Thirteen

Last night I saw Todd Solondz's Palindromes. Aviva is 13 years old and knows what she wants. She wants a baby. She meets Judah, the son of family friends, and after some awkward thrusting in his bedroom, gets pregnant. What follows is a strange, sad and sometimes satirical coming-of-age story that pits pro-life and pro-choice, and destiny and free will. Solondz, whose last movie was the Belle-and-Sebastian-soundtracked Storytelling, uses different actors for Aviva's role, perhaps to help the audience along in relating to the character.

Thirteen is a sort of magical age. It's right smack in the middle of the formative years. I've always been disturbed by the thought that kids today at that age have already seen so much. Where was I at thirteen? In school, where the foremost thing on my mind was getting through Physics. Maybe I cut class once in a while or lied to get an overnight permit to watch a concert or had a beer. But it never occurred to me to hitchike and get it on with a trucker (Palindromes) or slash my wrists so badly that I have to wear a ton of bangles to hide the scars (Thirteen). I was blessed with a relatively carefree childhood but I admire people who have that particular strength that comes with having difficult experiences early in life. I just wish that kids wouldn't grow up so fast.

Now you're all gone got your make-up on and you're not coming back... - Anthem for a Seventeen Year Old Girl, Broken Social Scene