I had no idea what I was getting myself into upon renting 'Zappa' a foreign, coming-of-age story from 1983 set decades earlier. And decades later, I have doubts it would be made the same, in the USA, at least. This movie was hard-core: child full-frontal nudity, multiple scenes of children smoking and drinking, direct sexual experiences and the actual, brutal killing of two animals. (Sure they might have used props, but it definitely looked real.) For 1983, it "might" have been "before it's time," but to my own recollection, I cannot think of a more hard-R (or NC-17) approach to a "sweet" coming-of-age story. Still, I am giving it 3/5 stars as the rest of the film was very well made. It's a story of a bully and his follower(s) and the bully's eventual downfall. The acting, for the kid's ages, was good, but the adults looked like morons. No wonder the kids got away with so much. I really can't say much more about this, having watched it. I guess I can comment on how it really didn't make an impression on me as, aside from the graphic scenes, I thought it was just about average. There's a sequel, or continuation ('Twist & Shout') but if it includes all-but child pornography/child sex/animal abuse, I think I might skip. I'm sure that sort of thing happens (alas, not in my childhood – why must I've waited years to experience what they did, I'll never know) but sometimes just the implied scene can suffice. Side Note: I do own two parakeets and since one of the animals murdered was a parakeet, I might just let them watch it as a lesson on when I say "shhh" as they're chirping loudly through a movie watching, they better listen.
