American Teen (2008)

Director:

Nanette Burstein

Writer:

Nanette Burstein (writer)

Release Date:

25 July 2008 (USA)

Genre:

Documentary

Plot:

A documentary on seniors at a high school in a small Indiana town and their various cliques. |

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for some strong language, sexual material, some drinking and brief smoking-all involving teens.

Runtime:

95 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

USA:PG-13

Filming Locations:

Warsaw, Indiana, USA

Company:

57th & Irving Productions

Impressive, innovative

This was the only documentary we had a chance to see this year, and we picked well! I found myself getting so absorbed in the stories of these 4 mid-western teenagers that I forgot temporarily that they were actual people. It is unbelievable that the director was able to catch these kids on camera saying and doing the things they did. One of the characters was so unsympathetic that we wondered why on earth she would act the way she did. I can't help but wish the director had included a "what are they doing now" note at the end. These kids are the same age as my oldest daughter, and perhaps that's why I felt connected to them, but I truly do want to know if they followed through with their plans. We also enjoyed the occasional lapse into animation the film included; some were funny, some were disturbing, but we felt they were well done, if a bit slick. This was by far our favorite movie of the 10 we viewed at Sundance this year. I wish the director had been able to come for Q&A.