Devil's Playground (2002)

Director:

Lucy Walker

Genre:

Documentary

Tagline:

Which path will they choose?

Plot:

Amish teenagers experience and embrace the modern world as a rite-of-passage before deciding which life they will choose. |

Plot Keywords:

Amish | Store | Belief In Hell | Life Crisis | Baptism

Awards:

2 wins & 5 nominations

Cast

Velda Bontrager	...	Herself
Mark Bontrager	...	Himself
Dewayne Chupp	...	Himself
Dylan Cole	...	Himself
Matt Eash	...	Himself
Sally Fisher	...	Herself
Marty Fry	...	Himself
John Groff	...	Himself (as John)
Lisa Groff	...	Herself
Andy Herschberger	...	Himself
Joann Hochstetler	...	Herself
Jesse Kaufman	...	Himself
Carol Lambright	...	Herself
Dale Lambright	...	Himself
Ervin Lambright	...	Himself
Velda Lehman	...	Herself
Alvin Miller	...	Himself
Emma Miller	...	Herself
Scott Stuart	...	Himself
Sara Tackett	...	Herself
Lydia Troyer	...	Herself
Amos Yoder	...	Himself
Christine Yoder	...	Herself
Faron Yoder	...	Himself
Mel Yoder	...	Himself
Phil Yoder	...	Himself
Steve Yoder	...	Himself
Waneta Yoder	...	Herself
Allan Yutzy	...	Himself
Gerald Yutzy	...	Himself

Directed by
Lucy Walker

Produced by
Nancy Abraham	....	supervising producer: Cinemax
Carolyn Cantor	....	associate producer
Steven Cantor	....	producer
Tanaz Eshaghian	....	associate producer
Julie Goldman	....	executive producer
Daniel Laikind	....	co-producer
Sheila Nevins	....	executive producer: Cinemax
Toby Oppenheimer	....	co-producer
Mandy Stein	....	associate producer
Caroline Stevens	....	executive producer: Winstar Productions

Cinematography by
Daniel Kern		(director of photography)
Lucy Walker		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Pax Wassermann

Production Management
Janis Holzapfel	....	production manager

Sound Department
Brian Bowles	....	dialogue editor
Andrew Bracken	....	sound effects editor (as Drew Braken)
Tom Paul	....	post-production sound mixer: The Cottage
Tom Paul	....	post-production sound supervisor: The Cottage

Visual Effects by
Javier Michalski	....	graphic design

Camera and Electrical Department
Toby Oppenheimer	....	additional photographer
Mandy Stein	....	additional photographer

Editorial Department
Geof Bartz	....	consulting editor: Cinemax
Becky Goldberg	....	assistant editor
Chris Seagren	....	on-line editor
Jim Finn	....	negative supervisor (uncredited)

Music Department
Renee Travis	....	music supervisor: Artists in Motion

Other crew
Gillian Aldrich	....	production assistant
Roger Arar	....	legal consultant: Loeb and Loeb, LLC
Vanessa Arteaga	....	production executive: Winstar Productions
Maria Bowen	....	production executive: Winstar Productions
Julie Cracco	....	production assistant
Andrew Homan	....	research consultant
Charlotte K. Shields	....	production coordinator

Thanks
Barry Alperin	....	special thanks
David Auster	....	special thanks
Eric Avery	....	special thanks
Donna Beaver	....	special thanks
Holly Becker	....	special thanks
Edie Bedford	....	special thanks
Barbie Beiler	....	special thanks
Elam Beiler	....	special thanks
Sashy Bogdanovich	....	special thanks
Helaine Cantor	....	special thanks
Paul Cantor	....	special thanks
Nels Cline	....	special thanks
Elizabeth Clough	....	special thanks
Danny Cogan	....	special thanks
Steve Cohen	....	special thanks
Doug DeAngelis	....	special thanks (as Doug De Angelis)
Sara Driver	....	special thanks
Carol Fiola	....	special thanks
Ralph Fiola	....	special thanks
Eileen Foster	....	special thanks
Jim Foster	....	special thanks
Boris Frumin	....	special thanks
Sonya Gauthier	....	special thanks
Jennifer Granville	....	special thanks (as Jenny Granville)
James Gray	....	special thanks
Jason Grooms	....	special thanks
Kevin Haskins	....	special thanks (as Kevin Donpe)
Gary Herschberger	....	special thanks
Judy Horst	....	special thanks
Mel Horst	....	special thanks
Alan Symons	....	in memory of

Production Companies

• Stick Figure Productions (presents)
• WinStar Cinema (as Winstar Productions)
• Cinemax Reel Life (as Cinemax)

Distributors

• Channel Four Films
• Home Box Office (HBO)
• Knowledge Network (2010) (Canada) (TV) (British Columbia)
• Sony Music Entertainment (2009) (Japan) (TV)
• Winstar Communications

Other Companies

• Artists in Motion  music supervision
• Bittersweet Hill Bed and Breakfast  special thanks (as Bittersweet Hill)
• Cottage Mix, The  post-production sound mixing (as The Cottage)
• Cottage Mix, The  post-production sound supervision (as The Cottage)
• Folk Craft Center Bed and Breakfast  special thanks (as Folk Craft Center)
• Historical Society of York County, PA, The  archival footage courtesy of
• Liberty Post  on-line facility
• Loeb & Loeb  legal consultant
• Menno-Hof Mennonite-Amish Visitor Center  special thanks (as Mennohof Mennonite-Amish Visitors Center)
• Mennonite Historical Society  special thanks
• Old Order Amish community of Elkhart County, Indiana  extra special thanks: for the inspiration, hospitality, and friendship
• Old Order Amish community of LaGrange County, Indiana  extra special thanks: for the inspiration, hospitality, and friendship
• Old Order Amish community of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania  extra special thanks: for the inspiration, hospitality, and friendship
• Old Order Amish community of Sarasota, Florida  extra special thanks: for the inspiration, hospitality, and friendship
• Plantain Films  special thanks
• Post Production Playground  off-line facility

Also Known As:

Runtime:

77 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

Canada:PG (TV rating) (British Columbia) | Japan:PG12 (2010)

Filming Locations:

Indiana, USA

Company:

Stick Figure Productions

Movie Connections:

Featured in The 2003 IFP Independent Spirit Awards (2003) (TV)

Soundtrack:

CD 2- Track 5

A Rare But Limited View of Amish Youth

To a large extent, the inherent friction between America's central majority and diverse religious minority groups is controlled and channeled by a matrix of Constitutional Law principles. Court decisions insure that minority rights are protected against what often has been the mainstream's desire or perceived need to force assimilation or even attempt destruction through law or mob action. The latter has happened in American history with regard to the Shakers and Mormons. Both groups and Southern snake-handling churches have frequently encountered major legal restrictions. .

The Amish occupy a more protected place than some other Christian fundamentalists. Living in large communities side by side with the "english", as they call without distinction all others, their energy, excellent and desired produce and products and reputation for orderly, crime-free lives has insured respect. Temptation rather than persecution is the main foe of the Amish commitment to a simple lifestyle.

Director Lucy Walker's documentary, "Devil's Playground" is a rare but possibly too limited view of Amish life, largely in Indiana. The Amish covet their privacy and most members of the church do not allow themselves to be filmed or interviewed although strictures vary from community to community. Generally, the Amish eschew using much of the apparatus of American communal and political life. For instance, while they will not send children to public school past the eighth grade, relief from compulsory education laws through a Supreme Court decision only came about because several Amish parents passively permitted others to litigate on their behalf (Wisconsin v. Yoder).

"Devil's Playground" introduces the viewer to "rumspiga," the planned release off the parental and community leash of teenagers on their sixteenth birthday. According to the young men and women interviewed, virtually anything goes during an indefinite period of freedom that can end in a few months or go on to age 21. At some point each youth decides whether to embark on a life outside Amish society or take church vows that are considered inviolable once voluntarily assumed. Defectors are shunned by family and friends if they leave the church after taking the vows.

The film follows Amish youth to huge parties monitored by justifiably concerned Indiana police. Sex appears to be a route for some but dancing and excessive consumption of alcohol is a key activity for most, especially the males. Some fall into the world of drugs, including dealing. Faron, a clearly troubled young man, is followed by the camera crew from innocent flirtation and all-night partying to serious drug taking to felony selling. Subsequent threats to his life came after he cooperated with the police.

The females seem to be more hesitant about unshackling fetters than males. The boys all adopt everyday teen garb while the girls experiment with beer and cosmetics but largely remain clothed in traditional attire. Interestingly, many of the boys take on "english" girlfriends, a safety mechanism that actually lessens the likelihood of their permanently abandoning their community.

A number of Amish youths discuss their family relations and whether they will join the church or adopt a new lifestyle. Many comments have a rehearsed quality, not surprising when the speakers haven't been brought up to freely express themselves.

A postscript notes that some ninety percent of Amish youth resolve to join the church, giving up cars for buggies, t-shirts for bland work clothes and beer for juice. One clear clue as to why the retention rate is so high is the virtual total lack of intellectual curiosity or desire for education in the Amish youth population. What seems to be a period of genuine freedom is really a very clever release of people whose likelihood to question or rebel is suitably repressed rather than advanced by an episode of largely aimless partying.

What isn't clear from "Devil's Playground" is the extent to which Amish youth in general go as hog wild as the participants in the documentary. The young interviewees wanted the attention of the film-maker for reasons ranging from narcissism to a need to self-justify life-altering decisions. It would have been very useful to incorporate insights from non-Amish scholars, including psychologists, who could discuss the teens' experiences and responses in a measured objectivity.

But this is one fine documentary.

8/10.