Customer Reviews

Teenage Angst

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

"Teenage Angst" (2008; Release Date: 29 January 2009; 65 minutes) is a short film about four teens at an exclusive German boarding school who form a little club that quickly devolves into little more than a youth gang for rich boys. When its two most psychopathic members attack a waitress, they are stopped by one of their own. The film then takes a sharp turn as the two troublemakers decide to focus their sadistic practices on one of their own.

The fourth teen, meanwhile, tries to stop the abuse but is torn between his sense of right & wrong and his desire to belong. The abused boy is unfortunately emotionally unbalanced and is unable to see the violent bullying for what it is.

"Teenage Angst" seems to have generated considerable negativism among reviewers. Myself, I believe the intent was to portray (as brutally as possible) the horrors of bullying; in that the film succeeded. The actors are well cast and convincing in their various roles. The 65" film length means the film moves along at a comfortable clip without getting overly bogged down.

The film is sometimes classified as a gay-themed film. However, none of the characters is overtly gay, nor is there any indication that anyone might be. There are no scenes of gay sex nor any dialogue to suggest any. The abused teen may appear effeminate to some viewers, but there is nothing in the film that suggests he is gay. This film is probably better described as "gay interest" as the film includes several bare-chested scenes of attractive young males.

Criticism that the bare-chested cover art is misleading is not accurate. On the contrary, each one of the four main characters appears bare-chested at some time in the film. So while the exact scene in the cover photo may not appear in the film, the photo is nevertheless accurate in portraying the type of content that the viewer can expect to see in the movie.

This is a well-made DVD. For an indie film, the picture quality is very good, and the soundtrack is sharp and easy to hear. I also enjoyed many of the songs used in the music soundtrack.

Despite its English title, "Teenage Angst" is a German language film. I have, however, read reports of DVDs that do not come with subtitles. So if you don't know German, be sure to check for subtitles.

The DVD comes with several extras including a short film.

I couldn't get through this piece of crap. If watching rape, torture and other acts of cruelty does it for you, well, that is sad. But if so, look for a movie that has better production values - and certainly better looking actors.

Cannot make an educated review, film is in German and the English sub-titles caould not be activated. It was not may machine as I viewed other foreign films with subtitles that did operate.