Girltalk

Kate Davis' 1987 documentary Girltalk, now being released to the home video market for the first time, tells the stories of three teenage runaways: Pinky, age 14, who is wanted by the courts; Mars, on the streets since she was 13 and here seen as a teenage stripper in the Pussycat lounge; and Martha, 19 and seven months pregnant when we first see her cleaning a new rundown apartment she's just rented. Davis's approach is to let the girls tell their stories; the auteur is almost always absent. This approach has two results: 1) we haven't the slightest idea what the filmmaker's point of view is, or if she even has one; and 2) the banal, the sensational, and the tragic are all given equal weight. The opening segment on Pinky is truly banal on a stick: during Pinky's interview we basically learn that she hopes for a pink wedding, is a litterbug, is a junk food junkie, and likes to sing to the radio or stereo. Mars' situation evokes more sympathy than Mars, herself. She describes incidents of sexual abuse in her life with an almost practiced bemused voice. Rather than find out more about Mars, however, the filmmaker chose to give us three full strip/dance/music routines. The music is different, but does Davis think that we missed something of paramount importance in the first striptease that requires an additional two full-length encores? This segment borders on the exploitative. The final story, that of Martha, is a compelling and heartbreaking tale, honestly rendered, that nearly makes up for the first two-thirds of the film. The daughter of a paranoid schizophrenic mother and abusive father, Martha grew up in over 20 foster homes and institutions. Now with her new baby, she vows to give the child the love she never had. Despite her hard times, Martha's spirit is unbroken, and she shares her feelings with heartfelt and penetrating poems she has written (one poem to her father, and another to her baby son, are particularly poignant). On the strength of this third story, Girltalk is recommended with reservations. (Available from most distributors.)