I don't see how it could have been made any better.. I have actually "met" one of the girls on this documentary.. took me awhile to realize it was her.. I go to an Amish flee market every year in Shipshewana Indiana (where pieces of this were filmed.. Legrange County) The only people I "met" were the waitresses at Das Essenhaus.. (great restaurant).. I am actually surprised that I didn't see more of what is shown in this going on.. It is a very hard community to film.. many of them would not allow it..One of the most interesting parts to me was when one of the guys was describing why they don't use technology.. I was always under the impression that they thought it was ungodly or evil.. but it's more a matter of taking away from the closeness of family.. \ I think this one is a must see.. it is well done, the kids are straight up and honest about what they are doing during this time.. and nothing seemed forced..

I just watched this through Netflix, based on a recommendation and can't believe I'd never heard of it before. Rather striking and amazing film. When has there ever been a film, (fiction or non) like this one before? I promise you that you had noooooooooo idea that the Amish could behave in this way and that it was acceptable -- A stunning doc! It opened my eyes in many ways. I had no idea that such a rigid, conservative culture could also possess such a wide-open and "liberal" component to their lifestyle. You want to applaud them and deride them almost simultaneously. And the fact that you are capable of holding two such contrarian feelings is a testament to the power of the director, Lucy Walker. She films everything with a steady, knowing hand. I was riveted. Why didn't I know about this movie? When is Ms. Walker making another film?!?

Contains spoilers... This movie cannot really call itself a documentary on the Amish, as the Amish themselves largely decline to be interviewed. One wonders why the film- makers bothered to make this movie, given the lack of cooperation on the part of their alleged subjects. The first few minutes of the "Commentary" feature on DVD sheds some light on this question: the film-makers seem to have been desperate to get something, anything, on HBO, and not until they came up with the tabloid story about an Amish kid who is hooked on crystal meth would they be accepted by HBO. Too bad they had to advertise it as a "glimpse into the lives of the rarely filmed Amish" -- this movie is simply not about the Amish. It does not give any context for the radical transition called "Rumspringa". It does not attempt to discuss how an Amish teen is prepared via their community for Rumspringa or how they perceive the "rite" before, during, or after going through it. The Amish are shown us utterly unreflective, and I can only assume that this is an utterly unfair representation of them. They were not ready to be filmed, for their own reasons, but the film-makers were all too ready to make this film, for their own, rather different reasons.

Lucy Walker presents a view into a community that is rarely glimpsed by outsiders. The Amish community, tightly knit as it is, has little use for the "English" world outside. I was very intrigued by the premise of a film following young Amish people through the rite of passage of Rumspringa, wherein they discover what kind of people they want to be, and decide whether to join the Amish church.The view given by Walker is largely unbiased; she presents the viewer with a portrait of several Amish youths and their decisions to join the church or to remain in the english world. The film focuses mainly on Faron, a youth who has gotten himself into trouble with drugs, and she does not judge him or criticize him. Rather, we see his actions and are told of his choices, and are left to draw our own conclusions and wonder what will become of him.I found this film to be quite well done, and unlike some of the other reviewers, I don't think it felt staged or stilted. I found myself thinking about it long after I'd seen it, and wondering what had happened to the people whose lives it followed. I recommend this film, and feel that as a debut, it is quite an achievement. Some of the moments actually reminded me of Harmony Korine's work; it has a subtle air of discontent and uncertainty. Well done. ****/*****.