It's been a while since I've done one of these. This is a film whose DVD release I have been anxiously awaiting. It was made by two of my favorite documentarians, Bradley Beesley (Okie Noodling, The Fearless Freaks) and Sarah Price (American Movie, The Yes Men). The film follows a handful of young kids attending a summer camp in Wisconsin. What I liked about it was its non-formulaic approach. Rather than making it like a promotional video for summer camp and focusing on activities, it concentrated more on the kids and the various social aspects of camp and the fact that camp isn't always a joyful, idyllic experience for everyone. There is conflict. There is loneliness. Kids don't always get along. In fact, some of them can be a real pain in the ass. People can get burnt out towards the end of the summer. They talk about things like how many of the kids are on ADD/ADHD meds. Some kids discuss how camp is the one place where they feel accepted, unlike at home where they are considered outcasts. We also see the contrast in male/female behavior at that age. From what I remember, we don't hear anything out of the filmmakers, which is the documentary format I prefer. The kids do most of the talking. I thought it was a lot of fun.
Netflix Link
3 comments:
There's also a great new book out called camp, camp . It's real photos from people in the 70's and 80's that were at camp. Looks campy.
Thanks for the review. We loved Okie Noodling, so I'm looking forward to this one as well.
Speaking as someone who was sent to many camps, I can't wait to see this.
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