Only the Young

A poetic documentary about Christian skateboard enthusiasts in small town California. Frankly, the subject matter isn't very interesting. These kids are no less vapid than any other kids, although some of their dramas, particularly the economic woes of Skye Elmore and her family, are touching. Still, the most common subject of the kids' conversations are who's going out with whom, who broke up with whom, blah blah blah. The one thing that makes this film at least somewhat worth watching (and at just over an hour, it's hardly a chore) is the cinematography. Mims and Tippet really capture some gorgeous images. I'd like to see more from them, whether they stick to documentaries or move to fictional material.

A gorgeous doc full of real-life silences and texture. The other reviewers here missed the point of this thing... It's got no story to tell, and there should be no anticipation of story (or "point") just as there should be little hope for a plot from a short poem with the name of a flower for a title.

The lack of direction, and therefore pointless nature of the conversations and situations is the focus here. Where do parties lead? Nowhere. Usually to an empty, lonely feeling once the tumult passes. Where do young romances lead? Nowhere, but usually to an empty, lonely feeling once the tumult passes.

These are real kids. I'm 41, own a house and have kids, but I recall these ambling afternoons with clarity, the days when it seems like a car might really change your life and who your friend just kissed presents possible calamity.

Hitchcock said "Drama is life with the dull bits cut out." This doc set out to put those dull bits in amber for these kids, in a mostly objective manner, therefore speaking to a much wider net about these weird, quietly raging times, completely forgotten by people who are now more interested in 401Ks and their new petty issues.

My only real problem with the film is that it's too gorgeous to be immediate (I thought several times, "How'd they capture this without having staged the shot?" ...and one or two edits sniff of manipulation).