Larry Clark turned 80 in 2023; a notable milestone in the life of a man who spent much of his decades-long career chronicling those on society’s fringes. The photographer and filmmaker is known for his groundbreaking depictions of drug, sex and youth culture in photo books like 1971’s Tulsa and 1983’s Teenage Lust. But he’s transposed those real life experiences onto celluloid, crafting boundary-pushing, violent fictional visions.
Making his feature debut in 1995 at the age of 52, he took his time segueing from stills into the moving image, and over the course of nearly 30 years, has ebbed and flowed from omnipresent to practical silence. November 2023 marks five years since he last released a movie (the sequel to his cult classic Marfa Girl). If you’ve heard his name in the in-between time, aware of his work but unsure of the minutiae of what you must watch, this is your guide for getting into the movies of Larry Clark.
The entry point is… Bully
It’s not unusual to hear of a Larry Clark film sending unsuspecting viewers running for the door, or scratching their heads in confusion. Bully, the perfect first movie for a Larry Clark agnostic, toes the line between both of these things. Loosely based on the real life murder of Bobby Kent, the film follows a group of young people in South Florida who band together with the intention of killing the mutual friend who has made their life hell. The subject matter is dark — it’s Larry Clark, what’s new? — but this is the director at his most compelling and formally conventional.
Necessary viewing? Ken Park
Okay, now let’s talk about controversy. Ken Park opens with the titular character, a skateboarder, shooting himself in the head on camera. It then unfurls backwards, through the lives of the characters who knew him – abused, sexually promiscuous and vulnerable teenagers. Based on people Larry had met, transformed into a script by Harmony Korine, the film caused such offence to so many film boards that, in many countries, it still hasn’t had a formal release.
The one everyone’s seen is… Kids
The film that launched a thousand insufferable skate-film bros, Larry’s classic movie was his first, released back in 1995. It also launched the careers of stars like Chloë Sevigny and Rosario Dawson, and made its young, scrapperish screenwriter, Harmony, a real star too. This is a tale of 90s New York teenagers misbehaving en masse — but particularly Telly, a 17-year-old who’s having unprotected sex with young women across the city, unknowingly spreading HIV. Jennie, Chloë’s character, is one of them — having received her diagnosis, the film follows her trying to find Telly over a hectic New York day and night, warning him of his status.
The underappreciated gem is… Another Day in Paradise
The result of a buzzy debut feature tends to be a slew of famous actors vying to work with you on whatever comes next. In the case of Larry, that film was Another Day in Paradise, a 70s-set sort-of road movie about a drug addict, his girlfriend and the unruly couple who take them under their wing. The two elder characters are played by Melanie Griffith and James Woods, marking the first time major stars were drawn to work with Larry. The film was a middling critical success, with those who worked on set apparently claiming the whole thing was a mess to make. Still, it’s a rarely seen, entertaining take on the Bonnie and Clyde story.
The deep cut is… The Smell of Us
In the two decades that followed Kids’ release, Larry’s films were received with indignation and annoyance. The themes he focuses on made a habit of repeating themselves, but for a filmmaker enamoured by youthful hedonism, we shouldn’t haven’t expected anything different. His pungently titled The Smell of Us transposed his stories to Paris, where a group of teenage skateboarders lazily film each other doing tricks, while wasting the day away smoking, drinking and fucking. It was widely panned, but has its fans, and has Helene Louvart — the legendary cinematographer behind Beach Rats and some of Agnes Varda’s films – as its director of photography.