For anyone doing research or looking for stories that examine or discuss child abuse cases, certain movies can provide vital information and situations presenting these issues. Some of these projects encounter controversies due to their sensitive themes. Others make their marks as critically acclaimed and multi-awarded pieces for their touching and compelling storytelling.
“The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things”
The disturbing drama “The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things” follows the troubled life of a boy after being pulled out of the comforts of his loving foster home by his teenage mother. As he travels through the country roads across America, he learns first hand about the harsher side of life. This film was nominated for the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival and it also received citations at the Independent Spirit Awards.
Shot in a quasi-documentary style, this film by Larry Clark shows raw depictions of explicit sexual behavior among a group of unsupervised teens. It also features kids as young as 10 or 11 using drugs and alcohol with their high school friends. Although it finds itself facing accusations of being obscene and immoral, the movie still shines in how it is able to bring the fear of petty crime, violence, teen vices, and the AIDS virus closer to home.
“Mysterious Skin”
The thought-provoking drama “Mysterious Skin” bravely exposes the internal conflicts and sexual encounters of two troubled teenagers. Both at the age of eight, one was molested by a pedophiliac baseball coach, while the other wakes up from a brief amnesia with a bleeding nose and a belief that he was abducted by aliens. As young adults, the two meet again and they disclose the darkest secrets of their disturbing pasts. The story shows how their experiences affect their journey through adulthood.
Filmmaker Gregg Araki provides spot-on direction for such a project that is clearly very difficult to film for its sexual scenes that involve pre-adolescent and teen boys. Even without allowing the young actors to fully understand the story and they were only asked to read parts of the script where they appear, he is still able to flesh out such bold and sensitive performances from the young cast. This tale of trauma and abuse became a festival favorite and it won several accolades including those at the Brisbane International Film Festival, Independent Spirit Awards, and Rotterdam International Film Festival.
“Hounddog”
Set in the American South, “Hounddog” revolves around the story of a precocious 12-year-old girl who tries to seek solace from her dysfunctional family life through the music of Elvis Presley. At an early age, she starts acting like the parent in their troubled household, which soon leads this prematurely independent soul into a dangerous terrain. This movie by Deborah Kampmeier shocked many people with its sensational scene where a teen boy rapes a girl as other children watch the act.
Although headlines about the rape scene made the film controversial, as a cinematic offering, its story actually works as a character study about a music-loving pre-teen’s coming of age. It shows how she undergoes the pain and shame of being abused, her pursuit toward self-destruction, and how she attempts to make music her outlet for her adversity. This film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival where it was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize. It also won the Jury Award at the Toronto Female Eye Film Festival.
