Devil's Playground (2002 Documentary) - Official Region 2 PAL release, plays in English without subtitles

Amish kids drinking, smoking, doing drugs, having sex, and watching TV. The Amish realize that 16 year old kids cannot be controlled and forcing those elements into the community is wrong. They allow their teens to experience the "English" ways, sow their wild oats, and then decide if they want family and community or live the worldly life. They can't do both. In reality, the film is rather boring.The important message of the film comes at the end when we find out family and community win out 9 times out of 10. What the film should have mentioned is that all these Amish kids are related due to their limited gene pool. A Wall Street Journal article claims banks are currently foreclosing on their farms due to medical bills caused by genetic defects when your family insists on marrying their first cousin.F-bomb, no sex, or nudity.

This award-winning documentary exposes the Amish tradition of "Rumspringa," where sixteen-year-olds are released from their traditional roles, and allowed to investigate the outside world, and experience life outside the Amish community. The documentary follows several Amish young people, focusing primary on Faron Yoder, a pastor's son who becomes a drug-addict and dealer, and struggles to find his own path in life. But, while this is definitely not a pro-Amish film, neither is it strictly anti-Amish either. Instead, the film presents the experiences of these young people, as some move off into a new life away from the Amish community, and some return to become faithful and contented members.I must admit that this is one of the hardest movies I have ever had to review, as my own thoughts about it go in many different directions. First of all, the Amish community is not a unified homogenous whole, and some churches have different ways of doing things than others. As such, this movie is slightly misleading, as it seems to suggest that the experiences shown are common to ALL Amish young people. Secondly, while the makers of this movie followed those young people who enthusiastically embraced the sex-drugs-and-rock n' roll lifestyle, I happen to know that not all Amish kids on Rumspringa do.But, that said, this movie does follow real people, living real lives. The movie is powerful and thought-provoking, and really brings you into the lives and experiences of these young people. In the Special Features section of this DVD, among the deleted scenes is one entitle "Perspectives on Amish Life." I really wish that that scene was included in the documentary, as it does help put things into perspective.Overall, I found this to be a really good movie - at times charming and at times heartbreaking. Did it make me happy? No. But, am I glad I watched it? Most assuredly. I highly recommend this movie to you.

I suppose that I have a somewhat overidealized appreciation for the Amish, and when I first heard about this documentary I figured it was just a sensationalistic attempt at exploitation. I had no intention of watching it, but a few years later after reading Rumspringa, I finally decided to see what it was all about. I'll admit, the first time it really shocked me, and I considered it to be just what I had expected it to be. I watched it again several times, my feelings about it unchanged; after shelving it for about six months, I've watched it again a number of times, and my attitude towards it has change a little. I no longer consider it to be "exploitation" as it does try to depict the Amish in a somewhat sympathetic manner, and in some respects the true underlying goodness of the Amish people filters through despite the movie's subject matter. Having listened to the commentary--which is essential if you really want to understand the documentary itself--it does strike me, though, that the movie has to be viewed with a critical eye. While the type of behaviour depicted is clearly something that does occur among modern Amish youth, what's not clear is how widespread it is. According to the director, it took quite some time to find the people featured in the movie; no one wanted to be involved in the project at first, and so eventually it was mostly only people who were pretty fargone that did because they didn't really care anymore what people thought. So we have Faron--drug addict and dealer--as "the main character," and Velda, who left the church because it wouldn't allow her to be "the girl I want to be" and is now is shunned by her family, figuring prominently, as well. The former extremely rare, the latter with an axe to grind. Some of the lesser "characters" are not as extreme, and a few even decided to join the church in the end, but it's difficult to say for sure because they don't received the same attention. Moreover, in the commentary, it's easy to tell where the director's etc. sympathies lie--praise for Velda for writing and publishing a "feminist poem," critical remarks about certain Amish practices, the director's naive claim that maybe Faron would be a meth addict if he could just continue his education--not to mention the general tone of the discussion. Another thing to keep in mind: the documentary is very brief and general when it comes to Amish culture and history; it does not differentiate between the various sects, for instance. Of lesser significance, the inclusion of home movie clips does not make it clear that these people are not related to anyone in the movie, nor are they in fact even Amish. I understand why they were included, but it seems a little deceptive to me; well, I think they could have been left out altogether, or included as extras. So in the end, I'm left with mixed feelings about the movie; it was certainly fascinating and revealing, but there is an underlying agenda and it is does not fully explore the nature of Amish culture by which the viewer can measure the behaviour depicted in it. Is this kind of behaviour really the product of being released from a strict religious culture, or is it something that these children would have engaged in anyway had they not been born Amish and thus an example of why the Amish are justified in their rigid worldview? Many will conclude from this documentary that it is the former, while I tend to think the latter is correct. In the end, I would recommend the movie, but caution that it should be viewed critically.

This is a very real look at what teenagers go through when they go through Rumspringa. You follow these teens throughout the film, watching them grow, make mistakes and educate us on their Amish heritage. It was raw and honest and I'm thankful they were willing to take us on their journeys. Some chose to stay Amish and some decided to find their own dreams.Emma Miller (Faron's former girlfriend) was last known to be living in London, England having graduated from college. The information I have for Gerald Yutzy (who owned the mobile home pictured in the film) is that he appears to be living a non-amish lifestyle. He is married and has a Facebook page which shows his wife and a little boy. Velda lives a life outside the Amish community with her husband and children.Out of the teens profiled in the film, I believe, Joann Hochstetler was the only one who decided to be baptized in the amish church. .

My husband came from an Amish background, so I found this Video very interesting. I never knew these kind of events went on ...to this extent. I for one do not think the Amish should let their children run "wild" & then try to keep them in the Amish life by making them feel quilty. This video was an eye opener. I am glad I purchased it.

This documentary can be very important for all parents of all teens. It is about the culture of family life and the importance of parental love as a resource in young lives. Amish parents are, above all, very realistic in their understanding of adolescence and adolescent hormones. The video also calls certain elements of non-Amish culture into question. It shows the importance of simplicity and humility. It will bring many tears as you realize that the Amish are not quaint people living in the past, but people who have found values that transcend time and popular culture and bring joy to everyday life.

At first I missed this Documentary in Germany on TV. But than I bought this DVD, because there was no rerun un TV.In fact I am glad I missed the much shorter TV-Version. This one is comprehensive and well timed. But most I liked the audio-commentary. There you got all the additional facts that explains what makes Rumspringa a difficult experience and about the limited view of the world that the young amish really have. Their limited knowledge of everything gives them only very limited options in life at best. The fate of Faron shows why. Though the end of the Dokumentary gives you hope about Faron's life, but in the audio-commentary you get the infos why his life will always be doomed.Great work.

I enjoyed watching the documentary tremendously.If you always wanted to know what the feelings and attitudes of young Amish are concerning their religious tradition and restrictions this is a very good chance for `English`people like us to glimpse into their Amish world. It is very interesting how they deal to balance religious tradition and modern society.What I really enjoyed was watching the movie a second time but this time commented by the movie maker. That way you realize how hard it must have been to get Amish people on camera and even talk about their life, feelings and fears.Still if you already know a lot about Amish and their life especially about the period of 'rumspringa' in which teenagers are able to experience the English world before they decide whether or not to join the Amish church, this documentary does not give you deeper information.But still it is the best you can find about Young Amish and their controverse life.