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best movie i've ever seen.

I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

Fanciful, disturbing, and wildly original, it announces the arrival of a fresh, bold voice in American cinema.

The acting in this movie is really good.

This is an interesting insight into part of the Amish way of life. Kudos to Lucy Walker for her frank and eye opening documentary. The Amish church began in about 1693 in Europe and most of that faith migrated to select areas of the U.S. in 1860. Amish children 16 to 21 years of age are released from their very strict world to experience all the pleasures and freedoms of the outside "English" world. This tumultuous time is called 'rumspringa', these young people during this time must decide to return to the ways of their parents and the Amish or stay on the outside. The focus of this documentary follows several teens as they experience "hoedowns' and "barnhops", delving into drugs, sex, malls and rock 'n' roll. Rumspringa may last from months to years.

*May be spoilers, read at your own risk*This documentary was a very real look into what Amish teens go through trying to decide if they want to become "English," the Amish term for people who live in the modern way of life or joining their families in the Amish faith, which is very oppressive. The parents allow their children to smoke, take drugs, drink, listen to music, drive cars (just the boys) and wear "English" clothes, starting at age 16 until they decide if they want to be with their families or be in the outside world. They live in a half English/ Amish state during this time.It is a right of passage that is used to show them how bad the outside world is. With an 8th grade education and lack of work experience (the boys at least work outside the home, most girls don't even have outside work experience,) it is hard for these teens not to get into trouble and that is the main reason they return. No wonder the Amish consider the outside world to be sinful, they haven't given their children the education to check out a college, library or museum, or even to understand what a city is, so no wonder they party. They seem to have no other choice but to sit and play video games all day. I grew up in this area and have seen this ritual first hand. I had to laugh when a read a critique here that said the girl who was dating Farron, who is the main character of the piece, couldn't be Amish. Don't they realize that the first thing a girl is going to do who wants to wear English clothing (which is a rare case, since most girls don't wear English clothing, but most boys do) is to go to the tanning salon? Tanning is a big deal where I grew up in Southern Michigan and Northern Indiana. Believe me, being pale myself, I got a lot of teasing due to my light skin. If they want to conform to other teens, of course they are going to tan themselves to a golden glow. Plus, Germans aren't all blonde and blue eyed. It isn't like the village in the Children of the Damned! There are brown eyed Dutch and Germans with non-fair coloring. Plus some people bring their non-Amish boyfriends and girlfriends into the flock. Statements like that can be very ignorant and take away from how informative this documentary is. I wasn't listening to the music at all, I was listening to information about the Amish, which is what this documentary gives you. I also learned that there are some Amish people living in Flordia, so a tan would happen to anyone there who would be out in the sun working. I am amazed that they would even live there. Seems a contradiction in terms, but as you watch this film, you will see that the Amish have a lot of ideas like these. The DVD is even better, because the commentary gives you many insights and stories not included in this documentary. The producers of this had about 300 hours of interviews, so I am sure editing was a chore! They did show a few girls and a boy who left and several who had stayed, or though undecided, would probably join the church in the future. There is one story of a girl who decided after she joined the church that she didn't want to get married so she was shunned by the community like a modern day Scarlet Letter story. The Amish practice shunning when someone breaks the pact of the church or leaves the community. I felt very bad for her. But overall, despite not being able to see her family or friends, she seems to have made the right choice for herself, because she wants to be free and go to college. It is heartbreaking to see though, especially when you have grown up in the area and see it firsthand. It is a shame though that most of the Amish kids only see Wal-mart and drinking as the outside world. They seem to not understand it is a place where there is much beauty and pleasure and it is a place where you can educate yourself. I would think God would let them better themselves and still live a Christian life. I know think the world was meant to be a closed place where the outside world is known as the Devil's Playground.

Contains spoilers... This movie cannot really call itself a documentary on the Amish, as the Amish themselves largely decline to be interviewed. One wonders why the film- makers bothered to make this movie, given the lack of cooperation on the part of their alleged subjects. The first few minutes of the "Commentary" feature on DVD sheds some light on this question: the film-makers seem to have been desperate to get something, anything, on HBO, and not until they came up with the tabloid story about an Amish kid who is hooked on crystal meth would they be accepted by HBO. Too bad they had to advertise it as a "glimpse into the lives of the rarely filmed Amish" -- this movie is simply not about the Amish. It does not give any context for the radical transition called "Rumspringa". It does not attempt to discuss how an Amish teen is prepared via their community for Rumspringa or how they perceive the "rite" before, during, or after going through it. The Amish are shown us utterly unreflective, and I can only assume that this is an utterly unfair representation of them. They were not ready to be filmed, for their own reasons, but the film-makers were all too ready to make this film, for their own, rather different reasons.

Lucy Walker presents a view into a community that is rarely glimpsed by outsiders. The Amish community, tightly knit as it is, has little use for the "English" world outside. I was very intrigued by the premise of a film following young Amish people through the rite of passage of Rumspringa, wherein they discover what kind of people they want to be, and decide whether to join the Amish church.The view given by Walker is largely unbiased; she presents the viewer with a portrait of several Amish youths and their decisions to join the church or to remain in the english world. The film focuses mainly on Faron, a youth who has gotten himself into trouble with drugs, and she does not judge him or criticize him. Rather, we see his actions and are told of his choices, and are left to draw our own conclusions and wonder what will become of him.I found this film to be quite well done, and unlike some of the other reviewers, I don't think it felt staged or stilted. I found myself thinking about it long after I'd seen it, and wondering what had happened to the people whose lives it followed. I recommend this film, and feel that as a debut, it is quite an achievement. Some of the moments actually reminded me of Harmony Korine's work; it has a subtle air of discontent and uncertainty. Well done. ****/*****.