Bless the Beasts & Children

A film set at a summer camp in Arizona. The boys at the camp are divided into groups and each group has a name. The lowest group wins no contest; the others have given them a nickname and nobody bothers with them. All six were sent here by their families. One has been expelled from two schools, one is on medication, one cannot sleep at night. Their families found a way to be rid of them. On an outing they are taken to a buffalo hunt. The animals are penned and the hunters shoot in turn; there is no escape. The boys watch. That night they make a decision: they will go back and set the animals free. From there the film is a journey through the night. They steal a truck, find the road and try to reach the pen. Each of their pasts opens in short returns along the way. What the narrative is interested in is not the animals but the boys identifying themselves with what is inside that pen. The source is Glendon Swarthout's novel. The theme song was sung by the Carpenters and nominated for the Academy Award for best original song. Stanley Kramer directed. Bill Mumy, Barry Robins and Miles Chapin are in the cast. Who it is for: anyone who likes the youth dramas of the 1970s and narratives about exclusion. Who it is not for: anyone troubled by violence to animals; the hunt is shown directly and the film does not get out of it easily.