There is a scene in Larry Clark's 1995 film Kids where the two main characters, Telly (Leo Fitzpatrick) and Casper (Justin Pierce), ride in a rattling New York City subway car. Soon a homeless amputee navigates his way from the next car into theirs on a makeshift dolly, singing gleefully while shaking his cup at the many straphangers. As he approaches Telly and Casper, we expect the worst, given what we've already seen from these two characters. Will they make fun of the disabled man? Or worse?

Instead, Casper reaches for the loose change in his pocket (possibly all he has) and drops it in the man's cup. It's a moment of tenderness amidst the chaos that is Kids, and as close to character exposition as you will ever see in Clark's films.

Born in Tulsa, Oklahoma in 1943, Larry Clark got a late start in filmmaking, after years of making gritty photographs surrounding the drug-addled scene in his hometown. A Vietnam veteran, Clark's photos had an edge akin to contemporaries like Robert Mapplethorpe and Nan Goldin, casting light on lifestyles that hadn't previously been explored. By his late 40s, Clark had found his way to New York City, embedding himself among a group of skateboarders in Washington Square Park.

One of those kids was Harmony Korine, whom he employed to help him write the script of his story for Kids. The resulting film explored a youth subculture at the height of the AIDS epidemic, so controversial in its subject that it garnered an NC-17 rating and derision from many film critics at the time. Still, the film found champions among the likes of critics Roger Ebert and Janet Maslin, and earned Clark a nomination for the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival.

How could a director be revered by the most respected film critics of his era and have so much trouble financing his next film? The filmmaking establishment of the time may not have been ready to negotiate its idea of "entertainment" with the topics that Clark was broaching.

Related: Roger Ebert's 1983 Take on Star Wars Predicted the Future at Disney

Clark's Realism Didn't Fit Into Mainstream Tropes

Chloë Sevigny in Kids
Shining Excalibur Films

Surprisingly, Kids made good on its budget, earning $20.4 million against a $1.5 million budget, but finding financial backing and distribution for his movies was always an uphill climb for Clark. When he attempted to make a more audience-friendly road movie with his next outing, Another Day in Paradise, he again fell short of favor with the majority of critics, and the movie couldn't make back its budget despite solid performances from stars James Woods and Melanie Griffith.

Clark had gotten away from his comfort zone, that hyperrealistic approach using young, untrained actors in a non-traditional narrative that eschewed three act storytelling and established film stars. Another Day in Paradise remains a fun rewatch to this day and showed that Clark could ably adapt his directing style for scripts that followed a more traditional template, though his age and resume may have limited his offers.

An Exceptional Eye for Talent, at a Steep Cost

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Lions Gate Films

In retrospect, Clark's greatest contribution to "Hollywood" may have been his ability to spot talent. He discovered both Rosario Dawson and Chloe Sevigny for Kids, simultaneously launching the careers of Fitzpatrick, Pierce, and later James Ransone. All went on to interesting careers in indie films during the 2000s. Korine also used Larry Clark as a springboard to an impressive career writing and directing indies like Spring Breakers.

Still, the actors in Clark's films often had troubled lives and untimely deaths, with his most troubled cast appearing in his next film, Bully. Both stars of the film, Brad Renfro and Nick Stahl, developed serious drug problems during this time. Renfro's resulted in his death of an overdose at the age of 25, and Stahl's habits lead him to a life walking the streets of Skid Row in Los Angeles before making a comeback. Was Clark's art imitating life or vice versa? Pierce and another of Clark's discoveries, Harold Hunter, also died young and may have created an aura of negativity around the director.

Even if this scared away financiers and mainstream Hollywood from supporting Clark, his film Bully again garnered critical praise including a four-star review from Roger Ebert. Reacting to Bully, Ebert opined for The Chicago Sun Times, "Larry Clark is obviously obsessed by the culture of floating, unplugged teenagers. Sometimes his camera seems too willing to watch during the scenes of nudity and sex...[but] it's this very drive that fuels his films."

Related: Nick Stahl and Vincent Grashaw Discuss Shudder Original What Josiah Saw

Returning to His Roots

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First Look Studios

Clark's next film, Ken Park, drifted even further into the darkness of misled youth, with sex scenes that verged on pornography which prevented the film's theatrical release in America. Still, he found another exceptional acting talent in James Ransone, who went on to beloved roles on The Wire and in Spike Lee's Inside Man. Both Ken Park and the subsequent Wassup Rockers returned Clark's eye to his fascination with young skateboarders, but critical and audience interest in his films waned. He had returned to a style closer to his photography, and began exhibiting his photos more than pursuing film projects. He still made a few more movies, Marfa Girl and its sequel, but never quite reproduced the magic of his earliest films.

Clark found much acclaim throughout his film career for his risk-taking approach, but that strength may also be why his films never reached a wider audience. It begs the question of whether American audiences will ever be ready to laud directors of this type, and it's increasingly unlikely that studios and streaming platforms approach the subjects characteristic of his films. Despite finding favor in the minds of respected critics and European audiences, it's likely that Clark won't ever be adequately recognized for his contributions to filmmaking in America.