the audience applauded

Tells a fascinating and unsettling true story, and does so well, without pretending to have all the answers.

A story that's too fascinating to pass by...

Blistering performances.

This is about a young boy about 15-17 living in the city, hanging out with tough kids who do dishonest things to get money. There is the allusion of drugs although you never see anyone doing them. The boy is sent to a "ranch" instead of prison in the hope it will help him learn respect for others and for self.Sometimes it moves a bit slower then the usual fare, but it wasn't trying to win an Oscar, it was intended to show the difference between a kid lost out to gangs and illegal activity and a young man who has values and respect.Look at the difference in the budget with this and the big production movies out there and you have to be a bit amazed that this movie showed as much as it did.I wish there were more "ranches" like the one in this movie for trouble youth instead of sending them off to prison where they only get more hardened then when they went in.