All American High Revisited

All American High Revisited is a memorable documentary that sets out to recapture the spirit of American high school life from the perspective of those who've lived it. This fascinating film, a blend of nostalgia and probing vision, manages to encapsulate the trials, tribulations, and triumphs of high school in a brilliantly insightful way. This is not your stereotypical nihilistic high school drama, nor a silly romp overwhelmed by raucous laughter. Rather, it is a thought-provoking slice of Americana that delves into the depths of our shared experiences and memories of high school life.

The 2014 movie comes as a sequel, or rather a revisitation, to the original 1987 documentary, All American High, by the same director, Keva Rosenfeld. The first documentary followed a year in the life of the students at Torrance High, a school nestled in the diverse, multicultural center of California, and showed the typical teenage theatricals, parties, proms and pep rallies.

In All American High Revisited, Rosenfeld seamlessly bridges the temporal gap, materializing a poignant comparison between the idyllic past and chaotic present. The documentarian revisits his ward and subject, Rikki Rauhala, a foreign exchange student from Finland, who was the main focus of the original movie. Through her eyes and tongue accented with a tinge of Finnish, viewers get a candid, heartwarming and occasionally hilarious glance of the average American high school in the 80s.

Rauhala’s interesting perspective, as an outsider struggling to understand and adapt to American high school culture, is expertly juxtaposed against her contemporary American peers. The audience gets an insightful view into the rites of passage that American high schoolers from the 80s underwent, complete with the highs and lows, the jubilations and heartaches, the carefree frivolity and budding responsibilities that highlight this stage of young adulthood.

The film thoughtfully captures an era steeped in part pop-culture, part global politics, a world struggling with the Cold War tensions while Rock 'n Roll blared from every boombox and Arcades were the hottest hangouts. From the fashion statements of abundant hair and heavy makeup to lighthearted scenes, the film manages to encapsulate the essence and atmosphere of the time, revealing real teenage life beneath the social and academic pressure cooker that is American high school.

However, the profundity of All American High Revisited lies in its retrospective analysis. Rosenfeld reconnects with the original cast, who are now presumably grappling with midlife crises, mortgages and parenthood. The juxtaposition of their youthful selves against their adult realities provides a powerful glance at the passage of time and the transformation it enforces.

Rosenfeld deserves credit for this empathetic exploration of American high school culture from both past and present perspectives, allowing the audience to re-experience the high emotions of their high school years, a part of life that is usually idealized in memory or formatted by ensuing adversity. Through Rauhala's lens, we both enjoy the innocence and the stresses of this peculiar period, painting a nostalgic, yet critical picture of a bygone era and culture.

All American High Revisited is not just an intriguing observation of daily life in a late 20th century American high school; it goes beyond its simple premise to delve into the cultural shift we have undergone as a society, narrated by those who have witnessed this shift firsthand. It provokes not just nostalgia, but introspection, inviting the audience to look back at their own lives and consider how far they have come since their high school days, and how those days still impact them now.

It’s an enticing film that seems to satisfy every craving for nostalgia while also stirring up a well of emotions as you connect with the subjects on an inherently human level. You might find yourself laughing, cringing, or tearing up as you journey through the recollections of Rauhala and her peers. This film is sure to move anyone who's had the shared human experience of navigating teenage years and high school.