Slaves to the Underground

I got this film from Netflix and it was a nice surprise. I don't know what film the other poster saw, but it wasn't this one. Having spent time around the indie music scene for a number of years I can personally attest to the fact that this film is anything but naive.

It hits the nail right on the head. The music from obscure Ben Lee songs to Ani DiFranco are not only dead on (the film was shot back in the nineties)for the scene but the way the kids act - young and impulsive shows that the filmmakers knew their subjects and refused to make a film that imprinted the ideas and beliefs of 40 year old wannabe film critics.

The closest film I've seen to this one is probably Penelope Speeris' wonderful film Suburbia from back in the 80's.

"Slaves to the Underground", a grungy and immature flick about some young Seattle slacker-types with issues, is unable to escape the naivete of the creative forces behind it. Built around a story about a sexually and otherwise confused girl with two lovers and no qualities which would explain one lover, this flick also makes shallow and off-target attempts at social commentary and is fraught with awful music. "Slaves...." underscores one axiom: A film can be no smarter than the people who make it. Not recommendable.

All I really have to say is, more please. This movie had a cool sound track, good character detail, managed to tackle complex issues while leaving enough room for the viewer to have an opinion, and unlike more dated genre work such as "Go Fish", this movie is well into the young dykedom of today's world. The philosophical moments in this movie are tinged with the bitter-sweet taste of reality, rather than myth. And I do not understand why the film was cut for broadcast on terrestrial TV in Britain. It seems we still have a very long way to go concerning the establishments. However films like this are helping to pave the way.