Devil's Playground
by Lucy Walker
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Emma Miller, Faron Yoder, Gerald Yutzy, Joann Hochstetler, Velda BontragerDirector: Lucy Walker
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 5.1
Format: Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, Full Screen, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 90 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2003-02-04
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Wellspring
Movie Reviews of Devil's Playground
Movie Review: Amish youth gone wild: sympathetic of sensationalistic? - must also watch with commentary
Summary: 3 Stars
I suppose that I have a somewhat overidealized appreciation for the Amish, and when I first heard about this documentary I figured it was just a sensationalistic attempt at exploitation. I had no intention of watching it, but a few years later after reading Rumspringa, I finally decided to see what it was all about. I'll admit, the first time it really shocked me, and I considered it to be just what I had expected it to be. I watched it again several times, my feelings about it unchanged; after shelving it for about six months, I've watched it again a number of times, and my attitude towards it has change a little. I no longer consider it to be "exploitation" as it does try to depict the Amish in a somewhat sympathetic manner, and in some respects the true underlying goodness of the Amish people filters through despite the movie's subject matter. Having listened to the commentary--which is essential if you really want to understand the documentary itself--it does strike me, though, that the movie has to be viewed with a critical eye. While the type of behaviour depicted is clearly something that does occur among modern Amish youth, what's not clear is how widespread it is. According to the director, it took quite some time to find the people featured in the movie; no one wanted to be involved in the project at first, and so eventually it was mostly only people who were pretty fargone that did because they didn't really care anymore what people thought. So we have Faron--drug addict and dealer--as "the main character," and Velda, who left the church because it wouldn't allow her to be "the girl I want to be" and is now is shunned by her family, figuring prominently, as well. The former extremely rare, the latter with an axe to grind. Some of the lesser "characters" are not as extreme, and a few even decided to join the church in the end, but it's difficult to say for sure because they don't received the same attention. Moreover, in the commentary, it's easy to tell where the director's etc. sympathies lie--praise for Velda for writing and publishing a "feminist poem," critical remarks about certain Amish practices, the director's naive claim that maybe Faron would be a meth addict if he could just continue his education--not to mention the general tone of the discussion. Another thing to keep in mind: the documentary is very brief and general when it comes to Amish culture and history; it does not differentiate between the various sects, for instance. Of lesser significance, the inclusion of home movie clips does not make it clear that these people are not related to anyone in the movie, nor are they in fact even Amish. I understand why they were included, but it seems a little deceptive to me; well, I think they could have been left out altogether, or included as extras. So in the end, I'm left with mixed feelings about the movie; it was certainly fascinating and revealing, but there is an underlying agenda and it is does not fully explore the nature of Amish culture by which the viewer can measure the behaviour depicted in it. Is this kind of behaviour really the product of being released from a strict religious culture, or is it something that these children would have engaged in anyway had they not been born Amish and thus an example of why the Amish are justified in their rigid worldview? Many will conclude from this documentary that it is the former, while I tend to think the latter is correct. In the end, I would recommend the movie, but caution that it should be viewed critically.
Summary of Devil's Playground
This Sundance Festival sensation has attracted attention because of its jarring images of Amish kids immersed in debauchery: plain-dressed girls in white bonnets slugging back beers and flicking ashes from their cigarettes, boys passing out in the back of pickups after all-night parties, even Amish teens in bed together. But like a good drama, it's the characters themselves and their heartbreaking dilemma that linger in the mind. In the Amish vernacular, "Devil's Playground" refers to the "English" or outside world. The protected teens are suddenly thrust into this world upon their 16th birthday as they begin "Rumspringa," a period during which they decide whether to join the church as adults. Crystallizing this predicament is the 73-minute documentary's most compelling figure, 18-year-old Faron, a preacher's son fighting drug addiction. His earnest intent to return to the church and astonishing articulateness makes his misadventures in the drug underworld and penal system undeniably poignant. --Kimberly HeinrichsDevil's Playground explores the Amish ritual of Rumspringa, a coming-of-age "time for decision" presented to Amish youth when they must decide which path they will follow as adults... 16th century religious scripture or 21st century pleasure. "Sensitive, revealing and at times heart-wrenching." --Ad Crable, Lancaster New Era
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