``Kids'' The light and shadow of American youth culture captured by legendary photographer Larry Clark

The superman in charge of distribution

As for the cast, there were almost no professional actors, and the director's skater friends were the main cast. Also, because the production budget was small, the costumes were shot with the cast's own clothes, and as a result, most of them were Supreme. However, this allowed the skaters to recognize that the film is authentic. Incidentally, Larry Clark and Supreme released a capsule collection to commemorate the 20th anniversary of "Kids" in 2015.

Larry Clark does not rely on the strength of a single shot, as is common among filmmakers who started out as photographers, but instead uses handheld and long takes to capture the lively figures of his cast. Ironically, however, the more the film portrays the young people's abundant energy, the more it conveys their fleeting sadness, unconcerned about HIV.

It is common in indie film production that production starts but the release date is not decided. This was also the case with this film, which has extreme content. However, this is where the big producer Harvey Weinstein comes in. Although he has become infamous now, he is good at finding money trees, and this film caught his eye.

Weinstein volunteered to distribute the film, but the company he represented, Miramax, was a subsidiary of Disney, and it was against their rules to distribute films that were prohibited for viewing by people under the age of 17. Weinstein then made a bold decision. He created a distribution company specifically for the screening of this film. The name of this company is shown in large letters before the screening: "Excalibur Film Company."

The film was released and became a hot topic around the world. With the full cooperation of Supreme and the cleverness of the promotional visuals, it was accepted even by people who were not interested in skateboarding. The success of this film prompted Larry Clark, Harmony Korine and others to make films one after another.

Chloe Sevigny, who was dating Harmony Korine at the time, also became a prominent actress and model, but the lead star Justin Pierce committed suicide in Las Vegas in 2000, and fellow star Harold Hunter, a famous skater, died of a drug overdose in 2006.

"Kids" captures the dangerous youth culture on film with a delicate balance. The reason it still has an enduring, dangerous charm is probably because what it depicts is genuine.

Text: Koji Eguchi

Video producer. We are active in a wide range of media, focusing on advertising. He has won many domestic and international advertising awards, including Cannes, and contributes from the perspective of a producer who has various production experiences such as director Koji Fukada's ``The Man from the Sea'' (2018) and exhibiting VR at SXSW.

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『Kids』

DVD & Blu-ray on sale/rental now

3,800 yen (excluding tax)

Publisher: Dimension Co., Ltd. Release cooperation: Picante Circus

Seller: Happinet (PM)

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