By turns playful, harrowing, intensely moving, and uproariously funny, Chain Camera cuts away all documentary artifice and goes straight to the source, allowing these kids to reveal themselves with the utmost directness and candor.
80
L.A. WeeklyManohla Dargis
L.A. WeeklyManohla Dargis
Hilarious, unnerving and remarkably intimate portrait of multiethnic adolescent life that lends vigorous new meaning to the term "teen movie."
Provides an intriguing, well-assembled snapshot of kids in the year 2000, bringing the portraits to an appealing conclusion by briefly revisiting each subject at the prom, graduation and then in sweet on-camera farewells.
70
TV Guide MagazineKen Fox
TV Guide MagazineKen Fox
What's surprising is how bright and engaging these kids are, and for once you're left wanting more.
Filtered through tears, laughter and affection, the results -- are touching and fascinating though, by their nature unilluminated by dispassionate analysis.
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.