: Skateboarding serves as the primary social currency, yet it provides no real emotional outlet, merely acting as a backdrop for their apathy.
The title itself suggests something primal and inescapable, yet the film presents a generation that seems to have lost its "scent" or human essence to the sterile glow of screens. While it was polarizing upon release, screened in the Venice Days section of the 71st Venice International Film Festival, it remains a significant, if difficult, entry in Clark's career-long study of the darker side of youth. Choose Me: The Smell of Us The Smell of Us(2014)
: The plot highlights a bleak economy of sex-for-pay, where intimacy is stripped of emotion and turned into a commodity. : Skateboarding serves as the primary social currency,
Clark’s signature style—blending documentary-style photography with voyeuristic filmmaking—is central to the film’s identity. By casting non-professional actors found through scouting in Paris, he maintains a level of raw authenticity that can be deeply uncomfortable. Choose Me: The Smell of Us : The
The 2014 film , directed by Larry Clark , is an uncompromising and visceral exploration of nihilism among upper-class youth in Paris. Known for his unflinching look at teenage rebellion and subcultures, Clark uses this film to return to the themes of his 1995 breakout Kids , but replaces the grit of New York City with a cold, digitized version of modern France. Youth Culture and the Digital Void
The film follows a group of self-destructive skateboarders who congregate at the Dôme behind the Palais de Tokyo. Unlike Clark’s earlier work, these characters are defined by a profound sense of disconnection . Their lives are mediated through smartphones and social media, creating a world where every action is performed for a lens rather than experienced.
: Critics often point out that the film's underdeveloped psychology and lack of a traditional plot reflect the aimless, fragmented lives of its subjects. A Return to Clark’s Provocative Aesthetic