Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Extreme
- Complexity
- Easy to follow
- Violence
- None
- disturbing
- confrontational
- bleak
- serious discussion
- independent film night
What critics said
Critics broadly recognized the film's provocative urgency and social relevance, while sharply divided opinions over its unpleasant imagery, exploitation, and limited artistic merit.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
The film presents New York teenagers' sex, drugs, and delinquency through deliberately abrasive, nonjudgmental observation.
Telly's pursuit of virgins collides with the discovery that a former encounter is HIV-positive.
The teenagers' lives revolve around sex, drugs, skateboards, shoplifting, and impulsive behavior rather than constructive adult guidance.
The low-budget independent production follows teenagers through New York City with a raw, documentary-like sense of proximity.
Films like Kids, and why
Bully
shared coming-of-age drama, adolescent alienation, urban delinquency, and confrontational social realism
The Doom Generation
shared 1990s teen alienation, sexual danger, drug use, and provocative independent filmmaking
River's Edge
shared raw youth culture, juvenile delinquency, moral disorientation, and unvarnished urban realism
Movie Details
- Director
- Larry Clark
- Release Date
- 1995-07-21
- Runtime
- 91 min
- Rating
- 6.9 / 10 (1361)
Cast
- Leo Fitzpatrick
- Justin Pierce
- Chloë Sevigny
- Rosario Dawson
- Yakira Peguero
- Atabey Rodriguez
- Harold Hunter
- Jon Abrahams
- Sajan Bhagat
- Sarah Henderson
Common questions
- What is Kids about?
- A raw New York teen drama follows a sexually predatory adolescent and the friends confronting the devastating consequences of reckless youth culture.
- What is Kids like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Kids as brisk, its intensity as extreme and its storytelling as easy to follow.
- Is Kids violent?
- No — Ember's analysis finds no violence in Kids.
- What did critics think of Kids?
- Critics broadly recognized the film's provocative urgency and social relevance, while sharply divided opinions over its unpleasant imagery, exploitation, and limited artistic merit.
- Which films are like Kids?
- Films with a similar feel include Bully, The Doom Generation, and River's Edge.
- How long is Kids?
- Kids runs 91 minutes.
