Devil's Playground (2002)

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

Director:

Lucy Walker

Stars:

Velda Bontrager, Mark Bontrager, Dewayne Chupp

2 wins & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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

Storyline

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

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Plot Keywords:

title directed by female | amish | bonfire | rebellion | wild party | 

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Taglines:

Which path will they choose?

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Genres:

Documentary

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Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English German

Release Date:

11 January 2002 (USA)

Also Known As:

Djævelens legeplads

Filming Locations:

Indiana, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Stick Figure Productions, WinStar Cinema, Cinemax Reel Life

Technical Specs

Runtime:

77 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Appeared on Entertainment Weekly's list of The 50 Best Movies You've Never Seen in the Jul 16, 2012 issue.

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Connections

Featured in SexTV: Surrogate Partner Therapy/Devil's Playground/A Moment with... Martin Dillon (2003)

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Soundtracks

Kid's Hangin' Out
Written by Jason Mason
Performed by Whiskey Biscuit (as Wiskey Biscuit)
Published by Chromium Eight Publishing (BMI)
Courtesy of Shipwrecords Records

User Reviews

entertaining, but misses the mark

this film is based around a fascinating subject; the amish custom of allowing every boy or girl who turns sixteen to do anything he or she pleases, no holds barred. apparently, the amish believe it is wrong to baptise infants, and that they're supposed to choose the amish way as free-thinking adults.

the opening titles explaining this raised my expectations, as did the movie poster: an image of a girl in an amish bonnet, sitting in the back seat of a car, lighting a cigarette. it felt like a stolen moment; like an exciting departure from everything she's been taught. what would teens like this do, give free rein for the first time in their lives? what would it feel like to taste the things that were always off limits?

well according to this movie, amish teenagers are just as debauched as anyone in western society; they have no qualms about doing anything at all; nothing seems exciting or new to them. they're just relieved that their nuisance parents are out of the way so that they can finally get on with their partying, driving and drugging.

and how do the parents feel about allowing their children to turn their backs on every value they ever taught them? that would be a challenging concept to any parent, let alone one in a supposedly closed, puritanical society. well, we'll never know, as the amish refuse to be filmed or photographed.

stripped of all the interesting questions, this remains a slick docu-soap in the mtv "real world" tradition, with no insights to offer; just a peek into the lives of a few amish teens, who may or may not be examples of anything larger than themselves.