Only the Young (2012)

Directors: Elizabeth Mims, Jason Tippet

Composer: Nick Thorburn

Starring: Garrison Saenz, Kevin Conway, Skye elmore, Samantha MacDonald, Kristen Cheriegate, Shannon Hudson, Robin Levy

More info: IMDb

Tagline: Children are the gods of this city.

Plot: ONLY THE YOUNG is the story of the children that inhabit a small desert town in Southern California--a town dominated by foreclosed homes and underpasses, unfilled swimming pools and skate parks. The three teenagers of focus must find things to do in a place that offers nothing--but in observing their day-to-day lives, we see them discover friendship, first love, heartbreak, and what it means to be young.

My rating:

Will I watch it again? Nope.

I watch a lot of documentaries but lately I've been watching, by coincidence I guess - I'm not seeking them out, some that are slices of life, following people that aren't all that interesting.  At least in this one I like the subjects a bit.  Their all good kids but there's also nothing all that compelling or terribly interesting about them.  I'm at the point where I'd like to talk to some of the filmmakers to find out what got them interested in their subjects.  Did they think there was a movie to be made and discovered while filming that perhaps not?  This one has some good music choices, it's nicely shot (I like the slow motion shots - the had a good camera) and it looks like these folks are very good at their jobs; it's just there's very little story to tell here except you've got some friends who are at the end of their high school years and will be moving on.  It's not unlike a lot of situations teens find themselves in.  Maybe that's what it is. I guess this wasn't made for people like me.  Teenage Christian skateboarders will love this.  The Oscilloscope DVD set comes with another documentary, TCHOUPITOULAS (2012), and the extras include a commentary track, 16 minutes of outtakes, a short film called THOMPSON, the theatrical trailer and trailers for four Oscilloscope pictures.