I love this movie so much

Very disappointing...

The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

I first saw this Academy Award nominated documentary when I was 11 or 12 years old and I can't think of what possessed me to want to see it. Director Martin Bell profiles several homeless kids in the Seattle area. This is pretty powerful stuff even today. Semi-main character Dewayne is a very compelling story and it is still shocks me when it is revealed he is 16 (he looks 12). Bell parlayed the father/son relationship of Dewayne seen here into the feature American HEART with Jeff Bridges and Edward Furlong. I would love to see a follow-up on the kids today (kinda like how they did SCARED STRAIGHT: 20 YEARS LATER). Wikipedia offers some insight into their current lives and it is cause for some hope. Most grew up to create normal lives although some passed away (including a featured teen who ended up being a victim of Gary Ridgeway, the Green River Killer).

I first saw this film the night before I left for Navy boot camp October 7th 1986. I watched it 4 times that night and was blown away. I had just turned 18 and had been living on the streets for a year and just returned home. My dad and I watched it together he asked me if I had ever hustled my body for money and I truthfully told him no. (I seen a lot of guys do sick stuff for cash.) This film reminded me of so many people I left behind who are locked up, or dead. There are very interesting scenes, such as the doctor or nurse speaking to Tiny does not try to push condom use, the tattoo artist wears no gloves, and the young man Jimmy who turns tricks is donating Plasma. Wow! Talk about high risk. Since the Navy I have been working the streets of the United States as a bounty Hunter for 15 years. I have been in several documentaries and have been asked to redo a conversation or take another shot on several occasions. It's a fact that when the cameras are around things change to an extent you have to accept that, and if it seems too good to be true remember the magic is in the editing. I have also been told to kick doors and get the fugitives violent. I seen thousands of kids like this and it breaks your heart. I get so sick of seeing 15 year old girls in Camden or Philly nodding off on heroin while they are in the streets tricking. A friend of mine from Turkey told me that the lowest form of life in his country is a pimp. The time I spent on the streets is what made me into a good bounty hunter because I would treat everyone with compassion, respect, and understanding. I don't think for one minute that this was scripted here is some proof. Tiny answers her mother with "Whatever" before it became popular ten years later. All of these kids have been talking street since they said their first words. Except for Kimberly who you could tell came from a better situation. Anyone who comes in daily contact with the streets knows this was for real. Every city of the United States has its own street lingo. Street terms for drugs, sex, cops, snitches and prostitution vary from city to city. If this was scripted the director from the UK would have not known the local slang and dialect. These kids were pure street, they were also masters of street psychology something that cannot be learned through a book, or film class. This has to be one of the best films ever. Why did it not take with the main stream media? Well I will answer this. Timing... America was not ready to face its demons. The Polo shirt wearing execs that controlled the film industry shoving coke up there noses in massive amounts figured that America was more obsessed and better represented by John Hughes suburban brat packers, Family Ties, and Karate Kid than the castaways of the trailer parks and projects. Had this film came out ten or more years later on HBO it would have had inspired a series. The filmmakers new they had something explosive but there was no internet or mass media delivery other than the conventional channels. Simply put before it's time. This was generation X at its youth. Ask your self this..b was Quentin Tarantino influenced by this movie? There is some one named Alabama on the credits! True Romance featured Alabama as call girl from the south. We need to know not through websites but through another documentary exactly where the survivors are and how they are living. Rat, Tina, and LuLu were the most likable. I could care less for the pimps. Watch this then watch celebrity rehab with Dr. Drew. It will make the celebrities look more like the whining babies they actually are. This was the first reality show! Plus I would love to see the outtakes from the first one! A second Streetwise would generate a lot of dough and I'm sure that Erin and her husband with all those kids could use the cash, and Rat probably wouldn't mind extra dough either right. Some one contact the film maker and get this project started.

Hi! This movie is as close to home as ever! I was there while filming , knew these people personally, and WOW ! Very nice to see reality once in a while and I dearly miss the ones who went through this experience with me - youth has a way and that way we shall find !.....Long live these memories of my beloved Seattle friends ! I recommend this film to kids who want to try it on their own, to see their mistake ahead of time - in time..... "RAVEN"-Marre P.S. To Scott , Damien , & Kevin.....Hello....I made it out alive ! To all the girls I tried to help....luv you all ! To all those who know what I mean...it was real! Hope your lives are better for the fun we tried to have , and the pain we conquered while on the great quest for love !

This is a depressing record of Seattle which reveals the innaccuracy of many views of street kids. It shows people like Kim, who try to stand up for other kids, despite the fact she barely has her own two feet to stand on. It shows pimps who call themselves "playboys," street performers, people beating each other like mad, and the sort of bonding that would somehow ring false in any work of fiction. I can only imagine how a commentary track on this would be one of the most fascinating listens I've ever had. Highly recommended, though I'm sure some will view some scenes as having a lot of "kitsch."