Sexy Cinema - Marfa Girl (2013)

Adam Mediano and Drake Burnette

I have seen most of Larry Clark's film, but I was late seeing this one, simply because I didn't know it existed. Marfa Girl was released exclusively and solely through Larry Clark's website as a digital download. No cinema release, no straight to video, purely digital. Larry Clark was said to be annoyed by the way Ken Park was treated by distributors and critics, due to its sexual content, which was the main reason for an online only release of Marfa Girl. The film was priced at $5.99 for 24 hours access, the film has now been removed as it is now distributed by Spotlight Pictures, does that mean a DVD or Blu Ray release is imminent?

Set in Marfa, Texas; the film is a multiple character driven story about its inhabitants. Adam, a 16 year old, weed smoking, promiscuous male is failing his college class. The character sounds a lot like Telly, from earlier Clark\Korine film, Kids. I suppose, it could describe any number of teenagers in the world today. The difference between Adam and Telly is, Adam seem to have heart and be a good person, rather than be hell-bent on his own self-destruction. Marfa Girl (Drake Burnette) is a trust fund artist that tries to shake things up. We've also got boarder patrol agent, Tom. He's a sexist, racist, bully and the least likeable character.

It's no surprise that issues of immigration and identity play a big part in this film. And to me at least, it was glaringly obvious that the director was using the characters in the film as a mouthpiece for his opinions. This is nothing new in cinema, just look at any Godard film. Coupled with naturalistic acting and a believable plot, the dialogue for me in most parts seemed fake and took away from the realism. The film streamed in 480p, I was disappointed it wasn't higher, but the film looked gorgeous and very crisp.

For Larry Clark fans, it is more of the same. I'm not sure which film is his masterpiece, Kids, Bully or Ken Park - maybe he doesn't have one. Either way, I doubt the majority of audiences will be disappointed if they are looking for a confrontational slice-of-life drama.

Lindsay Jones