Devil's Playground

I don't see how it could have been made any better.. I have actually "met" one of the girls on this documentary.. took me awhile to realize it was her.. I go to an Amish flee market every year in Shipshewana Indiana (where pieces of this were filmed.. Legrange County) The only people I "met" were the waitresses at Das Essenhaus.. (great restaurant).. I am actually surprised that I didn't see more of what is shown in this going on.. It is a very hard community to film.. many of them would not allow it..

One of the most interesting parts to me was when one of the guys was describing why they don't use technology.. I was always under the impression that they thought it was ungodly or evil.. but it's more a matter of taking away from the closeness of family.. \ I think this one is a must see.. it is well done, the kids are straight up and honest about what they are doing during this time.. and nothing seemed forced..

Lucy Walker presents a view into a community that is rarely glimpsed by outsiders. The Amish community, tightly knit as it is, has little use for the "English" world outside. I was very intrigued by the premise of a film following young Amish people through the rite of passage of Rumspringa, wherein they discover what kind of people they want to be, and decide whether to join the Amish church.

The view given by Walker is largely unbiased; she presents the viewer with a portrait of several Amish youths and their decisions to join the church or to remain in the english world. The film focuses mainly on Faron, a youth who has gotten himself into trouble with drugs, and she does not judge him or criticize him. Rather, we see his actions and are told of his choices, and are left to draw our own conclusions and wonder what will become of him.

I found this film to be quite well done, and unlike some of the other reviewers, I don't think it felt staged or stilted. I found myself thinking about it long after I'd seen it, and wondering what had happened to the people whose lives it followed.

I recommend this film, and feel that as a debut, it is quite an achievement. Some of the moments actually reminded me of Harmony Korine's work; it has a subtle air of discontent and uncertainty. Well done. ****/*****.

I've seen this documentary twice now, at least 9 months apart. I think it needs to be seen a couple of times to really take different views within the film. It does leave me worrying about the pre-programming of young minds before they are fully able to disseminate the whole; I say this because of my upbringing in South Africa when the Apartheid regime was in full swing, and the potential 'programming' this could imprint on young minds. A bit of a departure from the Amish nature of the film, I know, but I could'nt help getting the impression from these young folk of the sense of 'helplessness' of their life choices and futures. That apart, a great film to be viewed a couple of times, and equally a super sound track that would be great as a CD release... so how about it folks?

I saw this film by chance at a friends house and I was immediately sucked into it. It was interesting to learn about a group of people whom I knew existed but never heard much about. This documentary gave me a great appreciation for how these people live their lives,I personally could never live like that. Anyone interested in learning about Amish teenagers should watch this film. It is surprising how many similarities and differences there are between Amish teenagers, and the average American teenagers.

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.