By now it is commonplace in movies about teenagers to see the walls that separate them into rigorously structured caste systems. Which is why we were blown away by Nanette Burstein's documentary about adolescents in a small, conservative Midwestern town, Warsaw, Indiana, during their senior year of high school. Instead of pitting the five main characters against each other and making us detached observers of their separation, the director manages a near impossible feat: she enables us to see the things they and we have in common with each one of them. In other words, this documentary delivers a mystical message: it is possible to see our connections and unity with others if we just take the time and open our hearts to them.
Hannah is a creative soul who feels like an outsider in Warsaw, a conservative and Christian community where a sign outside a church says: "Get an Afterlife." She dreams of moving to California after graduation and eventually becoming a film director. Colin is the very popular star basketball player on the high school team. He is under great pressure to perform well on the court so he can get an athletic scholarship. His father pushes him hard and has declared that if he doesn’t get a scholarship, he must join the military.
Megan, the Student Council Vice-President, has it all — wealth, brains, and a large circle of friends. But she also has a dark secret, a love of power, and a nasty streak that is self-destructive. Jake is seen as a nerd; he is saddled with a bad case of acne and low self-esteem. He plays in the band and struggles to find a girl who will accept all of his flaws, including his shyness. And finally, there is Mitch, a handsome Varsity jock who risks alienation from his fiends in the popular crowd when he starts going out with Hannah, whom he finds to be very different from other girls he has dated.
Nanette Burstein (On the Ropes) spices up American Teen with a series of animated sequences which convey some of the protagonists' fears and dreams. The teenagers in this immensely appealing documentary all appear relaxed on camera.
