Ecstasy Generation

Like an ancient poem the ideas, meaning and even aspects of the plot are left up to interpretation. This is a movie for anyone who has ever been so bored with his or current situation that he or she can just lay back and dream up a world of love, death,sex, drugs and aliens abductions and the end of the all life as we know it. Each character is kind one sided as we see the world through the eyes of Dark, the aptly named lead; these are not representations of all teens but only the annoying stereotypes as they relate to Dark's life. so taking all that in to account this is a great movie to share with friends (and confuse the heck out of them) or to watch when you're feeling a little bored yourself. With sets painted wild colors and out of place visuals it's clear that for Dark-life is but a dream.

As was said above, this is basically 90210 on Acid. From the very beginning one can tell that this film is going to be a major head trip, and would likely be best watched while high on some manner of substance. Still...I'm no stoner, but was able to watch and enjoy it without difficulty. The movie chronicles a typical day of the average 90s teenager, but with perspectives from all orientations and view points: lesbians, gays, bisexuals, stoners, drunks, the whole nine yards. The acting was excellent, and the plot, though difficult to see at points, was quite good. The thing that threw me was the addition of the alien that apparently only Dark can see. It seemed to simultaneously interrupt and fit the story line. Conclusion: this is easily one of my favorite indie films, and I hope I can find time to see it again.

This, along with "The Doom Generation", is one of my many favorite films. I remember showing this to quite a few people at different times, and two things seem to upset people the most: the bisexuality/homoeroticism and the loads of sex scenes that, depending on the scene, serve various purposes. One person I watched it with (she thought she was an intellectual and felt it was beneath her to sit through it) said there was no way this film could be saying anything important and called it a "porno movie". Naturally, since this film shows not one exposed genital organ or even a bare female breast, her argument was ridiculous. As for the homosexual things that go on in the film, I think that that makes people upset because it depicts these characters as human beings with emotions (which homosexuals and bisexuals are) and/or because it turns them on. I love this movie for many reasons. It's very schizophrenic, always going back and forth from harsh realities to gutbusting humor, and sometimes managing to blend them together in a strange and equal mix. It seems that Gregg Araki was trying to defy expectations of him here, and that he was trying not to make a film easily judged as "exploitation". This movie has more sex scenes than "The Doom Generation", but they are not explicit at all. The reasons these scenes are erotic and entertaining is because Araki works with the characters and dialogue to make the sex interesting without showing any nudity other than the occasional male butt. Also, where there would be so many people to call "The Doom Generation" garbage for its constant use of obvious profanities, the dialogue in "Nowhere", if you'll notice, was done without hardly any cusswords, unless you count the myriad of VERY creative slang terms poured all throughout. And as for the gore, there's one big scene and one brief, minor scene. What I find amazing is that even with these differences, "Nowhere" is no less fascinating and brutally effective than "The Doom Generation". I love them both, and, no matter how many disagree, I believe Araki is a very important, skillful, and versatile cinematic artist. I've decided to include no spoilers, but I do want to add one more thing: If you don't see any meaning to this, that still doesn't mean that it is completely meaningless and without a point.

reading the reviews already posted for this movie... I am saddened that so many people missed the point. it is about nothing and it is nowhere... as is just about everything that is popular now-a-days. this movie is about the absolute emptiness of pop culture and the absolute emptiness of most people's minds. I think most of you that didn't like this movie.. are either those being made fun of... or are so far out of anything doing with popular culture for you to get the joke.

secondly - this is a drug movie. i'm betting the average rating by people who've done acid is about 8.0 and the average for the others is about 3.0 --- check out the symbolism --- check out the colors --- check out the sound.

this culture is absolutely devoid of meaning - and that's all - and that's all.

I caught this film on IFC on some late night where I couldn't sleep. This film is a trip and a half. The colors are bold and the film is really about teenagers figuring out their place in life. The dialog is absolutely hilarious. I, myself, am a teenager and the stereotypical script really seemed to fit. Every character in this film, in my opinion, is just part of a high school stereotype that you get placed into during that age. Whether it be the awkward girl who wants to fit in, sex rampaging freaks or just some young 16 year olds trying to find a hoppin party. I wish I could find this movie on DVD. Really generation defining in my opinion. Try to not listen to the people who bash this movie saying it's trash and all of that. Well ... it is trash but the movie "knows" it's trashy and low-brow; so I guess it can pull it off. I'm actually surprised I haven't heard of it until now. Find it and watch it.