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(Director: Lucy Walker, 77 min)
If you think the Amish faith is all about horses and buggies, you're in for a surprise. 'Devil's Playground' goes behind the scenes to shed light on a little known rite of passage called rumspringa. In the Amish faith, they believe that a person must choose to join the church - something they cannot do until they are adults. When an Amish teenager turns 16, they are allowed to go out into the real world ("the devil's playground") and experience everything the world has to offer. The Amish leave school after 8th grade to start working, so by the time they turn 16 they have money to burn and time to kill - not a good combination. They buy cars, drink, do drugs, have sex, and have huge parties where Amish come from all over the country. For some youth, this rumspringa lasts several years (they're supposed to decide by the time they turn 21), but 90% of the teenagers give up the wild life and chose to join the church.
The documentary focuses on several of these teens: Faron who wants to join
the church but gets caught up in the drug-dealer life, Gerald who says
he's not going to join the church but gets tired of the party-life and
starts thinking about settling down, Joann who joined the church and regrets
her wilder days, and finally Velda who joined the church, but left right
before her wedding - when you leave the church, you're officially shunned.
Velda feels the isolation and struggles with depression.
To be fair, the film also shows the positive aspects of the Amish community
- and why so many kids decide to join the church. They share their beliefs
in God and the importance of family and community; how you're never alone,
even if you move to another Amish location. They know they're different
from the rest of the world, but they also have experienced what the world
has to offer and choose to live the quiet life instead.
This movie is very funny at times, but it's also disturbing to see all
these underage kids with no parental control. The local authorities tend
to help the kids get through this stage - since the Amish cause no other
trouble, ever.
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