The Genesis Children
The Genesis Children
| 01 August 1972 (USA)
The Genesis Children Trailers

A charismatic leader and a high-spirited student group are on holiday in Italy. The surreal adventures of these friends are a free-flowing, four-part "multi-sensual symphony," bereft of traditional story line. One national critic described the boys' anarchic revelry as a "dream-like descent from civilization into the chaos reminiscent of Lord of the Flies."

Reviews
Livestonth I am only giving this movie a 1 for the great cast, though I can't imagine what any of them were thinking. This movie was horrible
Billie Morin This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows
Bessie Smyth Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.
Ariella Broughton It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.
swekarl Judging from comments on other sites, people either love or hate this movie. I was warned that it would be crap, but I was even more enticed by the theme: A bunch of teens doing what they are best at - being beautiful.And that was exactly what it was. There is no story whatsoever and the so called philosophical theme is just there as an alibi - its naive statements make you laugh. What's more - the acting sucks. The Genesis Children really is a pathetic movie, by normal movie standards.The only point with The Genesis Children is to show teenage boys naked. And God, that's a great point! That is *radical* in today's society. I watched the movie smiling, both at the boys' beauty and at the fact that such a film has been made at all.
reformer5 This movie is worth seeing if you like to watch films about boys. However, I've fast-forwarded many parts that were pretty trivial. The sensual parts of young male nudity seem to be well compensated by little adventures that the boys have, although the adventures seem uninteresting. If you're someone who wants a well-thought-out plot and more action, you probably don't want need to waste your time on this film. After saying all this, however, there does seem to be an overarching plot that is not too imposing on the general subject at hand, which is simply to show the boys as they are. Interestingly, the viewer may be just as confused as the boy actors are about the main reason for their activities.
thinker1691 This film is destined to be listed among those which have little meaning, but has all the force of a classic. The film follows the summer exploits of a group of European boys who are invited to a 'Play' near an Italian seaside. Once there, the play becomes a search for answers. Each boy begins a quest to learn what life means to himself. From the audience point of view, the scenic tour encompasses the sea, land and some of the most beautiful landscapes available in Italy. The haunting melody accompanies the children's quest and despite it's non-resolution, offers an artistic interpretation of what the director was creating. The actors are quite uninhibited with the abundance of nudity, but they carry the Avant Guard movie to it's abrupt end. All in all, a good film for those with an open mind. *****
Sorof Its amazing that a movie like this was ever made in prudish America, although one has to exclude the 60's and 70's from that label. The boys in the movies (ages 10-16) are completely nude for many scenes, and make no attempt to hide any frontal nudity. While it is unusual for boys of this age to show any nudity in American films, European films regularly show situational nudity of all ages. It would be nice to see American film-makers, and the general public relax with nudity in films (and in general), which somehow always gets related to sex (thanks to religious paranoia). There are no sexual innuendos in this film at all, and it is basically no different than watching a European nudist film, albeit there is at least an attempt at a plot here. Hard to find film, but still available through some distributors. The "leader" in the film (Peter Glawson) starred in another film (Peter & the Desert Riders) around the same time, but that film is almost non-existent.