Movie

The Devil's Playground

1977 · 107 min

A hushed, uneasy coming-of-age portrait of repressed desire and wavering faith, quietly suffocating yet tender toward its confused boys.

Overview: Australia, 1953. Thirteen-year-old Tom Allen attends a strict Catholic seminary for boys administered by De La Salle Brothers. The adolescent students and their adult instructors struggle deeply with sexual repression and religious doubt.
How it feels: Melancholic, tense, earnest and dark. Slow-burning and needs your attention.
About: Coming-of-age, faith, identity, isolation
Content: Mild violence, sexual content and language. No gore.
Note: Written by AI, so it can be wrong. Full breakdown

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Written by AI. It can be wrong.

Full breakdown

Tone: melancholicstrength 2 of 3
tensestrength 2 of 3
earneststrength 2 of 3
darkstrength 1 of 3
Pacing: slow-burn, 1 of 4, from slow-burn to relentless
Attention: engaged, 3 of 4, from background-friendly to demanding
Themes: coming-of-age
faith
identity
isolation
guilt
Places: school
small town
Era: period
Audience: adult
Form: true story
Content intensity: Gore none
Language mild
Violence mild
Sex mild