Bob Balaban's Parents is one of my favorite movies of all time and I righteously believe it to be quite a misunderstood gem. From my point of view, this movie is about life in suburbia, growing up in it, fearing it's closing to the outer world and it's strangely by-the-clock routine. Basically, this movie is about Hell and I think it depicts it with flair and appropriate imagery. I, myself, can really identify with the main character despite the fact that he is muted for the most part. I believe mutism to be forced upon him by the circumstances. Suburbia is not a place to talk as is the city, it's a place to think, to think for yourself. Suburbia is a place where there is no one to entertain you but yourself. You are then all alone and that's what is scary. You start imagining things because you have nothing else to do. The biggest part of the world is in your own head when you're growing up in Suburbia and yes, things can get ugly. You have to see past realist concerns when analysing this movie and see the straight fear, the straight uncertainty of it all... I know this all sounds awfully confusing but look at it this way: I am a loner born in the american suburbia and I can honestly say that Parents is a brilliant depiction of all the fears and doubts I've encountered as a child. I almost watch this film as a documentary now and I totally feel it as a recollection of what my own life partially was. Well-made, well-thought-of stuff. Let all the kids issued from a suburban childhood see it and shiver at the sight of such a just rendering of their troubled past.