No one has done more to skirt the edges of pedophilia while still maintaining artistic merit than Larry Clark. With the likes of Kids, Bully and Ken Park (which still hasn’t ever been released in the UK, after the director punched the British distributor in the mouth), Clark has pushed the boundaries of showing blunt sexuality in teens, even going to far as to use real sex in Ken Park.
Now it seems he’s back at it, as Screen International is reporting that Clark has co-written and is directing Wild Child, a $3.5 million indie effort about a teenage boy in LA, who runs out on an abusive family. Although that description doesn’t necesarily sound particularly like it’ll be full of vaguely pervy sex, Clark often can’t seem to help himself. Even his weird horror movie, Teenage Cavemen, was filled with lingering shots of teenage flesh that made you feel slightly uncomfortable.
Clark is hoping to shoot Wild Child this autumn.
While it might seem like I’m berating Clark for being a bit of a perv, although his films can ocassionally be rather uncomfortable viewing (and not just because of all the too-young looking teen bodies on display, as he’s not afraid of violence, drugs or other anti-social behaviour either), they have all been absolutely fascinating looks at the dark side of youth, daring to go places that ought to be explored, but where few filmmakers would even contemplate treading.