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Devil's Playground (2003)
Front Cover Actor
Velda Bontrager
Gerald Yutzy
Faron Yoder
Emma Miller
Joann Hochstetler
Movie Details
Director Lucy Walker
Language English
Audience Rating NR (Not Rated)
Running Time 77 mins
Country USA
Color Color
Plot
This Sundance Festival sensation has attracted attention because of its jarring images of Amish kids immersed in debauchery: plain-dressed girls in white bonnets slugging back beers and flicking ashes from their cigarettes, boys passing out in the back of pickups after all-night parties, even Amish teens in bed together. But like a good drama, it's the characters themselves and their heartbreaking dilemma that linger in the mind. In the Amish vernacular, "Devil's Playground" refers to the "English" or outside world. The protected teens are suddenly thrust into this world upon their 16th birthday as they begin "Rumspringa," a period during which they decide whether to join the church as adults. Crystallizing this predicament is the 73-minute documentary's most compelling figure, 18-year-old Faron, a preacher's son fighting drug addiction. His earnest intent to return to the church and astonishing articulateness makes his misadventures in the drug underworld and penal system undeniably poignant. --Kimberly Heinrichs
Personal Details
Seen It Yes
Index 213
Collection Status In Collection
Links Amazon US
Product Details
Format DVD
Region Region 1
UPC (Barcode) 720917534923
Release Date 2/4/2003
Audio Tracks English Dolby Digital 5.1
Nr of Disks/Tapes 1