Chain Camera (2001)

71% of critics liked it
(14 reviews)
12% of users liked it
(391 ratings)

Wanting to make a film about American teenagers in the year 2000, filmmaker Kirby Dick took a novel approach; he went to John Marshall High School, a Los Angeles-area school with a racially and economically diverse student body, and gave ten portable video cameras to ten students, asking them to… More Wanting to make a film about American teenagers in the year 2000, filmmaker Kirby Dick took a novel approach; he went to John Marshall High School, a Los Angeles-area school with a racially and economically diverse student body, and gave ten portable video cameras to ten students, asking them to document their lives however they pleased for one week. Then each student passed his or her camera on to another student, who was to film his or herself in the same manner. This process continued throughout the course of the school year, after which Dick and editor Matt Clarke reviewed the footage, narrowing the focus down to 16 students; Chain Camera was the result. The student's stories range from a drum major having problems with her boyfriend and a girl from Armenia whose parents only want her to date boys from her native land, to a recovering drug abuser who spent much of his childhood looking after his mother (who had a severe drinking problem), and a boy originally from Chicago whose parents moved him to the West Coast to get him out of the Windy City's street gangs. Produced for the premium cable network Cinemax, Chain Camera debuted at the 2001 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 1 hr. 29 min.
Directed By: Kirby Dick
Genres: Documentary, Drama, Special Interest

In Theaters: Jan 19, 2001 Wide
On DVD: Jul 26, 2005

Critic Reviews

John Petrakis, Chicago Tribune
Absorbing in places, but considering the large and diverse pool the filmmakers had to draw from, it's a surprisingly repetitive and predictable collection of big-city sagas.
Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer
A candid, compelling documentary.
Kevin Thomas, Los Angeles Times
... fresh and revealing ...
Lawrence Van Gelder, New York Times
Chain Camera may not provide a demographer's perfect cross-section of society, but it does provide a pungent, provocative slice of Americana.
Chris Vognar, Dallas Morning News
Chain Camera is, at the very least, unfailingly candid.
Ron Wells, Film Threat
Kirby Dick isn't in the habit of making his presence felt on camera, and his newest documentary allows his subjects to strictly speak for themselves.
Kim Morgan, Oregonian
Dick unearths some meaningful, disturbing and disarming material.
Rachel Gordon, Filmcritic.com
On the whole, Chain Camera surprises in how it manages to mix entertainment and personal journeys.
George Wu, culturevulture.net
Kirby's egalitarian impulses get the best of him as he devotes time pretty evenly to each student regardless of how interesting they are individually.
Eric D. Snider, EricDSnider.com
... a riveting, hopeful and heartbreaking film.
Frank Swietek, One Guy's Opinion
A series of brief snapshots of frustratingly varied quality...it doesn't get much beneath the surface.

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Jason S

While I thought this was an interesting look into the lives of high schoolers in LA I didn't think it was a great flick. It is disturbing to see most of these kids acting the way they were knowing that people would be viewing these videos. Candid talk about sex, drugs, and crime… More
While I thought this was an interesting look into the lives of high schoolers in LA I didn't think it was a great flick. It is disturbing to see most of these kids acting the way they were knowing that people would be viewing these videos. Candid talk about sex, drugs, and crime shocked me as none of these kids were even 18. We even see two of the folks doing drugs in the film. To me it seems as if most of the kids have already given up and resigned themselves to live out life with the idea that they can do no better than where they find themselves now. I really hope my kids don't fall into that trap as well.

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Chain Camera (2001)

Critic Reviews

Featured Audience Ratings

Jason S

Cast

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