August Underground - a review by Dave Fischer
The storyline of August Underground is told by the narrators (very convincingly, I might add!) in the form of a home movie videotaped by a group of friends. Expecting the cliched intrigues and joke set-ups obvious to this scenario, I was in fact greatly surprised by the originality of this movie. Rather than limiting itself to hedonistic indulgence and homo-erotic male bonding, this coming-of-age film focuses more on an adolescent's independant discovery of the social responsabilities that mark the boundary between childhood and adulthood. The story doesn't focus on the relationship between the friends, but rather explores the process and results as they reach out to others in their community.
A fun, warm-hearted movie, with a bit more social insight than is normal for the genre.
A great film to watch with the whole family.