Hot Docs 2014: Beyond Clueless Review

Beyond Clueless

Beyond Clueless

Nightvision

UK film critic Charlie Lyne looks at the teen movie craze of the mid-to-late 90s and early aughts and the universal time tested themes within via a poignant and vibrant visual essay film.

Although featuring remarkably little of the titular film (although its influence looms large over the proceedings), Lyne looks at issues of conformity, sexuality, rebellion, and growing up in a way that feels personal without explicitly coming out and saying so. Made up of clips from famous teen flicks from I Know What You Did Last Summer and Idle Hands to Mean Girls and Josie and the Pussycats, Lyne examines how teenage fears are assuaged, subverted, and healed through cinema.

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Those expecting a lighthearted and nostalgic trip down memory lane might be disappointed, but those more interested in something akin to a more focused and genre based exploration of the kinds of things Mark Cousins has been doing will find the subject matter enthralling. It’s custom made for the scholar or cinephile who used the supposedly lowbrow films of their youth as an in to greater cinema. It will provide them the intellectual and spiritual validation they need.

Remaining screenings:

Thursday, May 1st, Bloor Hot Docs Cinema, 11:30pm

Sunday, May 4th, TIFF Bell Lightbox 3, 12:30pm

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