Hong Kong:III | Italy:VM18 | Japan:R-18 | Malaysia:(Banned) | Netherlands:16 | New Zealand:R18 (with restriction) | Norway:18 | Portugal:M/18 | Sweden:15 | Switzerland:18 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:18 (canton of Vaud)

Filming Locations:

San Fernando Valley, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Busy Bee Productions

Trivia:

UK distributor Hamish McAlpine dropped the film after Larry Clark punched him in the face at a celebratory dinner.

Quotes:

Peaches' Father: Peaches is such a good girl.

Movie Connections:

References Happiness (1998)

Soundtrack:

Good Time Charlie's Got the Blues

Disappointed.

I didn't enjoy this latest offering by Larry Clark. It was as if he took Todd Solondz' Happiness, removed all wit, all semblance of plot and character development, and threw in a few explicit sex scenes for some shock value.

After watching Bully and Kids, I have come to accept Clark's style of storytelling, however I felt that this movie went nowhere. He's usually good at juggling multiple story lines that end up converging in a natural sense, but I felt that in Ken Park he didn't have a enough time to delve into any single character's storyline deep enough for the audience to become engaged with the characters, which to me is a crucial element in any good drama.

When the 1h10 mark came around, I was more alarmed by the fact that there were only 20 more minutes in which to resolve the story than by the incest and murder taking place on screen.

This failure was akin to Lukas Moodysson's A Hole in My Heart. I hope Larry Clark's work will only get better after this.