Very good movie overall, highly recommended. Most of the negative reviews don't have any merit and are all pollitically based. Give this movie a chance at least, and it might give you a different perspective.

Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.

Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.

It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

I found Falconeer's review most convincing. Therefore the following cites Falconeer (by "") at some points, while adding several own thoughts.First -- I can only underline Falconeer's remark that "the creators obviously have an almost reverent love and respect for this special time of life before we must accept responsibility ... So I find it profoundly sad to read so many people trashing this movie, based on the scenes where the kids are playing and swimming plainly nude." Having surmounted the threshold of doing away with their clothes, "the characters don't even seem to be aware" any more of any peculiarities "of their being naked, so I have to wonder why it is such a big deal for the adult audience ... kids ... would have a deeper understanding of it than many adults". Yes, indeed.Second -- "Genesis Children is showing the difficult journey that we all take" in order to become what we always were, and to that end the boys are taking part in a 'play to be performed before God'. At a certain point close to the end of the film, after having engaged in a 'ritual' of burning an old van which they had rammed into their self-built shelter the day before, a turning point of the play is reached, where some of the boys decide to leave the place and the play. Here I locate what is perhaps the central sentence of the film: 'Aren't you going home?' asks one of those who have put on clothes again and are about to leave. 'I am home', replies one of those who stay. In a somewhat cryptic manner one could say that some have not moved during the play and are therefore bound to leave and continue their quest for 'home', while the others do have moved and therefore can stay.Now I want to put forward another essential point. One can view the message of this film as the third part of a trilogy. On Aikman's own home page (still available) there is noted 'Often compared to Lord of the Flies'. This other classic, filmed after the famous novel by William Golding just 10 years before The Genesis Children, refers in turn quite explicitly to Ballantine's novel 'Coral Island' from the mid-19th century. In all 3 cases the theme is the acting of a group of (male) kids left alone on some island or shore (i.e. deprived of a direct civilized environment and set out in a purely natural setting), with an undertone of investigating where evil comes from or how it is overcome. But while in Ballantine's novel the point of view is clearly optimistic in the colonial sense common in the 19th century (Wikipedia: 'obsessed with the purity of God, Trade and the Nation, and written for the future rulers of the world'), Golding decidedly destroys the optimistic world-view of a self-proclaimed master-race. In his story, which like Ballantine's still features dominance, struggle and victory or defeat, these impulses do not create an ever growing sphere of ordered civilisation, but lead into complete destruction within the shortest possible time. Here Aikman's film appears as a response to Golding's 'solution', and its purpose is, I believe, to feature less crude impulses than dominance or struggle and victory. There is never aggression or any struggling for dominance between these children, who in the beginning practise a fully cooperative way of living with astonishing ease and great naturalness. I think Aikman wants to show that this way of living is endangered in the first place in a more subtle way -- 'boredom, hunger and homesickness were our enemies, and that's why we started to argue'. Instead of aggression it's a feeling of futility with regard to the quest for 'home' by some of the boys, which finally divides the group.This leads to my final point. Other reviewers were concerned that so much nudity might be considered a bit gratuitous. Much nudity? If I count all the nudity scenes, I end up with about 1/8 of the film, and even in this moderate part nudity often can only be intuited, because the boys are visible only in the distance as silhouettes against the light or otherwise blurred. The nudity scenes are not to bluntly showcase naked bodies but do have some particular message. They never lack respect and reverence, and above all they are presented as sort of sacred dance and breathe a sabbatical ease and peace. I wished -- pedophiles-hunters, calm down, there's nothing here for you to get -- they would take 1/4 of the film or more. By the way, that they appear predominantly in the first quarter of the film is also a reference to Lord of the Flies. And gratuitous? I suggest to view it just the other way round: in the natural environment into which the Genesis Children are placed there's no need for a specific reason for being naturally naked, rather there have to be reasons for wearing clothes. And in fact, there are a few scenes where I find it a bit gratuitous that the boys appear more or less clothed. Where Golding sees civilisation compromised and endangered by the brute struggle for dominance exploding to plain war in the end, it seems that Aikman wants to show (among others) civilisation and humanity compromised long before by the much subtler struggle for dominance and by the hiding game clothing is a part of, and he wants to explore what still can compromise when these dangers are removed, and to what extent they can be removed at all. In this sense, there is quite a surprising finale, which rounds out the numerous (but in their essence not explicit) religious overtones of the film.

Strange, dreamlike film is more a glimpse into the secret, fantasy-laced world of children, than a narrative movie with a story. And "Genesis Children" recreates that brief time like no other film in memory. Filmed in Rome, among the ruins and on the lush seaside, this poetic study of adolescence involves a group of boys, mostly in their teens, and a few younger, who answer an ad posted by a mysterious stranger, about taking part in a play based on a Greek Tragedy. The boys become fast friends, in a way that is only possible at that age. As a group they embark on a series of adventures, through the streets of Rome, into idyllic forests, and mysterious, dark caves, which they explore by torch light. The film is non-linear and random, exactly like the lives of children. The simplest things are laced with symbolism, usually religious in nature. When the oldest boy Jack lifts a loaf of bread above his head and offers it to the others, he becomes somewhat like a 'Jesus figure,' as the other kids take to following his lead. As the film moves forward, their adventures become more tinged with mystery, and danger, and ultimately, violence. From reading some other comments about this obscure film, it seems that few seemed to grasp what the filmmakers were trying to do. "Genesis Children" is merely showing the difficult journey that we all take at one point, from innocence into adulthood. That journey is usually filled with confusion, frustration, and anger, as well as a natural fear of the unknown. One by one, each boy faces a certain conflict, and this leads to each one letting go of their innocence. In the end, some of the boys suddenly feel uncomfortable with being nude on the beach, while others in the group decide to stay by the sea, living in the primal way that only kids are capable of. I found this movie to be quite brilliant in many ways. The creators obviously have an almost reverent love and respect for this special time, before we must accept responsibility and conform to a fixed schedule. I think most people forget when the only thing they were required to do, was run from one adventure to the next, with no concern about tomorrow. The movie brought back memories for me, of how it felt to be truly free. And any piece of cinema that can do that, has got to be something special. On a side note, I find it profoundly sad to read so many people trashing this movie, based on some beach scenes early in the film, where the kids are swimming and playing while nude. There is not one single frame of this movie where sexuality is even hinted at. The characters didn't even seem to be aware of their being naked, so I have to wonder why it is such a big deal for the audience. I think people need to grow up. I would have no problem letting my own kids watch this film; in fact I believe they would have a deeper understanding of it than many adults. Recommended for fans of directors like Pier Paolo Pasolini, Derek Jarman, and even Ingmar Bergman. The cinematography brought to mind Jarman's "Sebastion," and the characters are filmed in the same unassuming way that Pasolini photographed his actors in "Arabian Nights." And for some reason I was reminded of the children's film "The Black Stallion," especially the scenes where the little boy bonds with his horse on the desert island. Just don't look for anything vulgar in this movie; you won't find it here..

One could hardly discern Aikman's intentions as a filmmaker at first glance. There is no real conflict in this movie, which means that in the strict sense, according to grammatology and narrative guidelines, there is no story at all.This statement, however, could be quite deceitful, as one could easily argue that there is, indeed, a story of some sort, albeit not a traditional one. "The Genesis Children" deals with male beauty: there is a strenuous emphasis in the naked bodies of a group of boys, and that alone serves as reminder of certain theories. Can beauty be found in physical form? Or, as Plato would have it, can real beauty only pertain to the Ideal and thus belong to the sphere of ideas and not to the real world? There is also another conception of beauty that could be useful. When Nietzsche defined the Apollonian beauty he referred to symmetry, cleanness, perfection; and clearly some of that approach is present in Aikman's film, however, Nietzsche would also consider the Dionysian aspect almost as vital or, perhaps, even more relevant. Throughout the narrator's soliloquy this dichotomy comes forward "amidst beauty there is decay", thus accepting that, indeed, one cannot understand beauty while looking only at the bright side of it.Nietzsche once concluded that art may deconstruct or defile modernity's values. Perhaps, in this most controversial production, the director intended to confront morality with creativity. One could wonder how this movie came to be. After all, it displays the naked bodies of eight young actors, all of them underage, and at points the camera seems fixated on certain areas of their anatomies (all of it would be absolutely forbidden by today's legislations in most countries).Some of these boys have barely reached the onstage of puberty, while others have just started adolescence. There are long scenes in which they wander around naked, frolicking, playing in the water, and perhaps part of the audience could have considered all that nudity a bit gratuitous. After all, some people might argue than to watch the penises of several boys dangling around while they run to the ocean would not really advance the plot in any direction. Nonetheless, if there is no plot then why should the viewers be concerned with such visual trinket? Certainly, these young boys do not decide for themselves to spend several days on a secluded Mediterranean beach, spending most of their time naked for no apparent reason. They had been summoned by a newspaper ad: "Wanted boys to act in a play to be performed before God at Pavicelli. Come unprepared for your parts". The man who has written the ad is a mysterious bearded individual that appears to them as a priest.Since the first minutes up until the last ones, the boys comment constantly that they feel like they are being watched by someone. That would be no surprise, after all, it's clear that they are there to be observed. In an almost metalinguistic retort, one of the boys says that instead of someone "something" might be watching them.As was previously explained, the absence of a "story" shouldn't be a real hindrance; nevertheless, the lack of character development and some of the abrupt decisions the boys take can be a bit unfavorable story-wise. For example, after being naked for entire days, one of the boys gets up and decides to leave while shouting to the rest "You can stay here and run around naked in the sun if you want to, but I think it's obscene". If it was obscene, why did he indulge in such activities for so long? Why does he suddenly find it obscene at one point when he had no conflicts about it before? Perhaps, a more character-based approach would have served better the intentions of the director. Nevertheless, as any artistic work that deviates greatly from established norms, it bears some interest but I would not recommend it to impatient viewers.

Its amazing that a movie like this was ever made in prudish America, although one has to exclude the 60's and 70's from that label. The boys in the movies (ages 10-16) are completely nude for many scenes, and make no attempt to hide any frontal nudity. While it is unusual for boys of this age to show any nudity in American films, European films regularly show situational nudity of all ages. It would be nice to see American film-makers, and the general public relax with nudity in films (and in general), which somehow always gets related to sex (thanks to religious paranoia). There are no sexual innuendos in this film at all, and it is basically no different than watching a European nudist film, albeit there is at least an attempt at a plot here. Hard to find film, but still available through some distributors. The "leader" in the film (Peter Glawson) starred in another film (Peter & the Desert Riders) around the same time, but that film is almost non-existent.